I'm going back to Windows 10... but on a Surface...

[Issac Zachary]

Ok, so I'm trying to go back to Windows 10 on my Surface Go 2.

 

I have my reasons. Some actually have been resolved by newer updates. As someone who uses the Spanish version of Windows I was amazed at how terribly Microsoft had put together some programs telling you to use the Spanish shortcuts, like CTRL-E for "select all", but only working with the typical English shortcuts. Tablet mode didn't even work at all until recently, and I don't like it as much as Windows 10 tablet mode. And I prefer to use non-combining taskbar labels in desktop mode, even on a 10" screen. Some day that might be fixed, but meanwhile I'm going back to Windows 10.

 

But the worse thing is that my tablet has slowed down to a chugging hault. It may not be entirely Windows 11, but as far as I can tell it's a major factor. Even with the SSD loaded half full (or empty?) and only a simple program running, like Windows Explorer, it can take forever just to do something simple. Other apps also crash all the time that had no problem before.

 

However, I'm not finding that installing Windows 10 is as easy on a typical desktop. For this installation I finally need a 16GB or bigger USB drive, and have to go from USB type A on the desktop to USB type C on the tablet. Hopefully I'll have a USB device capable of doing this by this evening, because all of mine are 8GB or smaller. I also noticed that the Surface specific zip files for my device are for installing Windows 10 1909, 20H2 or 21H2. But when I go to the Windows Media Creation Tool website I only see version 22H2 available. Luckily I have a Media Creation Tool for 20H2 on my computer.

 

Well, I hope I can get it to work.

[Inception9269]

@Issac Zachary Have you considered giving Linux a shot? One distro that I'd recommend, that I think would work just fine on your device would be Fedora, with there being guides you can check out on how to install it and get it set up.

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, Issac Zachary said:

Ok, so I'm trying to go back to Windows 10 on my Surface Go 2.

 

I have my reasons. Some actually have been resolved by newer updates. As someone who uses the Spanish version of Windows I was amazed at how terribly Microsoft had put together some programs telling you to use the Spanish shortcuts, like CTRL-E for "select all", but only working with the typical English shortcuts. Tablet mode didn't even work at all until recently, and I don't like it as much as Windows 10 tablet mode. And I prefer to use non-combining taskbar labels in desktop mode, even on a 10" screen. Some day that might be fixed, but meanwhile I'm going back to Windows 10.

 

But the worse thing is that my tablet has slowed down to a chugging hault. It may not be entirely Windows 11, but as far as I can tell it's a major factor. Even with the SSD loaded half full (or empty?) and only a simple program running, like Windows Explorer, it can take forever just to do something simple. Other apps also crash all the time that had no problem before.

 

However, I'm not finding that installing Windows 10 is as easy on a typical desktop. For this installation I finally need a 16GB or bigger USB drive, and have to go from USB type A on the desktop to USB type C on the tablet. Hopefully I'll have a USB device capable of doing this by this evening, because all of mine are 8GB or smaller. I also noticed that the Surface specific zip files for my device are for installing Windows 10 1909, 20H2 or 21H2. But when I go to the Windows Media Creation Tool website I only see version 22H2 available. Luckily I have a Media Creation Tool for 20H2 on my computer.

 

Well, I hope I can get it to work.

For Surface, you need to use Microsoft Recovery Image.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image

 

You can get a USB Type-A to Type-C for cheap on Amazon. 

Your smartphone probably came with one as well, if your phone has USB Type-C. Might be USB 2.0 instead of 3.0, but whatever, your CPU is the bottleneck.

 

[Issac Zachary]

10 minutes ago, Inception9269 said:

@Issac Zachary Have you considered giving Linux a shot? One distro that I'd recommend, that I think would work just fine on your device would be Fedora, with there being guides you can check out on how to install it and get it set up.

Actually yes I have, although not on this Surface tablet.

 

I'd love to just be able to use Linux. I really like Mint. But there is at least one app on Windows that I use a whole lot that isn't available on Linux in any way, shape or form. I've tried emulating an Android version of the app a few different ways on a few computers, even a touchscreen computer, but it didn't work very well on any of them.

 

1 minute ago, GoodBytes said:

For Surface, you need to use Microsoft Recovery Image.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image

I Roger that! Yep, that's what I'm trying to do, hench why I need a 16GB (or bigger) USB drive.

