Installation Guide SAMSUNG PROPRIETARY

Samsung NVM Express Driver v3.3

Installation Guide
Revision 3.3
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE PRODUCTS, INFORMATION AND SPECIFICATIONS
WITHOUT NOTICE.

Products and specifications discussed herein are for reference purposes only. All information discussed herein
may change without notice and is provided on an “AS IS” basis, without warranties of any kind. This document
and all information discussed herein remain the sole and exclusive property of Samsung Electronics. No license
of any patent, copyright, mask work, trademark or any other intellectual property right is granted by one party
to the other party under this document, by implication, estoppels or otherwise. Samsung products are not
intended for use in life support, critical care, medical, safety equipment, or similar applications where product
failure could result in loss of life or personal or physical harm, or any military or defense application, or any
governmental procurement to which special terms or provisions may apply. For updates or additional
information about Samsung products, contact your nearest Samsung office. All brand names, trademarks and
registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.

COPYRIGHT © 2020
This material is copyrighted by Samsung Electronics. Any unauthorized reproductions, use or disclosure of this
material, or any part thereof, is strictly prohibited and is a violation under copyright law.

TRADEMARKS & SERVICE MARKS

The Samsung Logo is the trademark of Samsung Electronics. Adobe is a trademark and Adobe Acrobat is a
registered trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other company and product names may be
trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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Table of Contents

LEGAL DISCLAIMER ......................................................................................................................................................... 01

COPYRIGHT ......................................................................................................................................................................... 01

TRADEMARKS & SERVICE MARKS ....................................................................................................................... 01

Revision History ............................................................................................................................................................. 03

Overview................................................................................................................................................................................ 04
- System Requirements ........................................................................................................................................ 04
- System Configuration ......................................................................................................................................... 04

Driver Installation ........................................................................................................................................................... 05

EULA ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 09

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Revision History

Revision Description Revision Date

1.0 . Initial release version November, 2015
1.1 . Driver version update for USB compatibility January, 2016
2.0 . Support for 960PRO and EVO November, 2016
. Improve idle power saving on Windows 10
2.1 December, 2016
. Unsafe shutdown bug fix on Windows 8.1 & 10
2.2 . Hyper-V compatibility bug fix March, 2017
2.3 . Support encrypted drive October, 2017
3.0 . Support for 970PRO, 970 EVO and 970 EVO Plus April, 2018
3.1 . Windows 10 RS5 compatibility fix January, 2019
3.2 . Enhanced security for installation September, 2019
3.3 . Support Device Self-test January, 2020

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This guide describes how to install the Samsung NVM Express driver 3.3 (hereinafter “driver”)
for Windows Operating Systems. The driver supports the Samsung NVMe SSD 970 PRO, 970
EVO, 970 EVO Plus, 960 EVO, 960 PRO, 960 EVO and 950 PRO.

System Requirements
The driver supports Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Recommended system configuration (minimum):
 Intel Haswell Refresh Processor
 2GB RAM
 50MB free disk space
 UEFI Bios v2.3

System Configuration
Windows Operating System shall successfully load the driver only when Samsung NVMe SSD
970 PRO, 970 EVO, 970 EVO Plus, 960 PRO, 960 EVO or 950 PRO is installed to
 PCIe slot directly connected to CPU or
 M.2 or PCIe slot connected to PCH.
However, in the PCH case, Windows Operating System cannot load the driver under following
BIOS configurations where
 PCH Storage Configuration is set to “Raid Mode, or
 NAND/Storage Remapping option*” is enabled.
* The option name can be different according to M/B manufacturers.

Please refer to your M/B manual.

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Driver Installation

The driver installation procedure is as follows

1. Download and Decompression

If you download the driver installer file, from Samsung.com*, you will see the driver installer
file, “Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.3.exe”.

* http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/

2. Installing the SMASUNG NVM Express Driver

2.1. Running “Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.3.exe” file
Double click the “Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_3.3.exe” file with the administrator rights.

2.2. Language Selection

When the below screen pops up, select setup language and click OK to begin the installation.

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Driver Installation

2.3 Samsung NVMe Driver Setup Wizard

When the below screen pops up, continue with the installation by clicking next.

2.4. License Agreement

When the below Samsung License Agreement screen pops up, please read the agreement,
click the “I accept the agreement” button and click Next to continue with the installation.

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Driver Installation

2.5 Ready to Install

Now, the Samsung NVM Express driver is ready to install. Click Install to continue with the
installation.

