Stuck on Boot Manager! Samsung NP900X4D A03

I need to reset the BIOS because I am stuck on the Boot manager and the list is empty.

I'm not able to get into the BIOS settings via F2 or DEL...

Do you have any trick to reset the settings?
I know that there is a key combo with apple mac books...

Thank you!

 

Will it boot to Windows?

 

If the Samsung Fast Boot is enabled then there is a very short time opportunity to use F2 to get into the BIOS. I start tapping the F2 key as soon as I press the power button to turn the computer on.

John

 

No it doesn't boot to Windows.
Fast Boot is enabled :-(

I tapped a million times on F2...
...even before I pressed the power button

I found this page and I'll give it a try but it takes at least 48hrs to test.

http://bsod.at/236/windows-8-broke-my-pc-samsung-series-9-bios-reset/

I'll report as soon as I have any results...
If you have any suggestions meanwhile, feel free to reply ;-)

 

Wow, I hope this isn't a pervasive problem. Does this only happen on UEFI?

 

If it is a blue square, then there should actually be two lists, and one is named App.. If you press TAB or Right arrow, do you get a Setup option?

 

I tried it yesterday but it didn't work - that list is also empty :-(

I never had such problems without UEFI...

 

That sounds bad then, I never had the setup option not show up.

If you have not modified it, you should do a warranty request.

If you have done something to void the warranty, you could try removing the hard drive. I believe some bits of UEFI get stored on there.

 

Hi booze87

You are not alone!
I'm having the same problem while I tried doing a clean UEFI install of Win8 on my new Crucial SSD.
I did disable fast boot and secure boot.
I can boot on USB and get to the install of Win 8, but during install I get an error about files missing. Removed the USB key and hitting F2 does nothing. However I can get a boot menu showing my SSD and pane in the menu saying App Menu (which normally lists Setup as an option), but not anymore...
I have a few thing I will try out and get back when/if I find a solution

 

Replacing a hard drive shouldn't void the warranty. But that doesn't matter, I also tried to remove and replace the SSD. It had the effect that the boot menu displayed some seconds earlier.

If the CMOS-reset won't help, Samsung has to help me ;-)

 

I finally got Win8 installed on the Crucial SSD. But no getting in to Bios setup..
I tried clearing CMOS (both with & without SSD installed) and changing back to my U100 SSD, which still boots fine, still getting in to Bios setup however..
I'm done for tonight...

 

Unfortunately it does according to their terms

BUT... they specifically write, "exchanging the HDD voids the warranty because you must dismantle the laptop to access it."

You could say that you never exchanged the HDD, only that you opened it to look for a way to reset the BIOS, and it literally says "exchanging the HDD voids the warranty"....

Edit: In that case you might also have better luck going directly to the place you bought it from, if it's a large store chain. They might be less inclined to notice or care about something like that before shipping a replacement.

 

After the return period of a machine is up, retailers won't get involved.

 

@booze87
Did you try a Bios upgrade/downgrade?

 

In Germany the retailer is your partner for returns in warranty issues or you contact the manufacturer directly.
I put the original sandisk SSD back... I think that they shouldn't recognize it. If CMOS clean doesn't help I'll drive to the retailer. Date of purchase is the 4th of january this year.

it's the latest version. But I'm not getting through the Boot Manager. When I press the ESC-button the laptop restarts.

 

I have a former Bios file P03APK, which I'll try if I dare, I'm afraid it might do more damage if I try roll back the Bios. Before installing Win8 on my Crucial I could boot from USB, otherwise I might be able to do the roll back in Windows.

I'm in Denmark, I'll probably install the Sandisk too and contact the retailer or Samsung.
Let me know if you get any solution from yours, I'll of course do the same.

 

There have been a number of Series 5, 7 and 9 boot issues in the last few months, most likely related to Windows 8 and UEFI, so Samsung shouldn't be surprised by another occurrence. As long as the hardware in the computer is what Samsung supplied then they should fix it. They don't do a forensic examination to see if the computer has been opened. Trying to install Linux is one of the causes of BIOS problems should they ask how it happened so there's no need to mention that you were trying to swap the SSD.

