Samsung Laptops Bricked by Booting Linux Using UEFI

DavidE

DavidE

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Samsung’s UEFI implementation appears to be faulty. It was most likely tested with Windows only and found to work, but thorough testing with other operating systems doesn’t appear to have been a priority—or perhaps a consideration at all. At present, the bug appears to affect Samsung 530U3C, 300E5C, NP700Z5C, NP700Z7C, and NP900X4C series laptops; if you have one of those laptops, we recommend you exercise extreme caution if you have a need to boot into a Linux environment.
Click to expand...
Source: AnandTech - Samsung Laptops Bricked by Booting Linux Using UEFI
 

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Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
Let the lawsuits begin.
 

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Oops.


Also: how the heckles can that happen, and permanently brick the computer to boot?
 

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Apple 17" iMac MA199LL (Early 2006)
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Windows 8 Pro (32-bit)
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1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
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ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory
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17-inch TFT active-matrix LCD, millions of colors
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Graphics: 3.9 Gaming Graphics: 4.1 Primary HD: 5.9
The Linux kernel overwrites the Windows boot sector, maybe.
 

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Home Built Desktop By DataTech
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ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
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16GB G.Skill Sniper 1866MHz @ 2133MHz 2x8GB
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ASUS GTX650TIB-DC2OC-2GD5, (650TI Boost)
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Samsung P2570HD
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Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD for OS, 500GB Seagate Constellation (Enterprise drive) for Data
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IE 10, Opera, Pale Moon if needed
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4 case fans, LG BluRay-RE, ASUS DVD-RW, Mr. Fusion power supply, 1.21 gigawatts.
Samsung is working with Ubuntu to fix the doggy Linux kernel that is the source of the problem. Looks like it is trashing NVRAM and the laptop can be restored by resetting the NVRAM.

Jim :cool:
 

My Computer

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PC/Desktop
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Home Built
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Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64bit, Windows 7 HP 64bit
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Phenom II X6 1100T
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ASUS M5A99X EVO
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Crucial Balistic 8gb DDR3-1866 CL9
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MSI R6850 Cyclone IGD5 PE
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ASUS VE258Q 25" LED with DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort
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Two WD Cavier Black 2TB Sata III, WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 3.0
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Seasonic X650 80 Plus GOLD Modular
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Antec Kuhler H2O 620, Two 120mm and four 140mm
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Logitech K120
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Norton IS 2013, Malwarebytes Pro Beta 2
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APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program, Motorola SB6120 Gigabit Cable Modem. Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer, Epson V300 Scanner
Phone Man said:
Samsung is working with Ubuntu to fix the doggy Linux kernel that is the source of the problem. Looks like it is trashing NVRAM and the laptop can be restored by resetting the NVRAM.

Jim :cool:
Click to expand...

so... it's not a permanent brick?
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Apple 17" iMac MA199LL (Early 2006)
OS
Windows 8 Pro (32-bit)
CPU
1.83GHz Intel Core Duo
Memory
2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) (upgrade)
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon X1600 with 128MB GDDR3 memory
Monitor(s) Displays
17-inch TFT active-matrix LCD, millions of colors
Screen Resolution
1440 x 900
Hard Drives
Hitachi 320GB HDT721032SLA360 7200RPM SATA II (upgrade)
Keyboard
Microsoft Wired Keyboard 600
Mouse
Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse v2.0
Internet Speed
4 Mbps
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
WEI:
Base Score: 3.9 Processor: 4.4 Memory 4.7
Graphics: 3.9 Gaming Graphics: 4.1 Primary HD: 5.9
I thought this was working as intended, we definitely want to keep people from installing anything but Windows 8 after all! Especially that fiendish OS known as Linux!
</sarcasm>
 

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Intel Core i7 2700K @ 3.5GHz (TurboBoost disabled)
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ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3
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16GB (4x4GB) Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600MHz @ 1333MHz
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Realtek High Definition Audio (motherboard integrated)
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2x Western Digital 1TB SATA3 Caviar Black Internal HDD // 1x WD 500GB USB 3.0 "My Passport Essential" External HDD // 1x WD 1TB USB 3.0 "My Passport Essential" External HDD // 2x WD 2TB USB 3.0 "My Passport Essential" External HDD
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Virtual Machines (VirtualBox):
* Japanese Windows XP Professional SP3
* Japanese Windows 7 Professional SP1
Ironically people warned that this was going to happen (months ago) when Secure Boot was first mentioned (they were laughed at).
Looks like they were right.
 

My Computer

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W7 Ultimate SP1, LM19.2 MATE, W10 Home 1703, W10 Pro 1703 VM, #All 64 bit
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AMD Phenom II x6 1100T, 3.3 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 (AM3)
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12GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill (4GB x 2), G-Skill (2GB x 2)
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Sound Card
Realtek?
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung S23B350
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
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WD Green 2TB (SATA), WD Green 3TB (SATA), WD Blue 4TB (SATA), WD Blue 6TB (SATA)
PSU
Cooler Master
Case
Antec GX300 Tower
Cooling
3x Antec TRICOOL 120mm Fans
Mouse
Wired Optical
Internet Speed
DSL
Antivirus
Avast
Browser
Pale Moon (64 bit)
Other Info
2018-12-27 Upgraded HDDs
2015-12-10 Upgraded case, graphics card, storage
2015-08-15 Upgraded motherboard & RAM
2015-07-15 Upgraded LM17.1 to LM17.2
lehnerus2000 said:
Ironically people warned that this was going to happen (months ago) when Secure Boot was first mentioned (they were laughed at).
Looks like they were right.
Click to expand...

