Samsung Laptops - Roll Back Bios Updates?

Especially with the early Win8 Samsung systems I would be very careful with a bios dump and even flash. These early UEFI systems are well know to easily brick on bios flash.

The problem you were having a lot of times has to do with cloning of a drive. If you cloned the drive and the drive ID number copied between the two drives you can not run both in the system at the same time. You may need to change one of the drive ID numbers.

 

Thank you so very much for doing all this for my benefit...it has been a learning experience for me going through the process of trying to revive my laptop and this will help me SO much. It is greatly appreciated, Dannemand.

Dan

 

I've just purchased a used NP355E5C-A02US. The BIOS is American Megatrends Inc. P03ABG, 1/9/2013. BIOS mode Legacy.

I've noticed that when booting from a Linux or Windows thumb drive, the BIOS doesn't detect the drive (or the DVD drive) on restart, so you have to turn it off, and turn it back on, and then it detects it. Could this be a bug in this version of the BIOS? I've gone into SW Update looking for a BIOS update for this specific model, but don't see one. Could there be a BIOS update under SW Update under similar models with the same motherboard, but this one just happened to not get one? Is there an easy way to find a later BIOS version that might work on it?

Edit: Nevermind, I found the BIOSUpdate.exe tool posted elsewhere.

Edit 2: I was able to install P05ABG, but that still didn't fix the problem. I suspect this is a bug in the BIOS that I'll just have to be stuck with.

 

Hi @mmortal03,

I'm glad to hear you managed to update your BIOS, but sorry to hear it didn't solve that USB/ODD drive detection issue. It could indeed be a BIOS bug, or it could be caused by something WinPE/Linux do that prevents the BIOS from fully clearing and rebooting itself. I can think of a couple things you can try:

1) Reset BIOS settings to default (F9 inside BIOS, as I recall).

2) Clear NVRAM using the steps described here (last page in this thread).

Both of these have been known to alleviate problems with booting and detecting drives.

Make sure to restore any important BIOS settings afterwards -- particularly if you have changed your UEFI settings away from your laptop's default: For example, if it came with Win8.x (SecureBoot=On and OS Mode Selection=UEFI OS) and you switched to CSM mode at some point (OS Mode Selection=CSM OS), make sure it is set to CSM again after performing these resets, or you may not be able to boot from your HDD/SSD.

NVRAM clearing is usually only something to do on a semi-bricked laptop. I need to point out that in your case, where (almost) everything is working, there is a small theoretical risk that it could add new problems or mess something up. I have never heard of a case when it did, but in the interest of full disclosure, I just want to mention it.

Please keep us posted of the results if you try this.

 

Thanks, Dannemand! I'll make a decision on whether I want to give the NVRAM clearing a shot or not. A few additional things that I've thought of: What I'm doing could just be a special case that they had not intended, with no SATA drive installed in the hard drive bay, and booting from USB or DVD, even though, it, indeed, seems to be a bug. One thing I noticed is that if the USB or DVD has changed, you have to first boot up with no USB or DVD inserted, then insert them and restart it, and then they are detected. What I will next have to do is test booting to USB or DVD with a blank SATA drive installed in the bay, and see if this behavior is still the case. I don't always want to have a SATA drive installed, though, so it's still, to me, a bug. Like you said, clearing the NVRAM is another thing I could try. I already tried resetting the BIOS to its defaults, and it didn't change this behavior.

 

Got it! Yeah, I figured you'd probably already tried resetting BIOS settings.

I didn't realize that you have no SATA drive installed. Could be that they never thought of that scenario -- or it could be that something is still stuck in the data tables causing the laptop to think that a SATA drive is there.

Anyways, you know what you are doing and what to test. I'll be interested to hear if you find a solution to this.

 

Hello everyone,

I am new here but have been reading these forums nonstop for a week straight trying to find solutions to the problem with my Samsung NP-QX411-W01UB Notebook.

So basically about a week ago i installed a win 7 iso file with easybcd to run a dual boot/recovery system. Idk if something got fudged up in easybcd because i have used it before with no issues whatsoever. After installing the iso i rebooted and now there is no samsung logo at all on the splash screen, just a totally black screen with f2 and f4 in bottom left corner. F2, F4, F9, F10, F12 all do absolutely nothing and cannot access bios at all.

