Unable to recover with Factory Image USB "This computer is not supported"

Hi all. Laptop model is NP900X3D-A01AU. Win 8 is the OS. Recovery partition on SSD is gone but I had Factory Image backup on USB. I tried recovery few times, I get "This computer does not support recovery" after sometime of loading form USB. I downloaded and SRS 6 Admin Tool and tried creating the partitions etc as per this post - http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/744539-samsung-recovery-problems-factory-image-usb.html
But still same issue, not sure if I am choosing the right options in admin Tool or not? Is there a way to pull out the Win 8 ISO from backup USB. If nothing works I don't mind having a clean Win 8 install but still need the same OEM .iso?

 

I'll take a look, but unfortunately it won't be till tomorrow afternoon or evening (Thu).

Just briefly for now: Getting your factory image backup working is the preferred approach, since we don't know if the Admin Tool you downloaded is the exact same version.

Sounds like your factory image backup boots alright, but fails halfway through restore, is that correct? If you changed UEFI settings in BIOS, make sure to set them back. In fact, restore default BIOS settings, then disable Fast BIOS/Fast Boot.

Also try restoring from different USB ports. Recovery seems to dislike USB3.

As you probably know, SRS is sensitive to the choice of USB stick, I just hope yours is intact.

If you DO have to use the Admin Tool, follow the settings in the post linked below:

Settings for re-partitioning with SRS6 Admin Tool

But if the factory image backup on your USB stick is corrupt, it won't help much, since Admin Tool only creates an empty Recovery. Still, at least you can try and restore from the image on the USB stick after booting the newly created Recovery.

Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to convert the factory image to an ISO. It's not a Setup disk anyway, but a finished installation.

If all fails, you can ask Samsung to send you a so-called Recovery disc, which is a plain Windows disc.

BTW, I saw your post in another thread as well. Please avoid cross posting. I'll clean it up tomorrow.

 

Sorry about double post. So there is no way if finding exact partition layout? It was sold Mar 2013 should I try SRS 5 admin tool?
Spoke to Samsung they are not offering to send disc want me to take to service centre.

 

No SRS5 will not work with your factory image. You have a Win8 UEFI installation for a GPT disk (which requires SRS6) whereas SRS5 was designed for Win7 Legacy BIOS installations on MBR disks.

Try the suggestions in my previous post for making your factory image work.

We know from many other members that Samsung have sent Recovery discs (Windows OEM discs). You could tell them that. After all, you made a proper backup using Samsung Recovery Solution, it is THEIR software that has compatibility issues with some USB sticks -- but fails to mention this or tell the user that the backup is not to be trusted.

If you send the computer in, they will re-image the drive to factory state. The benefit of that is you get working Recovery back.

Edit:

Sorry I missed your question about partition layout. Since your laptop came with Win8, we know it was a GPT disk (SSD in your case) with the following partitions, which are standard on all Samsung Win8 computers (quoted from here):

If you're looking to re-partition with SRS6 Admin Tool (again, SRS5 won't work) make sure you enable both Disk Partitioning (Boot) (1GB) and Disk Partitioning (Data) (20GB should be plenty on your model, 16GB may be enough). Again, follow the advice in this post. You may have to temporarily set OS Mode Selection=UEFI and CSM OS in order to boot the Admin Tool -- but only change it if you have to, otherwise leave it at OS Mode Selection=UEFI OS.

But that will only give you an empty disk -- with working Recovery, but no Windows and nothing to restore. You still have to restore that factory image on the USB stick, which is why your best option is to try and get that USB backup working.

Once again, unfortunately Recovery is finicky about which USB sticks it supports for bootable factory image backups (as described here). But assuming your USB backup is valid and intact, the most likely reasons why your restore is failing are (A) you need to restore UEFI settings in BIOS, or (B) you need to use a different USB port.

There is one other possibility: If your SSD was changed to MBR format, and Recovery (when restoring from the USB stick) is unable to convert it back to GPT (for some reason). You can convert it manually (use the advice here) and try the USB restore again after that.

