Series 5 - NP550P5C-S03AU - drivers for clean install?

Hi all,

Just have bought myself a new Samsung series 5, this model here:

NP550P5C-S03AU ($1,499) - OVERVIEW | SAMSUNG

Impressions so far very good, am loving it . All except for the bloatware, etc that is.

So I want to do a brand new, fresh install of Windows and delete recovery partition. However, I would appreciate some advice on which drivers I need, and in which order I should install. Driver page here:

NP550P5C-S03AU ($1,499) - TECH SPECS | SAMSUNG

For example, do I need both intel chipset and driver for the integrated HD4000 (I would have thought chipset driver covered this but then again I have never used a laptop with switchable graphics), etc

Any guidance greatly appreciated! I have heaps of experience installing windows on desktops, etc but just need a bit of help deciphering what ones I need here and what is superfluous.

Thanks

 

I used the disc that came with my NP550P5C-S02AU and it done a clean install. first back up a wifi driver to a USB device from here I know this isn't your model's driver page, but as far as I know the only difference between the two is yours has the 1600x900 (in any case try finding your page if your not happy with this page) From that same page download Easy Software manager after the clean install and then you can choose what you want from the software package. If you want your fn keys to work you'll need to D/L Easy Settings.

I don't have the Easy Software manager installed on my laptop, but I do have the download which I install and check every now and again to see if there are any updates I might want like bios before uninstalling it. (It tries to check for updates while I'm playing and it causes poor performance in my game so it had to go) I also don't have the easy setting installed because I don't use the fn keys and again I feel my game runs better without it. If you have the same disc as I got with my laptop, it's really easy. (nice job Samsung)

You can also get the wifi along with chipset + from Intel® Driver Update Utility which I did because they seem better to me than what's on the Easy Software manager.

 

Sakor1,

Were you wanting to know how to get rid of the SamCrap and do a clean install of Windows, or were you wanting to find the appropiate drivers to download and install after doing a clean install of Windows?

I am in the process of giving SamCrap the big heave ho after deleting all partitions (the 100 Mb, the Windows partition and the recovery partition), then creating a new primary partition, the formatting process is taking its sweet time and once that's done, I will then be able to install Windows 7 Ultimate (instead of the Windows 7 Home Premium that was originally on the hard disc) and then I will see about finding the relevant drivers through Windows Update first then maybe the Samsung site or some other sites for drivers that I cannot find through WU.

Cool Hip Dude

 

@sakor: Congrats on your new laptop

@Cool Hip Dude: Welcome to the forum

Bit of general advice for both of you:

1) I would recommend you leave the Recovery Partition alone, for several reasons: (A) It is quite hard to re-create with F4 bootability (although possible) should you ever want to bring the laptop back to factory state. (B) It contains all device drivers and Samsung utilities, making Windows re-install a snap. (C) There are some hidden management tasks that can only be performed by F4 booting that Recovery.

The post linked here should give you some idea of what it takes to re-create that Recovery Partition (say if you want to sell the PC some day).

And the post linked here suggests what backups to make if you are intent on wiping that HDD completely. In particular do I recommend steps (2), (4) and (5) in that post.

2) Even if you keep your Recovery Partition (and certainly if you delete it) I recommend you first start Samsung Recovery Solution and backup System Software to a DVD (or USB). It'll make clean installs much easier.

3) If your laptop has a DVD drive (internal or external) I recommend you use that for your clean Windows install. You'll save yourself some trouble.

If you MUST install from USB (or insist on it) do NOT delete the original 100MB SYSTEM partition. If you do, Windows Setup gets confused by the iSSD (ExpressCache) and creates a new 100MB SYSTEM partition on it, expecting to boot from it. But the iSSD isn't bootable. If you leave the original SYSTEM partition, all should be fine.

If you already deleted the original SYSTEM partition (or otherwise find that Windows Setup won't boot after it has finished copying files) there are several solutions in the thread linked here.

Also, if you install from USB, use the black USB2 port, not the blue USB3 port. If you MUST use USB3 (or insist on it) extract and copy USB3 drivers onto an SD card before you start installation (Intel or ASmedia, depending on your model). Do NOT save them to the USB from which you are installing. When Windows Setup asks for additional drivers, load both the USB3 drivers AND the Generic USB Hub driver from that SD card.

All of these issues go away if you install from DVD.

4) Once Windows is running, pop in your System Software backup and let it do its thing. It installs drivers in the correct order and saves you a lot of rebooting. And you can deselect items you don't want.

The post linked here is a fairly detailed clean install guide, including some serious tweaking of drivers and Samsung utilities, if you're into that

The post linked here elaborates on what is bloat and what might be valuable.

Let us know how it goes. Enjoy your new toys