Settings/Easy Settings - what you need to know

Hi.
I haven't been using the easy settings lately, but a feature I liked was the wifi hotspot. Now it seems to have dissapeared?! It still says it should be there in the"help" menu, but not.

Anyone knows how to get it back??

Regards KJ

 

I can see a Mobile AP control in my Easy Settings which, I think, is 2.0.0.38. Newer versions seem to have left out some features.

You can find Easy Settings in the Win 7 folder in any of the Windows 8 Settings packages.

John

 

Finally got bluetooth working in W8.1 (and also showing up in settings) by using the driver from the AB9+. So with that and fast start squared away, I just need M$ to bring back the start menu and I'll be ready to move on from W7. I wanted to do a clean W8.1 install and did successfully do that with the generic key, but because they swapped out the motherboard for my warranty battery issue, it wouldn't take my W8 key to activate without a phone call. Oh well, I'll call another time.

 

Hi guys, want to know if i can install settings on my samsung R480 with windows 8.1 because on samsung page there's only drivers and software for W7 and XP, and well the fn keys dont work. or what can i do to make the fn keys work?

 

Hey quevon24, welcome to NBR.

Although I am not very familiar with the R480, I would assume you have to use Samsung's SW Update utility to get drivers for it -- which is true for almost all Samsung models. They stopped posting drivers on their website two years ago.

Check the Sticky list on top of the Samsung forum. It has a download link to SW Update.

 

You can get SW Update from here.

However, I can't find the R480 listed anywhere so the next nearest is the R470. Settings is a generic program so a version listed for one Samsung notebook should work with another Samsung notebook. However, the most recent versions of Settings have dropped support for some features provided on notebooks released about 2 years ago.

John

 

Thanks for your quick reply, this is the model: 14 Notebook High performance NP-R480 (NP-R480-JT01CL) | Support | SAMSUNG Chile

But the only available drivers are for W7 and XP

What can i do to make fn keys work on W8.1?

I tryed to install the easy display manager for W7 but brightness ley didnt work.

 

You generally don't want to use Easy Settings with Win8.x. It was designed for Win7 and can cause problems in Win8.x. I suggest you uninstall Easy Settings using Windows Programs and Features control panel (and Easy Display Manager if you installed that).

Next, you want to install Settings instead, which was designed for Win8.x. Even though your model doesn't have official Win8 drivers, you can use the Find Model feature in SW Update to look up drivers for other models. I recommend you try Settings version 2.0.0.72, which you will find under Win8.1 driver for model NP900X3F-K01US.

Newer Settings versions exist (the latest I've seen is 2.3.0.17). But as John mentioned, they lack certain features available on older Samsung models (such as ExpressCache and Battery Life Extender).

The above is true for most recent Samsung models, but again it could be different for yours. You can google site:notebookreview.com/samsung R480 to find previous discussions here about your model.

As for general Win8.1 driver support (graphics, audio etc) you depend on Microsoft since Samsung doesn't support Win8.x for your model. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. I recommend studying our Win8.1 thread for more on that. Read the opening post, then scan the last 10 pages or so for relevant posts.

 

Thanks to all of you for your help, i have installed settings 2.0.0.72 for w8.1 but the only available options are network where i can turn on/off the wifi and screen where i can change the monitor color but that's all, no fn keys or battery manager :/

And an apology for my english.

 

Don't worry, your English is fine.

It would indeed seem that the R480 is not compatible with Settings, and you are limited to the old Easy Display Manager for Win7.

Even without Settings, Win8.x should give you some Fn-keys in itself (like volume controls); and screen brightness should be controllable through the slider in the Windows power tray icon. But keyboard backlight, Silent Mode etc require Settings.

 

It might also be worth trying whether good old Easy Display Manager will get the Fn keys working. The core component of Easy Display Manager is dmhkcore.cys. Check whether this has been installed by Settings.

John

 

I just noticed that SW Update has a new Settings version 2.5.0.13 available under model NP940X3K-K02US. That's the first time I've seen a 2.5.x version of settings. I have not tested it yet. While it most likely is backwards compatible with older models, it (probably) lacks support for Battery Life Extender (BLE) and ExpressCache (EC) -- as has been the case with all Settings versions 2.1.x and newer. BLE and EC still work, but cannot be toggled in Settings. Like all Settings versions, this is for Win8.x, NOT Win7.

For Win7, the latest Easy Settings version I have seen is 2.0.0.89, available in SW Update under Win7 drivers for model NP930X5J-S02US. Again, that is for Win7, NOT Win8.x.

BUT incidentally, that same Easy Settings version 2.0.0.89 also contains a matching Settings version 2.0.0.89 inside a Win8 folder. And this version DOES retain full support for Battery Life Extender and ExpressCache. Settings versions 2.0.x were not originally compatible with Win8.1, but Microsoft fixed that in later updates. That makes this one preferable for those (like myself) running Win8.x on older models with BLE and/or EC. Again, it can be found in SW Update under Win7 drivers for model NP930X5J-S02US.

When updating or re-installing Settings or Easy Settings, I prefer to uninstall the previous version first and rebooting. After installing the new version, it is not uncommon to have to reboot TWICE for everything to take effect.