Now after the black samsung logo screen the system then goes into an endless backlit to off screen. Not quite a black screen because there is illumination within the screen but you cannot see anything at all.

The issue is im not even sure what my bios id is, to possibly repair the bios (if that is what is messed up). I did find a post here ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/samsung-laptops-roll-back-bios-updates.696197/page-7 #63) where someone was saying that HS is the qx411-w01ub's Bios ID, but I have no clue.

If anyone has any info or advice or anything really please reach out to me. I cannot afford to purchase a new laptop and all my family photos are presumed gone...

Oh and Windows Recovery Environment never comes up, no 3x boot fail and then system repair, no advanced boot options either. I have tried a clean win 10, 8.1, 7 boot installs from DVD and USB. I have tried boot repair disks, WinPE, Linux live boot disks, removing the CMOS and battery all to no avail.

 

@wojogary: Check the guide linked below and that entire thread. I'm guessing that's your problem.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/index.php?posts/9793018

First challenge will be to be able to boot some form of Windows or WinPE, either from HDD, USB or DVD. That thread has some suggestions.

Next you'll need to find out the Platform ID (BIOS family) for your model, so you can download and extract a BIOS file, as described in the opening post of this thread. It doesn't matter which version, as you won't have to flash it. You just need the flashing utility to clear the NVRAM.

I'll try to help further, but probably won't get to it until Sunday at earliest.

 

@wojogary: I had time to look a bit further into your case.

As I mentioned in my original response to you, it sounds like your laptop is suffering from NVRAM corruption, an common infliction on Samsung laptops from around 1012-13, usually ones that came delivered with Win8 and used UEFI mode for the first time. It can cause boot problems and prevent the F-keys from working during boot to get into BIOS (F2), Recovery (F4) or to select a boot source (F10). It happens mostly when installing a new OS or booting Linux or LiveCDs or LiveUSBs, all of which write to NVRAM. Although the computer still turns on, it cannot boot anything, and it is effectively "semi-bricked" unless the NVRAM is cleared.

To clear NVRAM, you use the BIOS flashing utility (extracted from a BIOS update file for your model) with the /cvar /patch parameters, as described in the thread I linked. Again, you do NOT have to re-flash the BIOS -- and in a case like yours I would not recommend flashing it, since we are not sure which BIOS Platform ID your model uses.

The post you linked ( here) does indeed mention "HS" as the Platform ID, but that is for a Samsung QX411-W01, whereas yours is NP-QX411-W01UB. Those UB models are Best Buy variants of general models, which often use a different BIOS family, and often are not updated. So I would not flash a HS BIOS without confirming that it is right for your model. But I would be OK using a flashing utility from a HS BIOS to clear NVRAM, as I suspect it is compatible with yours. I cannot guarantee it, though, so please understand the risk. (Your laptop is already semi-bricked anyway...)

This link reveals that ITEM_20130227_889_WIN_10HS.exe is the latest HS BIOS update file, and it can be downloaded using this link. Once downloaded, you extract its contents as described in @isosunrise's guide in the first post of this thread, with additional guidance in post #350. (Follow those CAREFULLY, so you don't accidentally start flashing.) Inside you will find SFlash64.exe, which you run from an Administrator Command Prompt with the /cvar /patch parameters.

BUT, in order to get that far, you must be able to boot some form of Windows or WinPE -- any version will do. And this is usually the biggest challenge, since NVRAM corruption affects which type of device can be booted (SATA, USB, DVD) and which format is required on that device, depending on whether the laptop is in UEFI mode or legacy BIOS/CSM mode.

Usually WinPE on a USB stick is your best option. And disconnecting the HDD/SSD is usually required, so that the BIOS is forced to look for a boot source on an external device. You can try with different combinations of GPT/FAT32 and MBR/NTFS on USB flash drive and DVD, respectively, but if you are unable to boot any of them, you will have to pull that HDD form the laptop (if you haven't already). And even that isn't a guarantee.

The thread I linked originally (again below) is our main thread on NVRAM clearing and has various suggestions on what to try.

Samsung Series 7 - NP700Z5C-S03CA: My Last Hope

That's really all I can give you. The rest is a lot of reading (the thread linked above and the links inside it) and experimenting (USB vs DVD, different combinations of formats for the boot device).

