Windows 10: Drivers needed for a Samsung mSATA 512GB SSD (PM841 ??)

Yes it should enable you to confirm if it's working or not.
Probably need Amazon which seems to have quite a few for something like that though.

 

No shouldn't matter, I'd use the 64 bit. Try both if you want.

 

If it comes to it, I guess I will just have to.
But are Digicare correct in saying that Samsung don't recommend installing Windows 10 AT ALL on my PC "due to compatible [SIC] issues with drivers"
- or do we think it's a problem with any 512GB SSD,
- or a problem with my model of SSD...?


Meanwhile I have run all the updates and Windows 10 x64 is running fine on my 128GB SSD.
There are no "!"s visible in the Device Manager.

 

OK I have booted off the DVD drive even though the 128GB SSD is in place.
Having installed Windows 10 x64 onto the 128GB SSD, I now find that Windows created a special new 500MB partition, that I swear wasn't there before! Fwiw, it is still saying "Windows can't be installed" on either of the two partitions that are now visible. The reasons given are because it has an MBR partition table, whereas on EFI systems windows can only be installed to GPT disks. I have no idea what any of that means, but the fact is that Window HAS been installed on the physical disk because I just ran it.

I have no idea if the above is a problem or whether it is just a complicated way for Windows to say that it has already been installed on this disk(!)





EDIT: Meanwhile I have been back in touch with Samsung via Digicare's phone number and they are going to double-check their official position on 512GB SSDs with my computer.

OK I'm out of time. More tomorrow.

 

The 500 MB System Reserved partition is normal, Windows 10 puts it there. It won't have a drive letter, that's normal, and won't show up in file explorer. You installed in Legacy mode though, I don't see any EFI partition. If you had installed in UEFI mode there would have also been a hidden EFI partition. Is AHCI enabled in the BIOS? You should have seen two boot entries for your thumb drive, UEFI Kingston DataTraveller (UEFI Mode) and just Kingston DataTraveller (Legacy Mode) The "cannot be installed message" is because the first install was done in Legacy mode and the one your seeing the message in is UEFI Mode. At that point you could have deleted all the partitions and installed in the unallocated space. It would then repartition in GPT and finished installing in UEFI mode.

 

Forgot to mention, how the thumb drive is setup has a bearing on whether you can install in UEFI mode or not. A lot of PC's will only install in Legacy if the thumb drive is formatted in NTFS, it needs to be FAT 32 for UEFI mode. Mess up a setting in RUFUS and the same thing will happen. That's one of the reasons I'm not to fussy for that utility.
No such restrictions for optical media though, as long as its bootable you can usually install in UEFI mode no problem.

 

I am still pretty confused about these settings. I swear did change them but out of desperation I may have hit the "Default" button. Is there an idiots guide to what all these acronyms mean (and which ones I want!)
- EFI
- UEFI OS / mode
- CSM OS
- MBR partition table
- GPT
- ACHI

1. What is Legacy mode? And is it a problem if I install in that mode?

2. How do I know which mode I have installed using?

2. The BIOS settings are as follows:
Advanced tab
==> ACHI: Auto
Boot tab
==> OS Mode Selection: "CSM and UEFI POS"

On this occasion I am 99% sure that installed the entire OS using the Windows 10 x64 Recovery DVD.

In a way it doesn't matter because I am not planning to use this 128GB SSD as it's way too small for me, but it will matter next time when I get an SSD of sensible size.

 

UEFI, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unifie...ware_Interface and https://www.google.ca/?gws_rd=ssl#q=...bios&*&spf=110

I think the general consensus is if your device has UEFI then install in UEFI Mode.

 

Thanks. Although those links are a bit too specialist/detailed for me!

 

I just got some feedback from Intel. They are claiming that the Intel HM76 Express Chipset (which I think is what is on my laptop) only supports up to Windows 8.1!

This is despite the fact that my laptop has be rock solid reliable running Windows 10 for the last 9 months

J

 

I have ordered an mSATA to USB caddy, in order to test my 512GB SSD, but it will a couple of days to arrive.

It occurs to me that whilst I have Windows installed on the 128GB SSD, maybe I should update any possible drivers/firmware/BIOS etc. I have a feeling that the original SSD had various Samsung utilities to help do this. Unfortunately Samsung offer no downloads AT ALL for my model NP740U3E-S04UK.
13.3 Series 7 Ultra Notebook 128GB SSD NP740U3E | Samsung UK
It will take me a VERY long time to forgive Samsung for that.

Any thoughts?

J

 

There may be drivers there, but I couldn't figure out how to find them? I would expect Windows 10 drivers to be available for a device that shipped with Windows 10 from the factory. It's been my experience though that a lot of OEM's aren't in any big hurry to put drivers up for the next version of Windows if that device never shipped with it from the factory. They'd rather you bought a newer model.
Most of my PC's are ASUS and drivers are easy to find on their site. They are outdated for my devices but they are there and not hard to find. I haven't seen a site as hard to navigate as that Samsung site in a while.
Updating the BIOS is a tricky subject. It's not like a driver update, get it wrong and you run a very good chance of bricking your device. Most will tell you don't do it unless it fixes and issue your having. If you decide to do it, print out the instructions before hand. I also wouldn't do it from Windows (winflash). Do it from the actual BIOS menu, less chance of something going wrong. Check your current version first, you may already be running the latest version.
The other drive was running just fine with the current BIOS, so flashing it likely isn't going to fix that issue. IMHO

 

I managed to install Samsung Update on the 128GB SSD. The guy from Samsung told me that it updates the BIOS if needed. The overall impression is that Samsung really don't like supporting products - they would much prefer that we go and buy their next shiny bit of hardware. In effect the much hated Apple model.

Worse apparently the SSD that I have is an "OEM model" and therefore there is no telephone or webchat support - just email. And as a result it sounds like it won't have any "5 or 10 year" warranty either.

I updated various things on using Samsung Update and on a whim tried to install Windows 10 on the 512GB SSD. Unsurprisingly the SSD was till not properly recognised. And the chances are 99% that it has failed, although I shall await my mSATA to USB caddy which should arrive tomorrow, to confirm this.

OK I think I'm pretty well done here.

I guess I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new 512GB SSD. Any recommendations? Is there much to choose between them? I don't think I'm going to buy Samsung again!

J

 

Mine are all Crucial. I had one failure outside of the warranty period. Similar to what happened to yours. Windows went all funky and locked up. Then it wouldn't boot up. Tried to do a clean install and it showed up as RAW or something. I couldn't partition or format it.

 

OK I have now bought and received my 500GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO. I have installed it in my laptop and the good news is that Windows 10 Recovery did recognise it. *Smile I am running the Windows 10 update as I write this.One question - the SSD arrived in NTFS format. Is there any merit in converting it to GPT? And if I do need to format my new SSD to GPT what is the best way to do it?

Should I take it out of my laptop and stick it into a USB to mSATA caddy and do it there or can it be done in situ in the laptop? And either way, how?
On a different note the Microsoft Support guy told me that there is a major "upgrade not update" to Windows 10 itself called 1703 (rather than 1607), which is supposed to make a big improvement to speed. He said the roll-out had already started in the US but here in the UK it would be another couple of days yet. The support guy rather implied that I should go ahead with my installation and run all the updates in any case.