how to restore 2013 Samsung Model NP300E5E to factory?

hi, I'm trying to restore 2013 Samsung Model NP300E5E (Series 3) to factory state, starting with a clean slate.

I called Samsung tech support and they told me to power it off, and power it back on, pressing "F4" key.

When I did, all I got was "Preparing Automatic Repair."

How do I access the hidden recovery partition and restore it to factory default state like Toshiba?

 

Hello invisible heart, welcome to NBR and the Samsung forum.

The way you restore your computer to factory state is as Samsung support said: You press F4 immediately after power on, which will launch Samsung Recovery Solution (SRS -- the recovery software stored on the smaller of two Samsung Recovery partitions). Once SRS has launched you can perform various backup and restore tasks, including restoring the factory image (which is stored on the large Recovery partition). The effect will be to wipe everything on the drive (except Recovery itself) and re-install Windows as when you first got the computer.

If Recovery (F4) refuses to load, it can be caused by (A) software or user actions that corrupted the SRS or (B) changes to BIOS settings that make them incompatible with SRS.

Did you re-install Windows, and if so, which version and steps did you follow? It will help us understand where the problem is and how it might be fixed.

Unfortunately, Windows 8.1 has been known to damage Samsung Recovery during clean install. Also, if you used partition tools (Acronis, Paragon etc) to backup and restore Samsung Recovery partitions, they usually damage Recovery in the process. In that case your best bet is to have Samsung re-image the drive for you or send you a Recovery disc (which is just a Windows OEM disc).

If you changed UEFI mode in your BIOS, that could prevent Recovery from running as well. Try resetting BIOS to default settings and boot F4 again.

Another thing to try is running Samsung Recovery Solution in Windows (there is an app for that). It connects to the underlying SRS on the Recovery partitions and eventually performs the equivalent of an F4 boot to perform the actual restore. If you do not have that SRS app installed in Windows, you can install it with SW Update (where you get all Samsung drivers and software).

Please let us know after trying these. We'll help you the best we can.

 

let me try. THANKS! Your answer ROCKS!

how do I access the BIOS setting? Put it back to default? Thanks.

 

Press F2 immediately after power on. Keep hitting it about every 1/2 second. If it boots into Windows (or gives you a Windows boot menu) you missed it and have to try again. It may take a few tries. You can also try Charms - Settings - Change PC settings - Genral - Advanced startup (that's Win8, 8.1 is a little different).

 

THANKS! Much appreciated.

 

One comment: I always tap the F2 (or other F key as appropriate) about twice per second starting just after pressing the power button. Holding down the F2 key may not register as a key press if the key was pushed down before the BIOS started checking for the event.

John

 

Thanks!

Much appreciated!