As for salvaging the contents on the HDD (like your photos), you can simply connect it to another computer (either through internal SATA or in a USB enclosure) and backup its contents. I highly recommend doing that before anything else!

 

Hey guys!

I just registered to the site and before I jump into my request, let me say you guys rock! I've been fighting with my brand new (and bricked laptop) for a month now. It's a Series 7 spin NP740U5M-X01US ( https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/9275221).

In the past month I was able to get the latest BIOS update using the same method posted here, but I couldn't find a way to extract the ROM from the exe file. I tried different extractors, even Hex editors.

I've read all the thread before posting and followed these steps on 2 different computers:

1) Windows 7 Compatibility mode
2) Run the program from cmd. Also tried from windows explorer.
3) Found & the __Samsung_Update folder
4) Checked Program Files \ UEFI folder

However, the __Samsung_Update folder is empty except for the DebugAppLog.txt



This is the link for my BIOS latest update:

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

http://sbuservice.samsungmobile.com/upload/BIOSUpdateItem/ITEM_20180611_21776_WIN_P04AFZ.exe



Could it be because I'm running the update from a different computer (not samsung)? Can someone try to extract it to see if I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks in advance!
Julian

 

Hi @jmuro, welcome to NBR.

I'm not at a PC now, but I'll take a look tomorrow afternoon (Fri pm EDT) when I'm done working.

Thank you for being so thorough and well prepared in your approach!

 

Hi again, @jmuro.

After much experimenting, I am afraid I haven't found a way either to extract that BIOS update file (ITEM_20180611_21776_WIN_P04AFZ).

As you say, it doesn't extract the actual BIOS files into the C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\__Samsung_Update folder, only the DebugAppLog.txt file. And it doesn't extract to C:\Program Files (x86)\UEFI WinFlash either.

I tried all kinds of ways to find if it extracts to some other location (particularly using SysInternal's Process Monitor) but I am convinced that it doesn't actually extract the files at all until it is ready to flash them.

Parsing the information in the DebugAppLog.txt file, it clearly detects my Samsung model (which isn't the right one for this BIOS file) as well as the OS version (which it doesn't like). It is possible that you might be able to extract it using a different Windows version.

But I think your best shot is to run it on the actual laptop model for which it was created. Surely it will have to extract the files there in order to attempt flashing. You may have to click OK and let it attempt the flash (which won't proceed if you are already on the latest BIOS version) but if you keep the C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Temp\__Samsung_Update folder open, at least you can see if the files get extracted there.

You can use the trick described in this post to try to copy the files before they are deleted again. Instead of what is described there, I would have a small batch file (or PowerShell script) that loops the XCOPY command.

I am sorry I couldn't be of more help. It is indeed bothersome that we have to play this cat-and-mouse game with Samsung. One would think that they want and appreciate that users are able to unbrick their laptops

Please post your update here, regardless of what it is. Your model is much newer than the ones that typically need unbricking -- usually 2012-2013 models -- so I am also curious what bricked it in the first place.

Edit:
Something else to consider would be to click OK instead of Cancel and let it proceed to the next stage, EVEN if you are running on a different computer from the one for which the BIOS update file was intended. I have never had the courage to try that for fear it might actually begin flashing an incorrect BIOS. And I don't remember other members having reported about it either. But I cannot help wondering if the flashing utility itself won't detect the difference in BIOS before it actually begins flashing. Or maybe not...

Note: I am NOT recommending this experiment to anybody, as it could potentially brick a perfectly functioning computer by flashing a wrong BIOS onto it.

But if somebody has an old computer which they are willing to sacrifice for science, this would be a worthwhile experiment and contribution to our community. Just saying...

 

That worked fine on my Clevo. Leave it to Samsung to come up with such hare-brained schemes ... :
Samsung Series 7 - bios P04AFZ.7z

Used a robocopy (save as .cmd and keep it running while you start the bios .exe):

Code:

:start
robocopy %TEMP%\__Samsung_Update %TEMP%\SamsungBIOS /E
goto start

The Samsung tool is using the TEMP variable, so the location may vary. And it did detect my system was incompatible and refused to proceed, but it'd be no problem for me if it did flash the bios since I've soldered eeprom sockets on all my laptops anyway:

Spoiler: no-worry flashing

 

@t456: That's awesome. Great job!

