Samsung Series 7 Gamer NP700G7C with AMD Radeon HD 7970M/Geforce GTX 675M

I have 2.2.0.7 as well. Looked again and no logged entry. Essentially if you disable it in MSConfig as a startup service you then do not get autoupdates. you will need once a week or so to manually search for them. And yes there is a lot of stuff going on with Samsung software and services at boot.

 

If you have a key with your dvd you might be able to just download it from blizzard's battlenet instead of using the DVD.

 

Yes but i'll be wasting 15 gb of my internet and wait for hours to download

 

If I would to clean the fans, can you tell me where to begin?
I mean, there are pictures or instructions in some place I can watch?
It's easy? It's dangerous?
Can somebody tell me, when the pc is in idle and in library mode, how is the noise? I can hear it very distictly.

 

In library mode, with modeshift installed, mine is quiet. There are no fans running while idle. I should note it sits on a cooler where a fan is running all the time.

There are no tutorials, you can get the manual but it is of limited help. The best first method, before disassembly is to try a can of compressed air. Of course be sure the laptop is off when doing this. If you have not done this in a while it may take even a few cans to fully clean it. One it is fully cleaned you should then be sure to clean it on occasion before it gets to this point again.

On that note too, you could have waited too long and now there is no choice but to disassemble as the air pathways are now clogged. It is a time consuming task and yes can be dangerous to the system if you do not take enough care. If you are going for a disassemble you may as well also get a good TIM and replace it as well as any TIM originally used is more than likely degrading.

As far as easy that is relative. Anyone adept to this can fro start to finish do this in an hour. If you are retentive like me it is a day job.

 

I have two questions:

1) I have a bottle of compressed air. Where exactly I have to direct the blow? In the big back grids?

2) In library mode i listen a "background noise" fan that is costant. It's not loud but there is. I think that before my last Windows update there were not such noise. Do you know which process of Windows leads the fans or do we have a tool (I don't think SpeedFan will work) to measure the rpm so I understand if it's normal or not?

 

I would strongly recommend that you remove the bottom of the computer before trying to clean anything. Otherwise you will just be moving any dust around the inside.

I don't know the exact procedure for getting the bottom off this particular notebook but there are usaully some screws to remove (use a good quality screwdriver with the right size of tip and a large handle for better control - if it slips then you mess up the screw heads) and if the base is plastic then you may then need a prying tool (an old credit card sometimes works) to unclip the plastic joint starting at a front corner.

John

 

The bottom here is attacked to the main board. the top pries off first. You will need also to remove ram, hdds wireless too if I remember. it is allot to remove, I swear I've never seen more screws. You will get to use the credit card along the front and sides as well.

Yes blow into the grids but first blow as much out as you can using the grids along the bottom.

 

Thanks for this clarification. I hadn't realised that this model was so maintenance unfriendly.

It might also be worthwhile bending a piece of thin wire (paperclip?) to have a small hook at the end and then try fishing through the exhaust vents for any lumps of fluff to be pulled out rather than blown back in. I've done that on a few notebooks where it was difficult to get inside.

John

 

Yea, this one is a full breakdown to get to the goodies. This unlike some gaming systems meant to be accessed all the time.

 

I cant downgrade the wireless driver on my pc. 6235 is very problematic thanks to intel's drivers. However one of them(15.5.6.48) worked flawlessly. I have the driver's setup but even if i uninstall it from the device manager and download the driver i want it still reinstalls the driver i just removed! (15.10.x.x) I hate drop-outs, stalls or things like that while online gaming but i cant fix this! Please help me

 

I have 15.13.0.2 I believe from;
Intel® Driver Update Utility

 

One more thing. I installed modeshift but it doesnt seem to be work. Why? I reinstalled and didnt fix.