2.6 Restarting the Computer now

Lastly, when the setup completion screen pops up, complete the installation by clicking “Yes,
restart the computer now” or “No, I will restart the computer later” button and then click
Finish. (We recommend restarting the computer after the installation)

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Driver Installation

2.7 Repair and Uninstall

Repair and uninstallation of the driver can be performed via the Programs and Features
section within the Control Panel. Alternatively the user can launch the installer executable
file (with administrator rights) and complete the desire action this way. Repair tries to fix
errors, while uninstall removes the driver from the computer.

3. Confirming the installed driver

If you initiate the Windows Device Manager, a list of all the hardware present in your system
is shown. If “Samsung NVMe Controller” is shown below the “Storage controllers” as below,
the installation is successful.

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End User License Agreement (EULA)

PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE USING THE
SAMSUNG SOFTWARE PROVIDED BY SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. (“SAMSUNG”) IF YOU
DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS SAMSUNG SOFTWARE LICENSE
AGREEMENT (“AGREEMENT”), DO NOT USE THE SOFTWARE.

1. LIMITED LICENSE
Samsung grants to you a nonexclusive, nontransferable and royalty-free license to use the
Software only with Samsung SSD (Solid State Drive) products. You may not modify the
Software; reverse compile, reverse engineer, disassemble or reverse assemble all or any
portion of the Software; rent, lease, license, sublicense, distribute, transfer or sell the
Software; or create derivative works of the Software. There are no implied licenses granted
by these terms, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved.

2. OWNERSHIP
Except as expressly licensed above, no title, ownership, or intellectual property rights of any
kind, express or implied, are transferred to you, and all right, title, and interest in and to the
Software remains with Samsung. The Software is licensed to you and not sold. You must
reproduce and include all copyright notices and any other proprietary rights notices
appearing on the Software.

3. CONSENT ON DATA USE AND TRANSFER

You understand and agree that Samsung will collect, use and transfer internationally data
relating to your device, including technical information about the systems and applications,
application programs and devices associated with and connected to your device, in order to
provide product support, engage in statistical research, upgrade our software and provide
other related services. This data may be shared with other Samsung affiliates worldwide
and our service providers for these purposes.

4. NO SUPPORT
Samsung is under no obligation to update, maintain, or provide new versions or other
support for the Software. Samsung may make changes to the Software at any time without
notice to you.

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End User License Agreement (EULA)

5. NO WARRANTY
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.
SAMSUNG EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY
WARRANTIES ARISING FOR ANY COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE. SAMSUNG
DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT
THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.
FURTHERMORE, SAMSUNG DOES NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE
OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE IN TERMS OF ITS CORRECTNESS,
ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF USE OR
PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE REMAINS WITH YOU.

6. NO LIABILITY
IN NO EVENT SHALL SAMSUNG OR ITS AFFILIATED COMPANIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT,
INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR SPECIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT
LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR LOSS OF
INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN
IF SAMSUNG HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

7. TERMINATION
This Agreement is effective until terminated. This Agreement may be terminated by you at
any time by deleting the Software and discontinuing its use, or by Samsung if you fail to
cure any breach of this Agreement within sixty (60) days from written notice of breach by
Samsung. Upon termination, the licenses granted to you shall terminate, and you shall
cease all use and distribution of, and cease exercising any and all other rights granted under
this Agreement with respect to, the Software.

8. GENERAL
This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Samsung and you regarding the
subject matter hereof and supersedes all previous oral or written communications between
the parties.

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End User License Agreement (EULA)

9. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the
Republic of Korea, without regard to conflicts of laws principles. All disputes, controversies
or claims between the parties arising out of or in connection with this Agreement (including
its existence, validity or termination) which cannot be amicably settled shall be finally
resolved by arbitration to be held in Seoul, Korea in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of
the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board by one or more arbitrators. The arbitral award
shall be final and binding on the parties.

10. DISCLAIMER
SAMSUNG IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER, SYSTEM,
OR APPLICATION PROGRAMS, ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS APPLICATION. SAMSUNG
ALSO DOES NOT TAKE ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY KIND OF DATA LOSS AND RESTORATION
THAT MAY OCCUR DURING THE INSTALLATION OR EXECUTION OF THIS SOFTWARE. USER
OF THIS APPLICATION HAS TO TAKE COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY.

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March 2020

www.samsung.com/ssd

www.samsungssd.com

Design and contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.

© 2020 Samsung Electronics, Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

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