Settings/Easy Settings - what you need to know

I couldn't sleep last night, got up on the computer, and discovered a new Settings version 2.1.0.20 which is now offered in SW Update under NP940X3G (the first Samsung Haswell model). Maybe you guys had already seen that version, in which case this qualifies as a Jerry McGuire bad pizza post. But it was new to me. And I had salmon last night, which seemed to taste all right

The new Settings has some surprises!

Instead of creating a new thread just about that, or posting about it in various individual threads, I decided to create a general Settings/Easy Settings thread where I hope to gather more information on this important topic.

My ambition is to turn this opening post into Everything you always wanted to know about [Easy] Settings but were afraid to ask. For now it will be just the quick lowdown, including pointers to various other posts. I'll update later, including screenshots.

Features

Easy Settings (for Win7) and Settings (for Win8) is the most important Samsung software for your laptop. In fact, it is the only Samsung software (beyond basic hardware drivers) required for normal operation. All other Samsung utilities (pre-installed and offered through SW Update) are optional or even outright bloat (depending on whether you want them).

[Easy] Settings provide the following features (that I am aware of):

- Fn-Keys: A few Fn-keys (such as Volume up/down) are supported directly by Windows, but others (such as Brightness and Keyboard Backlight) require [Easy] Settings in order to work. For Win7 users who want ONLY the Fn-keys, and none of the other features, the Easy Settings keyboard module can be "sideloaded" as described in this thread. That is NOT possible with Settings (Win8) but it has a smaller footprint than Easy Settings anyway.

- Power Management: Samsung provides special power modes ( Silent Mode and Eco Mode) supported by firmware features as well as different Windows Power Profiles. See the posts here and here for more details. Settings v2.1.x (Win8) seems to no longer use the Samsung Optimized power profile, but instead relies on the good old Balanced profile. The Power Saver profile is still used for Silent Mode and Eco Mode.

- Keyboard Backlight: Whereas Screen Brightness can be controlled directly in Windows Power settings, Keyboard Backlight can ONLY be controlled if [Easy] Settings is installed. Both Fn-keys and a control center tab is provided.

- Adaptive Brightness: This feature (which many users would rather get rid of and control brightness manually) is configured in a number of different places, depending on model and Windows version, as described in the posts here and here. One of the central places is the [Easy] Settings control center (Settings v2.0.0.49 and newer).

- Display Color: Provides a choice of various color profiles -- as an alternative to manually creating and loading an ICC profile using the Windows Color management control panel.

- Airplane Mode / toggling WiFi & Bluetooth: Most Samsung laptops can toggle WiFi & Bluetooth radios using Fn-12 and/or using the [Easy] Settings control center. Easy Settings (Win7) allows the Bluetooth adapter to be enabled/disabled (and to save this setting between reboots) causing the BT module to completely power off (disappear from the Windows Device tree). Settings (Win8) does NOT provide this feature, but instead relies on Charms - Settings - PC Settings - Wireless to enable/disable Bluetooth. (This feature is only available if Samsung's Bluetooth driver is installed. I personally prefer Win8's slimmer built-in BT driver, although it doesn't provide this toggle). However, disabling BT in Win8 merely disables it in Device Manager, it does not appear to fully power off the BT module.

- ExpressCache: On models with ExpressCache, [Easy] Settings control center provides a switch to enable/disable it. Easy Settings (Win7) also provides cache statistics and a cache Reset option. Statistics and Reset are NOT available in Settings (Win8). Also, the latest Settings 2.1.x no longer has the ExpressCache tab at all.

- BIOS settings for USB charging, Fast Boot, BLE: [Easy] Settings provides tabs to control those BIOS settings directly from inside Windows. Only BIOS features actually available on each model show up in [Easy] Settings. For example, models that do NOT have Battery Life Extender in BIOS, will NOT have a BLE tab in [Easy] Settings. Similarly for models that do NOT have Fast Boot in BIOS.

- Boot Optimization / Samsung Fast Boot Mode: A nefarious feature (in my opinion) only available in Easy Settings (Win7) which delays loading of various Windows and 3rd party startup tasks until after user login, in order to create the appearance of a faster boot time. It can cause problems with some apps. See this post for description of this and other similarly named (but different) features.