Which BIOS does the Clevo use? I ask because if it's a completely different BIOS (say, Phoenix vs AMI) it's probably safer to assume that it won't actually flash, whereas on another Samsung laptop with similar BIOS (but not quite the same) I would be more worried.

Great science experiment. We may need this more often if Samsung's newer BIOS updates only extract after clicking OK.

 

It's also an AMI (Insyde), but it compares the system information strings in each bios:

Spoiler: Samsung Series 7 BIOS pre-flash check

Presumably, if that check passes it'll also compare the current version of the bios (the 'E04' bit). If you'd be running a newer version or the same E04 then I'd guess it'll refuse to proceed? That they'd block backwards flashing is somewhat understandable, but same-version flashing should always be permitted in order to be able to fix bios corruption.

In such a bind you could change the 'Exx' part to, say, 'E10' with AMIBCP and use AFUWIN or AFUDOS to force-flash it (it'll be unsigned after the change). If it's locked down more securely then you could also intercept the current bios's version number in memory (RWE or HxD) and set it to 'E01' instead. You would need to use a debugger such as WinDbg to hook into the flashing tool in order to stop-halt its procedure. This will work because you'd be flashing a 'newer' signed version to what is, as far as the flasher is concerned, an old, antiquated bios. Using a programmer is easier though, assuming you're comfortable with hardware. Then you might as well take the E04, change its version to E01 and hardware-flash that; in case of trouble/corruption you'd be able to flash the 'real' E04.

 

Excellent, thank you for that!

It is great to know that we can run the updater without risk of flashing a wrong BIOS. Of course one would expect it to be this way, but I just haven't been willing to risk it on my own Sammy.

In most cases of semi-bricked Samsung laptops, we're not even looking to flash the BIOS; just be able to extract a BIOS update file for a given model, so that we can use the flashing tool with /cvar /patch to clear NVRAM, which handles the majority of cases. People used to force flash or rollback in an attempt to handle what is simply corrupt NVRAM, not an actual corrupt BIOS.

Flashing with a programmer (EEPROM burner) is usually last resort in these cases (when unable to boot anything) both because most people don't have access to one, and since often the BIOS chips are soldered, particularly on the ULV models.

Thanks again. This is a great contribution to our library of unbricking info.

Edit:
@jmuro are you following this? t456 posted a zipped version of your BIOS update file, so you can use that to proceed with your unbricking.

 

Hey guys,

Thank you so much! I'll try to flash the BIOS and see if it works. Wish me luck!

Yes, I've also tried clicking OK , it checks that you actually have a compatible BIOS for that update. However it didn't extract the files either.

I don't know what caused my laptop to get bricked. The first thing that happened to me was that my HDD died, I tried to boot from an external drive and changed some settings on the BIOS since the disk was not being recognized. I reboot my laptop a couple of times and it just stopped booting.

 

When extracting this file and clicking OK, it probably extracts, then deletes fairly quickly after spotting the mismatched BIOS. That's why you want to use a batch file like the one suggested, which loops ROBOCOPY or XCOPY in order to backup the files quickly before they are deleted.

But based on your description, I have to ask: Are you able to get into BIOS with F2 (tap it 2-3 times per second after a cold power on)?

If so, most likely your problem is NOT a corrupt BIOS/NVRAM, but merely BIOS settings that don't match your HDD (or whichever device you're trying to boot). Incidentally, flashing a BIOS will also reset BIOS settings and clear NVRAM, so it may solve this problem regardless. But if you ARE able to get into BIOS, I would first try to reset BIOS settings to default (F9 on most models). That said, if you ARE able to get into BIOS, you probably already tried that

Remember, if your BIOS is set to UEFI mode (OS Mode Selection = UEFI OS) your boot disk needs to be GPT/FAT32. If your BIOS is set to CSM mode, your boot disk needs to be MBR. You cannot change OS Mode Selection and boot the same disk without wiping and re-installing Windows on it.

 

I'm not able to get to the BIOS and there's no video image (no american megatrends logo or memory count showing up, or whatever should be showing up at the start).