John

 

So I called Samsung support and they came with the solution that works for me.
They say that when using UEFI you can't enter Bios settings using F2, but you can this way:

In Windows 8 go to Charms menu, Settings, Change PC settings, General, Advanced start-up, Restart, Restart now, Troubleshoot Advanced options, UEFI firmware settings, restart.

Voilá, BIOS settings menu appears!

 

Bad for those who can't load Windows
I called Samsung and they'll send a return ticket for UPS to me within 24hrs.

But @Sunday I'll try if my CMOS-reset works or not.

Or you open charms, settings, shutdown hold SHIFT and click on restart. ;-)

Gesendet von meinem Galaxy Nexus mit Tapatalk 2

 

It didn't work for me to reset CMOS settings via unplugging the CMOS battery and waiting for >48hrs.

Next option: use the RMA ticket and let Samsung repair my laptop...

Guys, sometime you have to believe in your wife's words...
She said "Why don't you try pressing F4 to recover as the Samsung guy said?"

I pressed F4 for recovery on Friday but nothing happened. But I think that the disconnection of power was the key...

Nethertheless, Samsung Recovery works now!
I'll see if I can fill the boot entries now. Thank you for your suggestions

Update:

Samsung Recovery recovered the system partition but it didn't recovered BIOS settings.
Same problem now - no boot entries!

D##n it...

Problem is that fast boot is enabled but I don't have any chance to deactivate it without loading Windows. That's hilarious! not...

 

I also lost the way to get into the Bios through Windows troubleshoot completely, most likely because I change the secure boot option to CSM, in order to get it to recognize my Crucial SSD.
I got the laptop to recognize the Crucial SSD after partitioning and formatting it using Gparted, and installed a clean Win8. The new install could not be activated though and the access to Bios through Windows troubleshoot didn't show.
I'll try contacting Samsung support again, but I think I have to send it in for repair now.
I'm so tired of this UEFI ...

 

I read about bricked mainboards and all those things with series 9 after installing linux... hope that they repair mine w/o any problems

 

I had no issues but I didn't use gparted. I just let Windows 8 partition and format the Crucial M4.

 

I'll clone Windows 8 partition with EaseUs Disk Copy. Had no problems with it in the past. ;-)

btw: my device is in the repairs now - they're replacing some parts

 

I managed to get the Bios to recognize the Sandisk SSD again, and have now access to UEFI Bios again through Windows 8.
The trick was to do a Bios reset which resets it to defaults.:
Unplug battery and Cmos battery, press hold powerbutton for min. 1 minute, after min. 1 hour reconnect batteries and boot.
However I'm still having problems recognizing my Crucial SSD via USB so I can make copy of the Sandisk SSD.
If I install the Crucial SSD in the laptop I can do a clean install of Win 8, but then I miss an activation key.
Any ideas?

 

Why do you think this? I had no issues installing Windows 8 using the embedded key that came with my NP900X3D-A02US. It activated immediately after a connection to the internet was made.

 

I´ll give it a try.
My problem activating was probably that I installed Windows 8 Pro (since I had a key for it, which unfortunately has been used to many times)

 

Update: I sent it to Samsung on Monday and received it on Friday with a replaced main board ... quite fast for a repair service, isn't it?

First things I did were replacing the SSD with the crucial m4 256GB and a little RAM update to 16 GB (Nobody needs 16 GB but I've got a cheap source for RAM )
Does somebody know how to create a recovery partition with samsung's software? I tried to clone the recovery partition but it says that it can't find any recovery partition.
If it won't work I'll use acronis for backups.

 

One can't complain about that turnaround speed. They obviously have some spare parts (which country?). I presume they have the wherewithal to fix the BIOS or other problems and then can use the board in the next machine that comes in with a bricked BIOS.

To create a recovery partition you will have to put back the original SSD and follow Dannemand's instructions here to create the USB Admin tool. Personally I use Acronis to image onto an external USB 3.0 HDD.

John

 

I ended up returning the Crucial M4 drive to the supplier and hopefully I will get a new working replacement drive tomorrow

 

Hi guys, I found a way to solve this problem. I have a Samsung NP-500P4С.
After removal of ubuntu I lost bios.
decision:
Downgrade 2 BIOS version on the back and one forward.
If the matter is urgent, can not fully paint all the action: where to get the firmware .rom, etc.
Sorry for my English.