The original article said they had the same error with Secure Boot turned off so that was not the problem. Just doggy Linux programing.

Jim :cool:
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built
OS
Windows 8.1 Pro w/Media Center 64bit, Windows 7 HP 64bit
CPU
Phenom II X6 1100T
Motherboard
ASUS M5A99X EVO
Memory
Crucial Balistic 8gb DDR3-1866 CL9
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R6850 Cyclone IGD5 PE
Sound Card
On Board
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS VE258Q 25" LED with DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
Two WD Cavier Black 2TB Sata III, WD My Book Essential 2TB USB 3.0
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Seasonic X650 80 Plus GOLD Modular
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Corsair 400R
Cooling
Antec Kuhler H2O 620, Two 120mm and four 140mm
Keyboard
Logitech K120
Mouse
Logitech Marble Mouse USB, Logitech Precision Game Pad
Internet Speed
15MB
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Norton IS 2013, Malwarebytes Pro Beta 2
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IE-11, FF-27
Other Info
APC UPS ES 750, Netgear WNR3500L Gigabit & Wireless N Router with SamKnows Test Program, Motorola SB6120 Gigabit Cable Modem. Brother HL-2170W Laser Printer, Epson V300 Scanner
Seems like the opposite of the MS secure boot rumors that were around a while ago, Linex is crashing Windows, not the other way around.
Not surprised MS will get blamed for this as well :doh:
 

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76~2.0
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Gigabyte GA-Z77X UD3H, f18
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Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X OC 1GB DDR5
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Onboard VIA VT2021
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Samsung 840Pro 128GB SSD,
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Corsair HX650W
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Cooler Master Storm Scout
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Desktop: eSATA ports,
External eSATA Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200rpm,
External WD USB 500GB
mjg59 | Secure Boot distribution support


“Microsoft's real aim is to kill the aftermarket in used computers that have Win 8 installed by not allowing you to install something other than Windows”
Click to expand...
Microsoft could just have refused to sign UEFI bootloaders. They didn't. That doesn't really fit in with what you're claiming.
Click to expand...


If I buy a computer with Windows 8 and Secure Boot, will I still be able to install Linux? - Super User

First of all, Secure Boot is not something that Microsoft came up with. They're the first to widely implement it, but they didn't invent it. It's part of the UEFI specification, which is basically a newer replacement for the old BIOS that you're probably used to. UEFI is basically the software that talks between the OS and the hardware. UEFI standards are created by a group called the "UEFI Forum", which is made up of computing industry representatives including Microsoft, Apple, Intel, AMD, and a handful of computer manufacturers.
Click to expand...

Windows Hardware Certification Requirements for Client and Server Systems
 

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OS
ME/XP/Vista/Win7
It seem to be a Samsung problem, not a kernel problem (it can be avoided by "Blacklisting" a particular Samsung driver).

My friend just built a desktop for his work.
It has an ASUS motherboard with UEFI.
He installed Ubuntu Server and it works fine.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
n/a
OS
W7 Ultimate SP1, LM19.2 MATE, W10 Home 1703, W10 Pro 1703 VM, #All 64 bit
CPU
AMD Phenom II x6 1100T, 3.3 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 (AM3)
Memory
12GB DDR3 1333 G-Skill (4GB x 2), G-Skill (2GB x 2)
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
Sound Card
Realtek?
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung S23B350
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
WD Green 2TB (SATA), WD Green 3TB (SATA), WD Blue 4TB (SATA), WD Blue 6TB (SATA)
PSU
Cooler Master
Case
Antec GX300 Tower
Cooling
3x Antec TRICOOL 120mm Fans
Mouse
Wired Optical
Internet Speed
DSL
Antivirus
Avast
Browser
Pale Moon (64 bit)
Other Info
2018-12-27 Upgraded HDDs
2015-12-10 Upgraded case, graphics card, storage
2015-08-15 Upgraded motherboard & RAM
2015-07-15 Upgraded LM17.1 to LM17.2

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
home built
OS
Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
CPU
AMD Athlon II x4 620
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
Memory
6GB GSkill DDR2 800
Graphics Card(s)
AMD 4670 GPU + AMD 4200 IGP
Sound Card
on board Realtek ALC889A
Monitor(s) Displays
RCA 40" LCD TV, Insignia 32" LCD TV, HP 15" LCD monitor
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB,
Samsung F3 1TB (3),
Several others - WD, Seagate, Hitachi, ...
PSU
Corsair 500 W
Case
Rosewill mid tower
Cooling
CM 90mm rifle
Keyboard
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, Dell USB wired
Mouse
Gyration wireless, Logitech wireless, V7 USB wired
Internet Speed
Spectrum - 100Mbps D / 10Mbps U
Antivirus
Avast, MBAM3, EMET, WinPatrol
Browser
Pale Moon, Firefox, IE
Other Info
2 multi-boot PC's
Mainly HTPC/Office/Gen purpose (no gaming).
Trendnet USB KVM.
LG DVD burner/Blue Ray Player.
Tray system for removable SATA backup drives.

Not currently OCd, under-volted.
I use Hybrid sleep, rarely re-boot or shutdown.

Hauppauge HD-PVR, Avermedia PCIe TV Tuner, Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner.
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