- Samsung Fast Start Mode: A firmware level feature which causes the PC to wake up from Sleep whenever the lid is opened (not otherwise standard Windows behavior). On some models, it also turns off the power LED during sleep (as opposed to blinking slowly). Easy Settings (Win7) allows this feature to be enabled/disabled. Settings versions prior to 2.1.x (Win8) enable this feature, whereas Settings version 2.1.0.20 seems to keep it disabled. (I like the blinking LED that indicates Sleep.) No Settings versions seem to have a tab to enable/disable Fast Start. Again, see this post for descriptions of the various "fast this and rapid that" features.

- Network controls: Allow rudimentary LAN configuration and creating a WiFi hotspot.

- SoundAlive: Provides a choice of various equalizer and room environment profiles -- as an alternative to the Realtek control panel.

- Voice Recording: Provides microphone configuration -- as an alternative to the Sound control panel. This feature seems to be new in Settings v2.1.x.

- Touchpad: Allows enabling/disabling the touchpad (same as Fn-F5). The Touchpad control panel in Windows can automatically disable the touchpad when a USB mouse is connected.

Win7 vs Win8 packages

Easy Settings is the package for Win7 and Settings is the package for Win8.

I generally do NOT recommend installing Easy Settings in Win8, as some have tried. It can probably work to some extent, but Easy Settings is a very hacky implementation, with some of its modules barely even compatible with Win7 -- for which it was designed. The Samsung Fast Startup Mode feature, for example, would never pass any Microsoft compliance tests.

Settings is generally a much cleaner implementation, specifically designed for Win8, and tying into the new menus and startup architecture. Whether you like Win8 or not (there are reasons for both) its startup is different from Win7 and pretty smooth. Installing Easy Settings would simply load a ton of baggage that even Win7 would be better off without.

How to get the latest version

The way to get Settings, Easy Settings -- and ANY Samsung drivers and software -- is by using SW Update to pull them from Samsung's drivers database. Samsung stopped posting driver updates on their web site quite some time ago, and all updates must be pulled this way. Whatever is still on the website is almost certainly outdated.

If you don't have SW Update already, you can download it from the link below:

http://orcaservice.samsungmobile.com/SWUpdate.aspx

SW Update can automatically install drivers and software for the machine and Windows version on which it is installed. I generally recommend this approach for most (though not ALL) drivers, as described in this Win7 install guide or this (more rudimentary) Win8 install guide.

Unfortunately, Samsung stopped updating older Win7 models with new Easy Settings versions in SW Update. It's as if they left Win7 behind altogether.

However, SW Update also provides the excellent Find Model feature, which allows you to look up any Samsung model (including your own) and download Win7 or Win8 drivers for that model using the Export feature, which saves the installation package locally.

For a long time, the only way to get ANY Easy Settings newer than v1.x was to look up a new laptop model and save the Settings package (for Win8). Oddly enough, that package would include a Win7 folder containing the latest version of Easy Settings. That is why you will see many posts like this one which describe how to get the latest Easy Settings (for Win7) by downloading the Settings v2.0.0.55 package (for Win8).

It seems there is a simpler way now.

Following is the easiest way to get the latest v2.0.0.48 of Easy Settings for Win7 (if SW Update does not automatically offer it for you): Use Find Model to look up model NP880Z5E-X03CA, select Windows 7, uncheck all the listed files except Easy Settings, and click Export.



Following is the easiest way to get the latest "verified" v2.0.0.55 of Settings for Win8 (if SW Update does not automatically offer it for you): Use Find Model to look up model NP880Z5E-X03CA, select Windows 8, uncheck all the listed files except Settings, and click Export.



New Settings v2.1.x

The newer Settings version 2.1.0.20 which is now offered under NP940X3G (which prompted me to write this post) improves certain things (such as footprint and latency spikes), but it also loses some features (such as ExpressCache and BLE). Other than that, the most important difference is that the Samsung Optimized power profile is no longer installed, and the good old Balanced profile is used by default. The Power Saver profile is still used in Silent and Eco Mode.