 

We have a WiFi remedies thread (linked below) which was written with 6235 owners in mind. If you haven't already, I suggest you check it out. In particular the complete driver roll back procedure, which will get rid of old drivers as well as the associated device keys in registry (there is one for each time it's been re-installed in the past) which is often where the gremlins are hiding.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/727499-wifi-remedies-samsung-laptops.html

 

Yes! Right I forgot to delete proset bloatware in programs. Now i can finally use my stable driver! Thank you!
Any ideas on modeshift?

 

Great!

Afraid I don't have any firsthand knowledge of Modeshift (I never used the G7C). You're in the right thread for it, though: Any knowledge that may have been posted about it will be in here. I seem to recall some discussion a few months back.

 

Not sure what would cause it not too work. The dial, independent of Modeshift, should activate the colored Keyboard and turbo button. Does it alt least do that?

 

How do I back-up the recovery partition? I want to back up and create a bootable USB for my recovery partition so I can upgrade to an SSD. Let me know how to do it. I have the NP700G7C-S01US 1 model

Thanx.

 

I think that model came with Win7, and thus has Samsung Recovery Solution 5 (SRS5) which, unfortunately, doesn't have an easy feature to create a bootable USB Recovery backup. There are still ways, but they require some work. The Samsung Forum sticky list (top of the Samsung forum) has a link to the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide.

Most owners of Win7 models just perform a clean install of Win7 on a new SSD. The sticky list also has links to install guides.

If your model came with Win8 (meaning it has SRS6) you can just follow the first two steps in this guide (that was a link).

 

S01 is the Win 7, S02 is the Win8 model. TBH, I just installed clean the SSD and took the original drive out and put it away, original install intact.

 

Is the thread on this forum?

EDIT: Is this the post?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/697841-guide-how-install-windows-7-8-via-usb-np700z.html

or this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...tition-but-have-hdd-backup-2.html#post9743403

 

It's the second link to backup Recovery: Post #18 in that thread.

The first link is a workaround for those who have to install Windows from a USB stick on models with ExpressCache. These models generally need to be installed from DVD to avoid a boot problem. (Though I seem to recall the G7C may be an exception. TANWare?)

Post #40 in that same thread is the comprehensive Win7 install guide linked in the sticky list (and now here) including steps for downgrading from Win8 (converting the disk and changing BIOS settings).

 

Thanx ...I'll check it out.

 

I had not tried an install from USB, I know even with the DVD it can get confused with the iSSD. The one guy here did an install to HDD1 for the OS instead of HDD0 and thereby has constant reset of the express cache. It was acting funky here so to be safe I placed the boot SSD in slot hdd0 and installed Windows 7 fresh. Then I added the 750 GB HDD1 back in.

 

Thank you. That was member vesayreve whose ExpressCache kept flushing. An unsolved mystery

The ExpressCache issue I am referring to, is the one where Windows Setup thinks the iSSD is the boot device and insists on placing its boot partition there (MSR in BIOS mode, ESP in UEFI mode) causing a boot failure when Setup first tries to reboot after it has finished copying files. On other ExpressCache models, that particular confusion only occurs when installing from USB, not when installing from DVD (which is why we recommend it, of course).

I think this issue has caused Samsung a lot of support costs and is a big reason why they eliminated ExpressCache in the 2013 models -- including in the otherwise high performing Ativ Book 8 (NP770/780/870/880) where the HDD is a serious bottleneck, and ExpressCache would have done wonders.

 

Right, I know of that issue too but I have not installed from USB here so I am not sure if it will do it with these, it may. Our bios is different though, with true UEFI once the OS tells the hardware what its resources are that is what they are from power on. If there is a conflict it then can brick the system but with ours it is UEFI compliant meaning it powers on at a default state then uses a hybrid compliance to set the hardware to the new settings.

I think with both drives it wanted to, from DVD, put the MBR on the iSSD or it was putting it opposite on HDD1 instead of HDD0. This is primarily why I went with only the SSD for install.

Edit; with the reset iSSD you have to remember that these cache are TRIM capable and thereby Secure Erase capable as well. A bug in the bios every time it moves the iSSD device number probably also preforms a SE and since the iSSD used as express cache is not formatted the software just sees it as an empty cache.

