Samsung Series 5 Ultra NPC530U3C Installing Windows to iSSD??

Hey there! Sorry if this isn't in the right place, found Samsung and looked for a huge HELP!!!!!! button ;~;
So here is my ques chin
Are you ready for my ques chin?
Jokes aside, I'd basically like to install Windows 8 to the iSSD and boot from it. Yes I understand this is stupid idea, but I'd like to see if I can, purely because.. well I'd like to?
I have gotten to installing it, and at this point I am able to boot from it using YUMI from a usb stick, by booting the usb stick and just selecting boot first HDD device, which lets me into windows 8 from the iSSD. My question is; is there a way to integrate a bootloader into either the HDD or iSSD to allow Windows to boot without a usb stick? It's just the final step of making it, power on, windows starts, instead of, Power on, insert usb stick, select option one, windows starts. Gets quite annoying when you misplace a memory stick too. >.<

Any help would would be appreciated, apologies for.. being a newb.. I've gotten this far and had a painful life with this type (my third NPC530U3C-A01UK) I could go on.

But yeah. Possible to boot internally without usb stick? If so, how if you could let me know?
As a final note, I'm ruling EasyBCD out, because that definitely does NOT WORK.
If I need to reinstall, I do not mind, just stuck a fresh install on there, so there isn't much c: Everything is on the standard HDD, I just want to use the iSSD for windows files ALONE, all programs/user files go on the HDD, bar maybe Microsoft Office.
Thanks all

~Sasuke

 

Booting from the iSSD is not supported by the BIOS as discussed in this thread.

John

 

Hey Jon, thanks for the reply.
Yeah I've come to that conclusion :c
BUT here's another question D:
" Just install the OS on the iSSD and put a boot manager on the Active/Boot partition of the main drive."
A quote from the thread you linked, so realistically would it be possible to partition the 500gb standard drive into two, one large partition for files, and small active partition with the boot manager ? Would that involve moving system reserved files over to the HDD as well?

Cheers for the reply mate, I appriciate it

 

Hi SamsungSasuke,

Yes, you can absolutely have multiple partitions on your main HDD, with one of them being a small boot partition. It is likely that Windows already put a small (100MB or 300MB) System partition (so-called MSR) which is currently your boot partition, in which case you can add the new Win8 (after installing on the iSSD) to that existing boot partition.

But I have to say if you're not experienced installing and dual-booting multiple operating systems on your PC, this is not exactly an easy "beginner's project". This is particularly true if your laptop was delivered with Win8, which means it uses a more complex type of installation (UEFI/GPT), where you can mess things up pretty badly for yourself. For some reason we've had several Series 5 owners lately who ended up in that situation.

When/if you DO proceed with this installation, you also have to deal with the issue described on the first page of this thread which causes Windows Setup to incorrectly assume that the iSSD is in fact your boot device, even though the laptop cannot boot directly from it at all (as John pointed out). You can work around that by installing from DVD -- or (if you must install from USB) by adding the new installation to the existing boot partition on your HDD after completing Setup.

I don't remember seeing a step by step guide for this anywhere -- and I don't plan on writing one myself. But if you want to take on this project, I suggest you plan through the steps first, then post them here, where we can review them for any gotchas before you start.

 

Hey dude, thanks for the reply
I got my S5 with Win7, and thought it would be a great idea to wipe everything and install windows 8 on day 2. Yeah, great idea.
I guess you could say I've become experienced with the issue of it thinking that, I am thankful to say I nearly know my machine like the back of my hand and am very experienced in dealing with the issue of the iSSD problem. c:
I am just having a moment of weakness and was wondering if anyone else knew how to make the S5 boot windows from the iSSD.

Just to clarify again, I have Windows 8 installed to iSSD, with the mechanical drive acting as a storage drive. The problem is that I cannot boot without using a usb key, and I'd like to know if I can boot without a key and if so, how. >.<

IF I was to put a boot partition on the main HDD to act as a forwarding for the iSSD, how would I go about doing that?

