ativbook 9 frustrating problem

Hi, I have Samsung ativ book 9 NP900X4C 2013 model, core i7, 8gb of ram, 256gb ssd.

came orginally with windows 8, was working perfectly fine with windows 10, started to bluescreen and got stuck on bootloops, repair bootloops... The bios menu is inaccessible, I have tried every button, also tried booting while removing the ssd and spamming F2 ... Nothing new

Mainly the solution everytime was to install a fresh windows 10 but after a week or so, it suddenly crashes, installed windows 7 multiple times, same again but noticed it often crashes after moving the laptop like from room to room, I opened it, everything looks normal, I removed the ssd put it back again and I could reinstall windows 7, but currently i've installed windows 10, the second day, I cannot boot anymore I've tried booting from the same bootable windows 10 that i've installed before, it tells me bcd bad config .. What ! ...

What do you think should I change, the ssd, the rams .. ?

Recently I went to a laptop repair shop they didn't not figure out what is the problem, they said it could be a problem in the motherboard .

Any help.. Would be greatly, greatly, greatly appreciated.

 

That generation of notebooks has caused much grief because Samsung made a poor job of implementing UEFI. Do you recall if you had updated the BIOS? There have been several updates which reduced the risk of bricking and other similar problems and I have personal experience of a Windows 8 X4C which is now happily running Windows 10.

All is not lost. Owners of these troublesome notebooks have put a lot of effort into overcoming these problems and the knowledge of possible fixes contained in this forum is more than the knowledge offered by Samsung. Start by reading through the links here.

John

 

I did update The BIOS once. Thanks man for the replay. It's a reallt frustrating problem.

 

Samsung released a number of BIOS updates as a result of the bricking problems (they were having to fix problems under warranty). I believe that the most recent BIOS is P07ABK released in November 2013. The file is called ITEM_20131114_21268_WIN_P10ABK.exe although there might be something even more recent.

If it is likely that the computer doesn't have the most recent BIOS then your task may be slightly easier because, if you can get the machine to run the BIOS update (which you can download on anther computer - see the BIOS update thread), then most likely the corrupted settings will be fixed.

John

Note: BIOS version edited.

 

Thanks, are there any tutorials on how to update the bios when the laptop isn't booting .

 

I just realised that I mentioned the wrong BIOS in a previous post: P**AAC is for the Windows 7 version of the X3C/X3D/X4C/X4D. The Windows 8 versions have BIOS P**ABK (now corrected)

One of the procedures mentioned in the unbricking thread uses a flash drive with the BIOS file and some other programs and a key combination to trigger the update. However, if you can boot the computer into the BIOS when the SSD is removed then you may have more options.

I also wonder if one of the causes of your problem is the SSD itself. Which SSD and what capacity? If it has been running almost full then the garbage management won't work very well and the wear is likely to increase.

John

 

The post here describes briefly what is the problem (most likely) and an overview of how to fix it. Your goal is to clear the corrupt NVRAM. If you're not already on the latest BIOS, updating it is the easiest, since that also clears the NVRAM. Otherwise you use the BIOS updater flash utility with the /cvar /patch parameters to clear it.

In any case do you need to be able to boot something in order to do either. And as you found, that is the big challenge.

Check this summary and that entire thread, that's where we have the most intensive discussion of this entire problem.

Unfortunately it is a rather involved project with each step requiring some study and experimenting. Due to the nature of this corruption, what works for one member doesn't always for everybody else.

If all else fails, the sticky thread linked by John has examples of recovering from harder bricking. The nuclear option is to find a repair store that can remove the BIOS chip and re-flash it. But there are many things you can try yourself first.

 

I didn't find the bios file for

BIOS Type: phoenix
BIOS Date: November 18th, 2013
BIOS ID: p07AAC
BIOS OEM: p07AAC
Chipset: Intel 154 rev 9
SuperIO: Unknown
Make/Model:SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. 900X3C/900X3D/900X4C/900X4D

I've searched everywhere, any help please.

 

The procedure for finding it is described in the BIOS rollback thread. All of the information is in @isosunrise's opening post, and there are several examples posted later in the thread.

To find the latest BIOS update file for your model, use following URL and insert the Platform ID ( AAC in your case). I've already entered it in the link below:

http://sbuservice.samsungmobile.com/BUWebServiceProc.asmx/GetContents?platformID=AAC&PartNumber=AAAA

That shows the filename of the latest BIOS update to be ITEM_20131127_21276_WIN_P07AAC.exe.

To download it, you then insert that string in the following URL. Again, in this case I already did it for you:

http://sbuservice.samsungmobile.com/upload/BIOSUpdateItem/ITEM_20131127_21276_WIN_P07AAC.exe

Voila, there is your BIOS update file!

isosunrise figured all this out and described it in his guide. Go and click Like on his post

 

Big Thanks Man, When executed, it fails : the version of the system BIOS is later than the update, I've checked the compatibility, it's was made for windows 7, I'm on windows 10, any clues ?

 

Try using the switches indicated here as if you were trying to do a roll-back.

John

 

As John said, you need to run the flashing utility with parameters to override its default behavior. As I described in my first response to you, I recommend using the /cvar /patch parameters parameters, which will clear NVRAM without actually changing the BIOS version.

But first you need to extract the contents of the BIOS update file, which requires a trick. Once again, that is described in isosunrise's guide, which I linked in my last post.

If you think you may not already be on the latest BIOS, you could also try running the BIOS updater directly, but run it As Administrator or in Compatibility Mode. I don't use Win10, but I assume it must have those if you right click the file and/or go to its Properties.

 

Thanks guys, I was able to flash the bios. I can now enter the setup menu perfectly anytime. but I've another (i think last problem) with this laptop is the m.2 ssd disappear from time to time, I've from time to time the blue screen with MEMORY_MANAGEMENT error, should I change the ssd, or is it a problem with the motherboard, knowing that I'm on windows 10, and I have installed windows 7 and windows 10 at least 10 times.

Thanks again.

 

Thanks for the update. You are making progress. Well done.

Regarding the memory management BSOD, the first thing to do is to make a Memtest86 bootable flash drive and then run it for about 12 hours (overnight +) so that it thoroughly checks out the RAM. It once found a bad module on my computer which was causing BSODs but shorter memory tests didn't pick up. If your RAM is bad, but soldered, then replacement might be a challenge.

You can also examine the SMART data for the M.2 SSD. This is best done using the manufacturer's toolkit or diagnostic utility if there is one. Third party software often has trouble interpreting the SMART data but if you post a screen capture from HWiNFO or similar we can look at it.

John

 

Thanks a lot Man, I will do it and update. (y)

 

Hi everyone, a little update :
I have tested 3 brand new out of the box msata ssds, the last one is working without blue screens but still from time to time freezes, and when I restart windows the ssd disappear from the bios, I wait a little bit or/and shake the laptop and the ssd gets detected in the bios again and everything is working perfectly. I'm thinking of changing the motherboard if I can find a similar one.