I am still testing it myself, and not yet ready to recommend it. However, of course feel free to try it out -- I assume that's what everybody will be doing anyway

If you do install this version, note that any power profile tweaks you have made (such as the ones for WiFi described here, or the general ones described here and here) must be made again.

Also note that Settings v2.1.0.20 does NOT contain a Win7 folder with Easy Settings like previous Settings packages did.

Again, this is just my first iteration of this post. Any suggested additions or changes are highly welcome!

 

Update Jan 1, 2015
Click here for latest versions of Settings and Easy Settings

Update Feb 3, 2015
Tested version 2.0.0.89

 

I still have 2.1.14.1 version of SW Update installed on my laptop since the 2.1.17 one doesn't seem to detect my laptop model (It always asks me to find my model from the list). Does the 2.1.0.20 version detect the laptop model immediately?

EDIT: Nevermind. Even after reading through all your post, I still managed to confuse SW Update with Settings. I think I need to sleep now >.<

 

I've got the same problem with the latest SW Update, it only lets you manually select a model then export all the latest drivers to disk.

I'm using a Series 7 Chronos 17.3 (NP700Z7C-S01UK).

 

As timepolice realized, and added in his post, this thread is about Settings and Easy Settings, not about SW Update. But I am not going to hold that against you

The issue you both mention about SW Update is one that we've heard a few times, and I am afraid I don't know what the cause or the solution is. It seems as if on some machines, SW Update is not able to properly detect the model number. I assume it pulls that number from the BIOS.

Questions that may help shed some light on this:

1) Are you running the original (factory) installation or did you perform a clean Windows installation?

2) Did you change the UEFI settings in BIOS?

3) Do you still have the Recovery partition(s) on the main disk?

4) If you DID perform a clean Windows installation, which drivers did you install? From SW Update or from OEM websites?

Note that I am not suggesting that doing any of these things are wrong. I am just trying to understand what might cause this phenomenon, whether it is tied to the Recovery partition, or maybe affected by a change in BIOS settings.

 

I have a problem: when I activate and Eco-Mode in Settings my energy value is higher than when I don't activate it. What can be the problem?

 

Does your Eco Mode turn off the WiFi? That could leave various programs continuously searching for the internet which has disappeared (unless you use the wired network connection).

You might be able to trouble-shoot this by using Task Manager to view the CPU utilisation or set Eco Mode to not turn off the WiFi.

John

 

No, my Wi-Fi is always on. Even when Eco-Mode is activated.

 

So I'll try another theory: Eco Mode and Silent Mode both use the Power Saver power plan which, by default, locks the CPU down to its lowest speed so, if there is moderate to high CPU utilisation then the CPU spends a greater proportion of its time running and less in the low power sleep states. The net result being increased power consumption.

I recall the relative merits of making the CPU run slowly (lower instantaneous power consumption) vs running faster, finishing the job and going to sleep being debated some years ago. Perhaps this discussion is still relevant. Personally, I have opted for the latter approach.

John

 

My first thought was along the (embarrassingly simple) line of whether your Brightness is set the same for both power profiles? Windows remembers the brightness setting with each profile, which sometimes can cause higher Brightness when switching to Power Saver -- and seems counter-intuitive until you realize why it happens.

I even remember professional reviews that described bewilderment that Samsung chose to increase Brightness in Silent and Eco Modes, while this is just standard Windows behavior.

In other words: If you reduce Brightness in Eco Mode does it still use more power?

You can also compare other settings in the two power profiles: If (for instance) you have beefed up WiFi performance (as is generally recommended) but only got to do so in the Power Saver profile, you may also see higher power consumption in Eco Mode.

As John mentioned, in addition to switching profile, Eco and Silent Modes also lock the CPU down to a low speed. This is implemented on the firmware level, not through the power profiles. In other words, you could set your Power Saver profile to run the CPU faster than Samsung Optimized, and it would still run slower in Eco and Silent Modes. I tried it, because I wasn't sure if Eco/Silent Mode was implemented ONLY through the power profiles.