Also, after updating or re-installing Settings, always make sure to redo any power settings and Adaptive Brightness tweaks. In particular will the Wireless Adapter Settings be reset to Max Power Saving (on Battery) which can cause disconnects and weak WiFi performance on some WiFi adapters. I set this one to Low Power Saving (or even Max Performance) as described in the WiFi Remedies thread. With some Settings versions, Max Processor State will be reset to 50% (on Battery). And Adaptive Brightness will be re-enabled, preventing manual brightness adjustment and/or reducing the maximum brightness; disable it as described in the posts here and here. These tweaks must be done both in normal mode and Silent Mode, since Windows stores them independently for the Samsung Optimized and Power Saver profiles. These are classic gotchas, which is why I feel compelled to repeat them.

 

After downloading it over a month ago, I finally got around to install and test Settings version 2.0.0.89. I didn't notice anything different from my previously installed version 2.0.0.74 -- but at least I can confirm that it works as expected on my older Series 7 with Battery Life Extender (BLE) and ExpressCache (EC).

This is the latest version for Win8.x that still supports BLE and EC. It can be found as a Win8 folder inside the Easy Settings version 2.0.0.89 package, available in SW Update under Win7 drivers for model NP930X5J-S02US. Of course that it also the latest Easy Settings version for Win7.

The latest version of Settings WITHOUT support for BLE and EC remains version 2.5.0.13, available under the new model NP940X3K-K02US.

As always, I recommend uninstalling the existing [Easy] Settings (and reboot) before installing the new one. Also, make sure to reboot AFTER installing the latest. Note that TWO reboots are sometimes needed for everything to take effect.

Finally, as mentioned in my post just above, note that any power and display settings tweaks must be re-done after re-installing [Easy] Settings, AND be done with Silent Mode OFF as well as ON (ON meaning Auto or Low) as it is applied to two different power plans.

 

I have been going through the easy settings nightmare for awhile now and I wanted to share my problem and my solution especially since this appears to be new information.

PROBLEMS:
I run UEFI Windows 7 on a Series 7 Chronos, NP700Z7C-S01UB. Fn keys and backlight used to work just fine until I got a BSOD. After running some diagnosis and restarting the computer, the keyboard backlight no longer functioned. Easy Settings no longer had the backlight option to adjust. In addition, samoyedagent.exe gives an error that states it can only be run on Samsung Products. samoyedagent.exe is Samsung's Easy Support Center (SESC).

It turns out that both SESC and MANY of the easy setting features will only function properly if SECURE BOOT enabled in the BIOS. Keep in mind UEFI Windows 7 can boot and operate with no problems if secure boot is disabled. I didn't even notice that it was changed.

DIAGNOSE:
*If you do not know whether you have a UEFI or CSM Windows 7, then start here. If you KNOW you have UEFI or know how to check then this is unnecessary and you should skip straight to FIX.
1) Open Easy Settings and check for backlight option under general, if there than this probably won't work for you.
2) Close Easy Settings.
4) Run Samsung's Easy Support Center if installed then go to 8. If not installed go to 5
5) Install Samsung's Easy Support Center (SESC), can be obtained through SW Update.
6) Restart Computer
7) SESC should run automatically upon restart, if not then start manually
8) If no backlight option and SESC gives Samsung Hardware error (samoyedagent.exe can it can only be run on Samsung Products), then SECURE BOOT may be the problem.

FIX:
1) Shutdown computer
2) HOLD F2 and press the power button to access the BIOS.
3) Find secure boot options
4) If Secure boot is disabled, enable it. Then Save and Exit.
5) Let Windows start and Easy Settings hook into computer (takes awhile)
6) Open Easy Settings and check for backlight settings under the general
7) If no backlight, reboot an additional time and check again.
8) If still no backlight option, you may not have UEFI Windows 7 or you have a different problem.

 

Hi The_Dullest_Tool, welcome to NBR. And thank you sharing that information.

For others who read this, we generally don't recommend running Win7 in UEFI mode on Samsung laptops because of the compatibility issues that have been reported. Samsung themselves never delivered Win7 models in UEFI mode (not even the new 2014 and 2015 Win7 models), and we suspect that Easy Settings wasn't designed for nor tested with UEFI installations.

For those who downgrade a Win8.x model (which are ALL delivered in UEFI mode) to Win7, we generally recommend switching to CSM mode, even though it requires converting the disk to MBR (and thus wiping it). The steps for that are described in our Win7 install guide (post #40 in that thread).

Now, that doesn't mean that knowledgeable and technically savvy users such as yourself cannot make Win7 work with UEFI -- after all Win7 itself DOES support it (though not SecureBoot as you mention). It's just that Samsung's Win7 software doesn't seem 100% UEFI compatible.

Thanks again for sharing your findings

 

since i found out, that i also have a big latency spike every 30 sec regarding easy settings for win7 on my 900x5l
(this was the case for every 1.x and 2.x version i tried), this still works:

important thing is, that the dmhkcore.exe is not available anymore in the 2.x versions.
you have to get an 1.x via swupdate from an older model (im using 1.1.1.2).
there is nothing really important in easy settings despite the "battery life extender" besides the FN keys,
so if someone would have a tip how to enable this outside of the installation, that would be perfect.