TUTORIAL: How to reformat and do a clean install of Windows 8 on Samsung Series 9 laptops

Or maybe 15.6 didn't install. I've tried to run the installer and it runs a pretty animated icon on the screen for about 15 seconds but the driver stays at 15.4.0.11. It's unclear to me what, if anything, the installer package does.

John

 

I think you're on to something there, John. I just searched Intel Download Center for the latest driver for my old HP HDX18 with Intel 5100 and was offered the same 15.6 package (*Ds64 for Win7). After running it, my driver version (as shown in Device Manager) remains at 14.3.2.1.

15.6 is clearly a unified package, containing drivers for many different adapters (even back to this old 5100) and available for both Win7 and Win8. As late as January, they still had individual driver packages even for similar adapters like 6230/6235 -- and different versions for Win7 and Win8.

Maybe 15.6 is just a bundle that only contains newer drivers for some adapters, while for others it just contains whatever was the most current driver.

 

I greatly appreciate the tutorial, and I have successfully installed Win8 fresh on my NP900X4D-A06US. However, one thing to note is that using your method, you MUST delete all partitions (including recovery) to be able to install Windows. If you attempt to install it on a partition without deleting all others, it will give you an error of "Windows cannot be installed on GPT partition" or something along those lines. I was not aware of this so I was unable to back up the recovery partition beforehand, but anyone who wishes to follow this tutorial should do so.

 

Thank you for the tutorial, it is very concise.

However, I ran into a serious problem, my NP900X4D-A03CA will not detect the USB drive. SSD is SanDisk SSD U100 SMG2 and BIOS Version is P07ABK.

On Step 7, NP900X4D says:

"Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu."

So I went on Google and found the following solution: Windows 8 and the dreaded couldn't create a new partition - Mark Empson's Global notepad - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Now NP900X4D is says:

"An operating system wasn't found. Try disconnecting any drives that don't contain an operating system. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart".

Any thoughts?

 

Did you double check that all the BIOS settings are correct? (Fast Boot disabled, Secure Boot disabled, OS mode as CSM OS)

 

Yes I did. I actually tried every combination. I also tried having the USB drive as NFTS or FAT32 and still the computer doesn't seem to detect there is a USB connected.

 

As i suspected. It is the USB drive. Bought a new USB drive and worked right away. Thank you OP!!

 

Hi Everyone,

First post here. I bought a NP900X3C-A02CA second hand. When I got it home I realized that it had a clean install of Windows 8 on it with SW Update etc. but the recovery partition is missing. I don't mind having the clean install, but I cant recover my computer at all. should I just be on the hunt for a Win8x64 iso and use that everytime I want to recover the hard drive? or is there a way to do a clean install and add a new recovery partition.

The person I bought it from doesn't have a backup, and I go this computer for such a good deal, I really don't want to return it. Do I have any options?

 

You can make your own recovery partition or a recovery USB drive. Just repeatedly press F4 at the start up and system will enter into restore mode. It will give you an option of make a recovery disk. If you want to make an external recovery disk, insert a USB drive and copy all recovery files on that. Before making a recovery disk, the machine will tell you the minimum required size of the disk. If you want to make an internal recovery disk, just exit the recovery screen, start your computer in a normal mode, create a partition equivalent to the size you saw on the recovery screen earlier and name it recovery partition. Now restart the computer and again press F4 to re-enter into recovery mode and copy recovery files on the fresh partition you made earlier. Now you will be able to recover your computer easily at any time.

 

The OP sounds as though the original owner wiped the entire drive, including recovery partitions. If that is the case, recovering the Samsung recovery (no pun intended) may not be possible. Perhaps you can find someone with the same laptop who made the thumb drive, but I'm not even sure that would work. However, there are numerous recovery software packages available and W8 even comes with some advanced options that may be all you need, but off-disk backups are always a good idea. You might ask the seller if he can provide the W8 disk in case things get completely hosed.

How to restore, refresh, or reset your PC - Microsoft Windows Help