 

Tried everything still no luck. Is the USB supposed to create partitions etc too on a blank SSD for eg if someone's drive failed, would USB work on the new replacement drive? Installed Win 8 from ISO it worked fine bit just before it gave Windows failed to start error and Win 8 recovery dint fix it so wondering if it has something to do with SSD. Samsung referred to a third party who handles their laptop repairs here in NZ. They charge $115.00 to out factory image back. Don't know if it's worth it.

 

Thank you for the update. Sorry to hear that none of that worked.

When the bootable factory image backup is created and used correctly (as described in this post) it will create all necessary partitions on a new disk, restore working Recovery with factory image, and working Windows factory installation. But as we discussed, Recovery is finicky about that USB stick.

We have had one other case where a member's factory image backup complained that it couldn't create the partitions on the disk (the other thread you saw) and it sounds like your situation is similar -- although your error message is different.

I apologize for harping on the same questions, but I want to make I understand your situation exactly and that you exhausted your options:

1) Did you try setting OS Mode Selection=UEFI OS (NOT UEFI & CSM OS) and retry the restore? Did you get the exact same error as before?

2) Did you try manually wiping and converting your SDD to GPT (using the commands in this post) and retry the restore? Did you get the exact same error as before?

3) Did you try re-partitioning the SSD with SRS6 Admin Tool using the settings from my last post and this post? Did that work? And did you try to restore your factory image after that? Did you get the exact same error as before?

If the answer is YES to all of the above, then I really do suspect your factory image on the USB stick is corrupt, in which case there isn't much else you can do.

With SRS5 you could restore the factory image (called Initial Image in SRS5) to a Windows partition directly using Microsoft's ImageX, without using or re-creating recovery. But I don't know if that is possible with SRS6 images.

For Samsung to charge $115 to re-image the drive is preposterous. The most I have heard is $50, and some have mentioned $30. I would press the case with them that you DID the responsible thing and created a backup using their own tool and the procedure described in their manual (and on this Samsung support site) and it is their software that has failed. There is no disclaimer saying "due to a flaw in SRS the factory image backup may not work when you need it".

That said, if you can get Win8 install media in other ways, it is certainly not worth $115 to have them re-image your drive. You can just wipe it and perform a clean install as described here. Do note the gotchas described in this post.

 

Before I try all this again, just read in this post http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...780z5e-np870z5e-np880z5e-270.html#post9384103 to avoid USB3 flash drives. Could this be the reason, as I used a Corsair USB 3 flash drive? Any way to copy it to a USB 2.0 external drive then try? Since my SSD is now MBR as I had to install Win 8, do I need to convert manually back to GPT before I start the USB restore?
I don't mind trying again and again but just a bit concerned if all fails how many times will Microsoft let me activate Win 8 with the inbuilt key on BIOS as I have already done the install twice with Win 8 iso and it has activate fine so far. Do they ever block a key on BIOS?
Thanks a lot for your help.

 

Ok tried everything you said and same error this computer is not supported and just now after trying few times I got this error.

 

Ok an update just before giving up tried SRS5 and clicked on execute but I guess it converts to MBR at some stage as I got this error. Notice that I did not get this compute is not supported error so after all USB might be ok? I might just give up and put clean win 8.

 

Some members have successfully backed up and restored with USB3 sticks, while others have not. By recommending USB2 sticks in that guide, we try to minimize the risk of any problems. The main issue is that Recovery wants a stick that acts like a Removable Drive, not as a Fixed Disk -- as many new USB sticks are designed to do.

If the problem is with your USB stick, it happened already when you backed up. But there are two things on that stick: (A) Boot manager and Recovery software and (B) your Factory Image. I am hoping that it is just the software that's corrupt, not the image.

Definitely try and restore from a USB2 port if you have one. I thought you had already tried that, since it was in my first response.

But before you do, please wipe the SSD and convert it to GPT as I previously suggested. Recovery should do that when it re-partitions, but if that conversion fails (for some reason) nothing will work. And "computer is not supported" sounds like the kind of error message it might give in that situation. So please convert the SSD to GPT and try a new restore from a USB2 port.

If that fails too, I suggest (again) that you re-partition the SSD with SRS6 Admin Tool, using the settings I gave you. That will put working Recovery on your SSD (and convert it to GPT in the process). Once you have that, try and restore the factory image from USB stick, using the newly installed Recovery.

But forget about SRS5, it will not do you any good with your factory image.