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I have already bricked and replaced my Samsung Chronos Series 7 NP700Z3C laptop. I have discussed it in the following question:

Why does my Samsung Chronos 7 not boot anymore after installing Ubuntu?

Summary of the problem is that If you normally try to install Linux on it, your laptop will die.

I am a GNU/Linux user and I boot and install different distributions frequently. Now I want to know how I should deal with this laptop, should I always be afraid to boot a live GNU/Linux distro on it? Or is there a safe way to avoid this problem again?


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3 Answers 3

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The Samsung UEFI bug is not Linux-specific -- as described by Matthew Garrett, it can be triggered under Windows, too. Disabling UEFI support in the laptop is the safest way to deal with it, but this will require re-installing Windows, and the installation media provided by Samsung probably don't support doing a BIOS-mode install. Thus, you may need to find installation media from another source. Personally, I'd return the laptop to the store for a refund and buy another brand, but if that's not an option, converting everything to BIOS mode is the safest (albeit awkward) solution.

With any luck Samsung will eventually release a fixed firmware, but I have no idea how long this will take to appear.

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Set the laptop to boot in BIOS/legacy mode/Compatibility Support Module (there should be some option somewhere) and you should be fine. Just don't boot it going the UEFI route.

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I will try this as soon as my replacement laptop arrives. –  Mehdi Sadeghi Feb 13 '13 at 6:36
I ordered another laptop and I hope samsung fixes it's buggy driver very soon. –  Mehdi Sadeghi Mar 31 '13 at 17:27

According to this article and to committed patch to Linux kernel, most reliable way to avoid this is to disable UEFI mode - this patch simply disables boot if UEFI mode is detected to prevent possible bricking.

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I look for a workaround to make sure when I boot a live disk/usb my system will not brick. Because I won't have a second chance. –  Mehdi Sadeghi Feb 12 '13 at 12:25
before installing linux, go into BIOS and turn UEFI off, or enable legacy boot mode. This will make sure that you laptop will NOT be bricked –  mvp Feb 12 '13 at 17:08

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