 

@TANWare: Oops I bookmarked this, then forgot to come back

Thank you for that. So the G7C may (or may not) have that same iSSD installation issue like the other ExpressCache models (Windows Setup being confused by the iSSD device number becoming 0 when booting from USB).

Regarding whether a Secure Erase might taking place when the iSSD switches device number (if that's what you meant): That's an interesting explanation for the annoying flushing behavior, I had not thought of that. I can see the logic that the EC driver simply wakes up to an empty iSSD and re-creates its partition there.

However, I don't really think the BIOS or the iSSD do that own their own. I am pretty sure I can switch between booting USB and DVD (which will cause the device number to change) and it itself won't affect the contents of the iSSD. The flushing happens next time the EC driver is loaded after such a switch (or in vesayreve's case on every boot ). A rep from Conducive Tech told me in a private exchange that it is a deliberate action on the part of EC to flush after another OS or device has booted, presumably to avoid inconsistency between the cache and the files being cached. The flushing happens even when there is no change of iSSD device number (such as when booting different's OSes on the same HDD), so there is no doubt the EC driver does it.

Still, I am intrigued by this idea and will have to test sometime whether I can reproduce a flush simply by having iSSD device number change, but without loading EC.

I remember you mentioned before that the G7C BIOS is different. Samsung made huge changes in their UEFI implementation between their Win7 models (which have just a dinky little UEFI Boot option) and Win8 models (which have a full-blown SecureBoot implementation with CSM/UEFI/hybrid support). But I think you are saying that the G7C's BIOS is still very different, even from other Win8 models with the new UEFI implementation. Did I understand that correctly?

 

Yes it is dfferent than most, it is not a true UEFI bios, why they did this I have no idea. Ec could do this as well, if it is running under hdd1 but boots on power up on hdd0 it could think the OS is changing. With a true EFI it would take hdd1 and make it at every power up hdd0. With our compliant bios it does a normal power up and then based on the uefi compatible tables just blind changes hardware assignments, but this is only after the f2 option has passed from my observance. This is why other systems bricked so easily once a bad assignment was there it was permanent unless you got in with a new, old, bios and the table was reset.

 

Hi Guys does any one have a engineers manual for this laptop need to strip mine down

 

Please don't cross-post. It causes confusion.

I responded to your question here.

John

 

I posted to the other thread as well but I believe those links are in this thread as well, but are older posts.

 

Maybe one you guys can help me with this (i'm quite ty at looking through old posts). My series 7 gamer took a dump as soon as my warranty expired (oh joy). At first it looked like just the lcd ( it would go blank at random times) so i had it replaced. Still having the same issue. Finally I decided to suck it up and dropped it off at a Samsung repair center since i don't have access to any spare parts to test with (cost me 50 bucks just for them to look at it). I'm told that the video card and lcd (the one i replaced just a while ago) are shot. They want a $1000 for the replacement parts. I still have a warranty on the lcd, so no biggie. Now for the question: any idea where i could purchase replacement gpu for this laptop? I mean 700 bucks for an outdated geforce 675m is a little obscene.

Thanks guys.

 

Ouch, that does seem a bit much. My guess here is they, the proprietary GPU cards, were purchased and priced back when they were new and now they still get that cost.

My questions though, is you say it goes dark but then does it come back on its own? Also since there were a few variants which do you have and what OS? lastly what are you doing at the time, playing games general browsing, watching movies or when you come back etc.?

 

There's some relevant discussion here about the GPU.

I'm wondering whether this part might be the GPU since it has "MXM" in the description. Searching using the part number I find a description and photo here while this explicitly says video card.

John

 

Both of those use the 675m so that may be the card. My concern is his variant is not an AMD one.

 

This is the AMD variant of the G7C and there may be others too.