These power management features are discussed in more detail in this post.

 

Samsung Model SB900X4B-A02US with Windows 8.1 keyboard backlighting now working using v2.0.0.55 of Settings for Win8 offered under model NP880Z5E-X03CA , Keyboard backlighting did NOT work with newer Settings version 2.1.0.20. Thank you Thank you Thank you

 

Sorry about the thread hijacking from me... it was the only reference to someone else with this problem I could find when I searched.

I think I found the reason for this and a workaround, in that I am using Windows 8.1 Preview and it probably started from then... anyway it's working fine for me now by running it in Windows 8 compatibility mode. (Right click SW Update from Start, open location, right click it and Troubleshoot Compatibility).

 

No worries, I meant it jokingly. But it is telling that you were the second member who posted about SW Update. I don't have a covering that here.

And thanks for confirming about SW UPdate having to run in compatibility mode under Win 8.1. Member lunkan found the same, as described in the thread linked below.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...updates-need-search-my-modell-every-time.html

Clearly we'll have to update many guides now with 8.1 coming out -- also because the Charms menu is completely restructured.

 

Note: this discussion is continued from here.

Good job getting that working. Samsung software makes us creative, if nothing else

Resuming from sleep on Lid Open is so intuitive, many users assume it's standard Windows behavior, to the point they think something is broken when it doesn't work -- when in fact (and as you point out) it's an add-on feature (Samsung Fast Start) delivered with Easy Settings (Win7) and Settings (Win8).

It's been so long, I couldn't remember what the different modules in Easy Settings are (had to Google this post to remember). Unfortunately Fast Start isn't one of the modules being loaded as Scheduled Tasks. But since you find Fast Start working after enabling it in the Control Center (until next reboot) it may be part of the loading of SmartSetting (one of those Scheduled Tasks).

You may have to fully install Easy Settings 1.x in order to see the EXE file name and parameters used in the Scheduled Task for SmartSetting -- then uninstall the entire thing again (keeping a copy of the program files) and try sideloading both EasyDisplayMgr (dmhkcore, for your Fn-keys) and SmartSetting (whatever the EXE, for Fast Start). Shortcuts in Startup is fine, just make sure to keep the same parameters Easy Setting had in its scheduled Tasks.

My only concern with this approach is whether loading SmartSetting (in order to activate Fast Start) will also kill your Bluetooth again. But you'll find that out soon enough

And you're right, unfortunately these tricks only work in Easy Settings 1.x. Version 2.x really is better behaved in general, with everything loading through a service instead of Scheduled Tasks -- but it means we can no longer select which modules to load (until someone figures out how to tweak its CmdServer module). Member mmortal3 has dug deeper than most into Easy Settings, and posted some of findings in the latencies thread.

 

Yep, unfortunately that's exactly what it does. Oh well, this is workable. I can just toggle on the lid action every restart or press the button if I forget. No big deal, I only need bluetooth for my mouse to watch movies when I'm on the road anyway. So to summarize, the 7260 can be installed on the S9 and gives better wifi performance IMO. However, you will either lose bluetooth or persistant wake on lid open functionality.

 

LOL

It was worth a shot, though (easy for me to say, since you did all the work )

And thank you for posting your results with the 7260.

You may find this to be different in Win8, where toggling Bluetooth only works when Samsung's own Bluetooth driver package is installed -- which then causes toggles to show up both in Samsung Settings and in Win8's Charms-Settings-Change PC settings-Wireless. If that Bluetooth package is NOT installed, Samsung Settings doesn't touch Bluetooth at all. So it's possible you could have both working Bluetooth and Fast Start (which is hard coded in Samsung Settings) and all the other Settings features in Win8. No guarantees, of course...

 

Interesting, I may have to try that. I did get 8.1 installed, but rolled back after I couldn't figure out the lid action there, I must've missed it in settings. I guess if it all worked it would be worth the trouble of migrating my software licenses. W8.1 has been going good on my HTPC (fingers crossed).

 

Settings (Win8) just implements Fast Start with no option to disable it. One exception was Settings 2.1.0.20 (if I remember correctly) which lost Fast Start (maybe it was just on my NP700Z3A). But it worked again in Settings 2.2.0.5. I ended up reverting to Settings 2.0.0.55 which I found to be the best fit for my model.