Before getting to this forum I took my Laptop to a repair center, they told me that they needed to flash the bios directly to the motherboard (I think this is related to the EEPROM burner that you mentioned) the problem was that they couldn't find the right BIOS to install. Today I took my laptop back to them because I don't have the tools to do it myself. Hopefully they will be able to get my computer back to life.

I've sent them the links to this wonderful forum and hope they become active members of this community. I'll get back to you as soon as I get news! Thank you!

 

Thank you, that makes complete sense!

So your laptop really is hard bricked. And you were looking for the BIOS files to flash with a hardware programmer (EEPROM burner). I understand now!

Good luck to you. I hope they can salvage your computer now that you have the files. Please let us know the outcome

 

Make sure to have them read out the current eeprom first. The Intel ME also needs to be stored somewhere and they often place bios and me on the same eeprom, the me first and the bios second. The bioses provided by Samsung does not contain one, except if they wanted to update the ME as well. This 04 version is also bios-only.

If the eeprom is 48Mbit then there's no problem; it matches the 6MB (6 x 8) bios files. It's probably an 8MB chip though, so marked '64' for 64 Mbit. Read it out and compare the first two lines of the dump with that of the .cap file. If they match then the .cap bios can be copy/pasted starting at the start of the dump. If not then check at address 20000, so 2MB down and compare again. It'll likely match here, so copy/paste the file starting from this point, overwriting the remainder of the data. You then have a complete set to use; the old me plus the pristine bios. Flashing that 8MB file to the 8MB eeprom would have it up and running again.

ME corruption is pretty rare, so it's not something to look into at this stage.

 

Those instructions seem to state that the NVRAM would have been cleared when I successfully flashed the BIOS, though.

 

Yes, if you succeed in flashing BIOS, that will clear NVRAM as well. I believe that often the reason why flashing a BIOS solves problems, not necessarily because the BIOS itself was corrupt. Many times you won't need to flash the BIOS, since clearing NVRAM alone will solve the problem, particularly ones related to booting and non-working F-keys during boot.

 

Hello everyone! I have a Samsung Series 7 Ultra (NP30U3E-K02RU) with bios P07ABW installed but wanna roll back to P06ABW, Everything I managed to do is to find out the full version of BIOS: samsung P06ABW.063.130905.dg and nothing more. Osfrolov's utility is not available to download from yandexdisk and it can't be found throughout the internet. I tried with link but still was unlucky.

Can anyone help me with finding P06ABW Bios?

 

First of all thank you for pointing out about the broken download link in @osfrolov's post #151. I attached a zipped version of the utility to their post (from when I downloaded it a few years ago).

As you state, the latest BIOS update file for the ABW Platform ID is ITEM_20140325_21340_WIN_P07ABW.exe (according to this link) which can be downloaded directly from Samsung using this link.

The latest version in the cached list of BIOS updates from @isosunrise's guide in the opening post is ITEM_20130118_948_WIN_P02ABW.exe, which can be downloaded using this link. That is admittedly very old!

Many of the problems that drive people to want to roll back their BIOS are actually caused by NVRAM corruption, rather than by an actual BIOS error. I generally suggest to try clearing NVRAM before rolling back, as it can be done using the latest BIOS update file -- which is much easier to find. The procedure is described in several posts in this thread, including my guide in post #350.

If you have already tried that and know that you need to roll back to P06ABW, you can use the BIOSFinder utility (which now should be downloadable again from post #151). It's slow and tedious detective work: The utility simply tries downloading ranges of ID and date combinations that you specify -- and which you must first identify using the cached BIOS list. But it still is a lot faster than trying all those combinations manually!

Good luck. I hope this is some help!

Edit: BTW, I assume your model number is NP730U3E, right (Series 7 Ultra)? Not that it matters as long as you know the Platform ID is ABW.

Edit2: P03ABW download link was found in this post. Still far from P06ABW, but better than the P02ABW download I linked above.

 

Hey, thanks for this info. But I am stuck at this point. When I run the .exe file, it gives me the warning popup that says I don't have the priviledge to run this file and that I need to log into an administrator account or something like that in Korean.I heard in some other place that AMIUCP does the same job as running .exe and copying the extracted files in the Temp folder, but I have no idea how to obtain that tool. Is there any other way to extract the .exe file? Or gain administrator priviledges?

In five mintes I posted my comment I read this and used the administrator cmd to execute the .exe file.