Samsung Series 7 Gamer NP700G7C-T01US 17.3" NP700G7C-T01US

 

1. It goes dark and comes back on its own (sometimes)
2. Seriously, I don't recall the actual model number but: it came with 16gbs, 2x 750gbs hd's, bluray drive, 675m geforce. It's still at the repair shop where I dropped it off a week ago. Haven't had the chance to pick it up. I'm declining the repair due to the insane costs. Running Windows 7.
2. It can happen at random. Sometimes during post. Sometimes during actual windows boot. It happens when the computer is sitting idle, when playing a game (even something as old and easy on the gpu as Fallout 1) or even during video playback.

 

so long as you know it has the 657m that is fine.

When it comes back is there an error code or does it say recovered?

does the system seem to run fine other than blank screen or does it seem to lockup?

 

It doesn't crash so no error codes. Everything works in the background. I can connect an external monitor to the hdmi port and it works fine.

 

Then no it is most likely not the card. Usually the bus would lock up and the system would be unusable. Now it could be the output section or even the LED back light. Another possibility (and probability) is the video cable and/or its connection.

I doubt it is the LCD as you replaced it but again it could be an issue, the luck of the draw as they say.

 

wow,
I have the same issues just like yours ..
so I disassemble the laptop (took me around 4 hour before I found the service manual), clean up the fans (GPU and CPU), apply new thermal paste on both chips (CPU and GPU, re-assemble again, turn it on ... aaaaaannnd the GPU fan was not working ...

I can feel the difference betwen the CPU vents and GPU vents, the hot air was blowing hard from the CPU vents, but no hot air blowing from the GPU vents ..

I've installed win7 gadget's GPU observer and I can see the GPU temp is rising from 60 degree Celcius until 102 degree ..
during that time, I watch a short video, over and over using WMP 11 ..
when the GPU temp hit 102 degree, I did a normal shutdown and I can smell something was burnt from GPU ventilation..

I put it a rest for 30 minutes and fire her up again .... after the desktop logon, I performed a normal shutdown again ..



the only GPU fan seller for this laptop I can found was at ebay.co.uk
unfortunately the seller doesn't ship to where I live in South East Asia

is there anyone from UK who can help me getting a replacement GPU fan from UK?

 

Are you sure the GPU fan worked before the tear down? If so I would pull it apart again and check the GPU plug and be sure the fan spins freely.

 

the GPU fan was not working before the tear down, I thought because of old thermal paste ...
I did another tear down to take the gpu fan, so I can try to look for a replacement on my local computer store and I found a small trace of burnt mark near the edge on motherboard's gpu fan connector ..

and I want to test the fan outside the laptop to make sure that it's not spinning ..

 

it is possible too then the fan took out the MB but that usually is not the case. You may get lucky to find just one of the connections was poor and/or one of the wires were nicked and went bad. In this case you may be able to do the repair yourself. A quick run over of the net did not show an abundance of fans out there. How about contacting Samsung directly?

 

Samsung Indonesia told me that they have discontinued the product and no further repair can be done ...
so I guess I have to do the repair by myself

 

Can they sell you the part though?

 

nope, they don't sale anything related with NP700G7A anymore ..

owh, the problem was not the fan, but the fan connector on the motherboard
I had to bring that bulky and heavy laptop to a local computer repair shop and make a 'jumper' to supply another power to the GPU fan ..

so I disassemble the whole thing again, and test the gpu fan by using the mainboard, dc connector and the keyboard
when powered on, only the cpu fan spins, the gpu fan remains still ..
the service guy adviced to make a jumper to feed the gpu fan .. and it worked like a charm
it seemed one IC near the gpu fan's connector was dead ..

cost me IDR 200,000 (around USD 16 ) to make the jumper
and now the laptop is working fine again

 

cool, that is what I meant by doing the repair yourself, post #2443. Good to hear all is well.

 

Good to see this forum still alive!

 

I'll be here a while more. This system is hoping to get me out of Windows 8.x and it looks like Windows 10. Possibly to 2020 and the end of Windows 7 support. just a few years ago you would have thought I would be the last person to hold back on new tech but times are changing.

So far I have found these to be a tank. Hopefully this is the reason for such a slow forum.