I actually prefer to have Fast Start disabled: The power LED blinks slowly to let me know the computer is asleep (not powered off) and it doesn't wake up before I decide to press the power button.

 

It doesn't seem to be working in 2.2.0.5 on W8.1 for me. There is no trick to getting it working?

 

You mean Fast Start isn't working at all? Or that the Bluetooth thing isn't working?

For Win8, I would say try an earlier Settings, such as 2.0.0.55. But for 8.1, Settings versions earlier than 2.1 have problems (they don't work, actually).

Even though I managed to install 8.1 on my test partition and get everything working, I still use Win8 as my daily driver. 8.1 seems to work harder in the background and burn through my battery faster, and Settings 2.0.0.55 supports more features on my model than the later ones.

BTW, I am considering moving this discussion, including the recent posts about [Easy] Settings, Fast Start, sideloading etc, to the thread linked below instead.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/729139-settings-easy-settings-what-you-need-know.html

 

Well, both. But maybe fast start is working, just not with rapid start. I have the rapid start timer set to 3 minutes. If I close the lid and open before 3 minutes it wakes up but after 3 minutes I have to press the power button, I think. Has anyone ever gotten rapid start working with lid open on Windows 8.1? Am I correct in assuming that fast start does not work with windows hibernation, only sleep?

Bluetooth does have a toggle in settings 2.2.0.5 and it sees my mouse, it just won't install correctly. I probably need to add the intel driver, but it's all moot if I don't have wake on lid open from completely powered down and I will retreat to W7 where it sort of works. Sorry, this discussion has strayed from this thread, it's ok to move it. Thanks for your help.

 

I have never seen my Sammy resume from hibernation by opening the lid -- not even with Fast Start enabled. From Sleep, yes of course, but hibernation is a full power off. Maybe Intel Rapid Start somehow makes that happen (I don't have that). If so, there must be some competition between IRSTR and Samsung Fast Start ([Easy] Settings) about who controls the Open-Lid event.

As you hopefully found, I DID move the discussion. And I think I was the one who led it away from the WiFi topic of the original thread

 

Thanks for the help. My guess would be Settings 2 does not make an allowance for rapid start as Easy Settings did. I suppose I could try easy settings on W8.1, but I'd probably be left with the same bluetooth issue, if it even worked. I asked over in the IRST thread, maybe someone has found a way.

 

I would NOT advise installing Easy Settings on Win8. It's hacky enough for Win7 (for which it was "designed" - quotation deliberate, as in "giant laser" ) and can cause actual mess on Win8. Although some have done it...

 

Yeah I'll stick with W7 for now. It looks like fast start is not working at all on W8.1. It may be because I did not install with uefi, so settings 2 is not fully compatible.

 

Got it. It's ironic that I would prefer NOT to have Fast Start (so that the Power LED blinks slowly during sleep, and I have to deliberately push the power button to wake it up). But on Win8 with Settings 2.0.0.55 (which is my preferred combo for performance, stability and feature support) there is no way to disable Fast Start; the feature is hard coded into Settings.

Just goes to show how complaints such as "why doesn't this stupid Samsung laptop wake up when I open the lid?" and "why DOES this stupid Samsung laptop wake up just because I open the lid?" are both moot, because we all have different preferences

I think we've covered that discussion. Thank you for your tests and input.

 

The disadvantage of having IRST working and the computer waking up on lid open is that it bypasses any BIOS password.

John

 

Hello, can anyone help me? I have an old samsung notebook from year 2010, model R528. I'm going to add 2gb of RAM and would like to install Windows 8.1 64bit. SW Update doesn't have my model in any list. Product webpage has only Samsung Display Manager to download. So my thinking is - can the Settings handle my notebook at all?

 

What is the full model number?

Samsung's website has numerous downloads for NP-R528-DA01IN. Make sure you have a full set of Windows 7 drivers / software backed up before you change anything.

However, that list does not include Easy Settings but has various other Easy packages which Easy Settings (superseded by Settings) combined into one.