Sorry for all the trouble

For the convenience of not spelling Sasuke, I'll use my real name in the messages

~Alex

 

@Alex: I just tried to write some simple steps for you and realized after 15 mins, it's going to take another 30 mins at least. I am sorry, I just don't have the time today. Here are some basic clues:

* You re-use Win7's original MSR partition on your HDD (the 100MB partition labeled SYSTEM) to become a boot partition for the new Win8 installation on the iSSD. If you no longer have that partition, you will have to make room and create one. Use BCDBOOT from Win8 Setup to prepare the that MSR/SYSTEM partition so that it can boot Win8 (Win7 MSR partitions don't understand the newer Win8 structure). Use the link from my last post to read about that.

* Use EasyBCD (Google it) to edit the boot menu on that MSR/SYSTEM partition (the one on the HDD) and add the new iSSD Win8 installation to the menu (if you didn't already add it in the step above). In EasyBCD, use the File-Select BCD Store command to open the boot menu on that MSR/SYSTEM partition -- otherwise EasyBCD will just display the boot menu based on where you last booted Windows (from USB or the original Win7).

* Make sure the MSR/SYSTEM partition (the original one on the HDD) is flagged Active (using Windows Disk Management) and that the HDD is set as the boot device in BIOS.

You should be able to work it out based on that

 

Thanks for all of your help with this dude
One final question >.< Would it be possible to resize the HDD, to allocate space for a small partition for the system reserved, then boot linux on a usb and use Gparted to transfer the System reserved partition from the iSSD to the HDD, then continue with EasyBCD and such?

Thanks dude

~Alex

 

Yes, you can do that if there is an MSR on the iSSD. Sometimes Win8 creates one and sometimes it doesn't. You can also just copy the files as described in the second post in that thread I linked (using Win8 Setup).

 

Awesome, I'll have a crack at it now then, building a new multiboot usb as I speak
I won't be able to explain my happiness if this works haha, then I'll start work on finding a way to bring back my recovery partition.. Maybe that's impossible.
I'll post results shortly!

 

Don't even get me started with that

In fact, it's pretty simple: If you did NOT make backups of your Recovery partitions AND create a so-called USB Admin Tool, it's impossible to re-create. If you DID create those backups, the procedure is in this post.

You can also check the thread linked below for more overview:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...red-recovery-partition-samsung-notebooks.html

 

Haha I didn't save it, day 2 I wiped this thing knowing jack all about the machine. >.<

UPDATE
This thing is a total nightmare, a super duper horrible nightmare. I hate it.
Basically, the idea of using the Windows installer to copy over the reserved partition didn't work for me, just said it failed to copy. Big whooooop to Windows.
So I've finally found a stable version of Linux that actually let me boot into liveUSB (Ubuntu 12.04.2 for those that may want to do the same thing I did, please just install to HDD and never do this)
I'm now in Gparted and am shoving the 500GB forward 350mb to allow for the reserved partition at the front of it, then it shall sit there and HOPEFULLY all will boot, then just need to sort EasyBCD and we should be good to go!
Still have 47 minutes left on the transfer and its getting to 1:30am so I may leave it going overnight as it also needs to copy over the reserved partition. ;~;
Fingers crossed, this needs to work. :')

 

Deep breaths and a full night's sleep are generally conducive to good results. But of course, none of us ever practice that when dealing with computer issues

I should add that I have copied MSR partitions from iSSD to HDD many times using command prompt in Windows Setup, as described in that post I linked. It definitely CAN work. You can also use common partition imaging tools (Acronis, Paragon etc). Or use a Linux LiveCD/LiveUSB (I like PartedMagic). Just make sure the HDD MSR is flagged Boot/Active afterwards and the HDD is set as boot device.

The recommended procedure for installing Windows to the iSSD would include leaving the Windows installation on the HDD alone before starting (or installing Windows there first). That way, a fully working and bootable MSR would already be in place on the HDD, and all you need is to add the new iSSD installation to its boot menu.

If the iSSD is too small to complete a Windows installation (mine is only 8GB, some are 16GB, and yet others are 24GB) another solution would be to compact the Window installation on the HDD (disabling Hibernation, Page file, System Restore etc), shrink that partition, then copy it to the iSSD using a partition imaging tool, and (again) add the iSSD to the existing boot menu.

 

Hey dude thanks for the reply and sorry for long reply time XD
I'm just gonna try starting again as I am getting more frustrated by the day with this XD
I have a 24gb iSSD so I'll be trying that this weekend. XD

 

Cool, thanks for the update. Just let us know when you've had a chance to try again. We'll be here