I would suggest you get Easy Settings version 2 which is inside the Settings V 2.0.0.38 package (SW Update > Find Model > United Kingdom >Series 9 > NP900X4C-A02UK > Windows 8) and see if that works with your Windows 7. The key functionality is the Fn keys. If it does work then there is a good chance that Settings V2 for Windows 8 will also work.

Any Windows 8.1 installation is done at your own risk so make sure you have everything backed up in case you need to reinstall Windows 7.

John

 

Thank you, John.

Full model number is np-r528-ds04ua.
Does Settings control cpu clocks, fan speed, ram clocks, so on? So could it possibly handle them wrong because the application designed for newer hardware? 180MB installator looks scary.

 

The CPU, fan and RAM are managed at the BIOS level although Settings will install the Samsung power plans.

The Settings installer includes much that isn't relevant to any individual model.

I suggest you try Easy Settings V2 with your current Windows 7 installation and see what happens (if you are worried then first do a Windows Restore point. Unlike Easy Settings V1, Easy Settings V2 has the same basic core as Settings V2.

John

 

It worked. Easy Settings on my old laptop with Win7, almost all Fn keys react correctly. Except it doesn't control Wifi module and it installed some microsoft virtual wifi miniport device. I can only turn Wifi on/off by BIOS. Maybe a newer version of Settings could do it? It opens configuration tab on a Fn+f9(wifi) press though. Also Speedup key doesn't toggle power plans like it used to but Silent Mode on/off.

 

That is normal behavior for Easy Settings: On most models Fn-F9 will take you to the wireless tab in the control center (where you should be able to toggle wifi), and Fn-F11 toggles Silent Mode. I realize that could be different from how individual modules worked on previous models.

 

I have a problem with the Settings app on my Ativ Book 9 Plus.

On my original Win 8 factory image, Settings ran fine. I updated all my drivers with Windows Update and SW Update, then found that when I run Settings, it no longer displays the user interface - although the icon appears on the task bar. If I hover over the task bar icon, I can see it's only rendered a white square. I don't have another monitor connected, so it's not that the UI is on another screen. It looks like Settings is incompatible with one of the installed drivers and has got stuck.

I've since reinstalled from scratch with Win 8.1 Pro and have exactly the same problem - Settings worked initially, then fails to open after completing all updates.

I've got the latest Settings app (2.2.0.5) and have tried running in Win 8 compatibility mode, which made no difference. I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling Settings too.

Any ideas?

 

I would try using a different version of Settings. You can find a selection using the Find Model facility in SW Update. It's a generic program so you don't need to use whatever is listed for your notebook.

John

 

John, thanks for the suggestion. I just found a later version (2.2.0.7) listed under a different model. This had exactly the same problem, but... I just managed to find the solution.

My taskbar was docked at the right edge of the screen. I tried docking it back to the bottom and the Settings window sprung into view! Upon experimenting, I can see that Settings is visible when the task bar is in any position *except* the right edge.

So thanks Samsung for not testing your software properly

 

Under which model did you find 2.2.0.7? Thanks,

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk

 

np900x3g-k01uk

 

Wow, that's almost like an easter egg. Good catch! And thank you for sharing about Settings 2.2.0.7 being out.

Do note that, even though Settings is generic and can be installed on all models, some older versions of Settings contain features no longer found in later versions. Specifically, version 2.0.0.55 still contains Battery Life Extender and ExpressCache (for models which have those features) while the newer 2.1.x and 2.2.x versions do NOT contain those. You can still use BLE and EC, but without tabs in Settings to control them.

Another observation is that SW Update apparently has multiple tracks of Settings versions: If you have version 2.0.0.55 installed, SW Update may not offer any updates. But if you install version 2.1.x, SW Update will start offering newer 2.2.x versions. At least that's what happens on my older NP700Z3A.

Another note (just because I've seen it mentioned recently): As described in the opening post of this thread, Win7 users do NOT need to use the old trick of downloading Settings (from the Win8 list) then pulling Easy Settings 2.x from that package. If you lookup NP880Z5E-X03CA (or other late 2013 model with Win7 support) SW Update has the latest Easy Settings 2.0.0.48 listed directly under Win7 drivers.

 

That's useful to know. fortunately, my Task Bar is on the left side.

Perhaps they assume that the right side of the screen is reserved for the Charms bar.

John

 

This may be off-topic but I have a problem that I really REALLY need a new key shortcut for brightness controlling. With the new glorious nvidia driver my samsung app struggles hard but cannot gradate the brightness level properly. I tried different versions.
Can somebody help me? Can you help me, John? Thank you.

 

I wonder whether adaptive brightness is at work. See this thread.

John

 

These latest versions seem to have bug on my XE700T1C-A02AU when running win 7. Not sure what the expected operation is(came pre-installed win8) but smartrotation.exe runs as a foreground app(is it supposed to seen when pressing ALT-TAB?) and puts a invisible window (or wall) in the middle of my my screen and when you click, it takes focus off the running app and does nothing. It's annoying when buttons come up and and clicking doesn't work.

Similar to:
Mouse can't click in centre of screen - Windows
where solution was uninstall but actually upgrade software:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- FAQ Pro31Jm

Workaround was to restart the dwm.exe process or just plain kill the smart rotation, until i found another later version easy settings 2.0.0.63 found in NP915S3G-K03AU under win7. the app is still there in ALT-TAB but at least the it doesn't have window so to speak. However you can accidentally ALT-TAB to do it and then ALT-F4 close it accidentally as well. So i guess it should not seen in the the tab menu.

Various web searching proved this issue to be extremely rare for any software (or i'm not using the right search terms),

 

Hello!

SW Update on my NP300 laptop with Windows 7 recommends to install settings 2.0.0.63 . I know, this program only for Windows 8. Can I allow this update?

 

That's odd, if SW Update offers Settings while running Win7. I wonder if Samsung merged the two, so that Settings that works on both platforms.

If you're adventurous, you can go ahead and try it - though I would definitely uninstall the current Easy Settings first (an reboot).

I won't have opportunity to test this myself the next few days. But I'll be very interested to hear of any discoveries.

 

Maybe, it works fine on Win7, but now I need my PC working fine, so I keep preinstalled easy settings version.

 

The best thing is to export the package from SW Update and then look inside. I think you will find there are both win7 and Win8 folders. The installer (inst.exe) checks the operating system and then runs either the Win7 or the Win8 setup as appropriate (you can see the script with the instructions in inst.ini).

Out of curiosity I have just downloaded Easy Settings 2.0.0.72 listed for Windows 7 on the NP900X3F-K01UK. It contains both the Win 7 and Win 8 folders. I suspect that Samsung are now using the names "Easy Settings" or "Settings" interchangeably. (BTW, this version seems to have an ExpressCache tab).

John

 

Thank you!

Of course, I downloaded this package and look inside. Subfolder "win 7" is empty.

 

Excellent, thank you John.

These recent updates to the 2.0.x branch of Settings (and Easy Settings) - parallel to the 2.2.x branch for the Haswell models - confirm that Samsung does indeed keep them on separate paths: As long as you're still on 2.0.x SW Update will offer newer 2.0.x versions; but once you install 2.2.x (or 2.1.x) it will offer the latest 2.2.x.

I think they meant for the 2.2.x branch to only be used with the newer models. And it couldn't be just the lack of BLE and ExpressCache tabs (which were stripped in 2.1.x and 2.2.x) those always only appeared on models with those hardware features anyway.

I wonder if 2.1/2.2 interact differently with the hardware. The use of BIOS calls in [Easy] Settings was always a mess - and possibly one of the reasons for Samsung's Win8.1 problems.

I'm just guessing, as always...

 

Had a chance to test this out on my W8.1 image in between reimaging W7. It works! So that plus rapid start will make W8.1 almost optimal. Just need MS to hurry up on that start menu update they've got in the works. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the 7260's bluetooth working and SW update left its notification center after uninstalling it so I may need to start from scratch with a fresh W8.1 setup when I migrate. Anyway, more than you needed to know, but thanks a lot for testing it.