[GoodBytes]

2 minutes ago, Issac Zachary said:

Actually yes I have, although not on this Surface tablet.

 

I'd love to just be able to use Linux. I really like Mint. But there is at least one app on Windows that I use a whole lot that isn't available on Linux in any way, shape or form. I've tried emulating an Android version of the app a few different ways on a few computers, even a touchscreen computer, but it didn't work very well on any of them.

 

I Roger that! Yep, that's what I'm trying to do, hench why I need a 16GB (or bigger) USB drive.

To boost performance under Win11, to gain it back to WIn10 performance, all you can do is disable the added security features of Win11.

For others: normally, this is a none-issue. But I assume that he has the model with the Pentium Gold and it actually struggles with those features.

 

 

[Inception9269]

26 minutes ago, Issac Zachary said:

Actually yes I have, although not on this Surface tablet.

 

I'd love to just be able to use Linux. I really like Mint. But there is at least one app on Windows that I use a whole lot that isn't available on Linux in any way, shape or form. I've tried emulating an Android version of the app a few different ways on a few computers, even a touchscreen computer, but it didn't work very well on any of them.

 

I Roger that! Yep, that's what I'm trying to do, hench why I need a 16GB (or bigger) USB drive.

What app is that if I might ask?

 

Zorin OS is also considered a good beginner distro like Mint. The thing that I like about Zorin OS over Mint though is I feel they put a lot more effort into making the transition from Windows to Linux as seamless as possible, where if you try launching an exe file for example, they'll launch it through Wine, whereas in other distros nothing would happen and you'd be left scratching your head. Also if you tried doing something like installing the Epic Games launcher, they'll prompt you to instead use the Linux alternative, Heroic Games Launcher (them also directing you to the official linux version of Steam if you attempt to install the windows version).

[Issac Zachary]

5 hours ago, Inception9269 said:

What app is that if I might ask?

Actually a few. One I do use a lot is OneDrive, as well as Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. I could use OneDrive online, but having it as part of the filing system is nice. There are a few other apps too. Some are Amateur Radio related, such as WinLink. I could get WinLink to work on Linux, but it didn't seem to have all the features, or they didn't seem to work anyhow.

 

6 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

You can get a USB Type-A to Type-C for cheap on Amazon. 

Your smartphone probably came with one as well, if your phone has USB Type-C. Might be USB 2.0 instead of 3.0, but whatever, your CPU is the bottleneck.

Ya, but I don't want to have to wait for a week for an adapter. I have one somewhere, like you say from a smartphone purchase. I also even have a Surface Dock somewhere here, I just need to find it. There's a USB-A to USB-C adapter at the local Wal-Mart, but they want nearly $17 for it, $7 more than what I paid for the USB-A 3.0 32GB memory stick.

 

6 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

But I assume that he has the model with the Pentium Gold and it actually struggles with those features.

Yep, and now I see why the Surface Go (1) isn't upgradeable to W11 even though it'll only be something like 5 years old when Windows 10 is let off. At least mine would have been since I bought it brand new from Microsoft not that long before Windows 11 had launched. I had sent my Surface Go in for repair on the type cover to tablet connection only to see they sent me a Surface Go 2 back instead of the original Surface Go I had bought. But I've been through more type covers than you can shake a stick at, especially since the last Surface Go was apparently burning them up. After this tablet I think I'm not going to get another Surface device ever again.

[Inception9269]

17 minutes ago, Issac Zachary said:

Actually a few. One I do use a lot is OneDrive, as well as Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. I could use OneDrive online, but having it as part of the filing system is nice. There are a few other apps too. Some are Amateur Radio related, such as WinLink. I could get WinLink to work on Linux, but it didn't seem to have all the features, or they didn't seem to work anyhow.

For OneDrive alternatives, there is Nextcloud, which is free and opensource software. Aside from that, there's also Dropbox and Mega.

As far as alternatives to Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, the LibreOffice Suite is probably the best alternative. As for Winlink, not sure about that one.

 

Not saying that you gotta go Linux, you're free to do whatever. Just wanna show that it could be a viable alternative for you.

[Issac Zachary]

15 minutes ago, Inception9269 said:

For OneDrive alternatives, there is Nextcloud, which is free and opensource software. Aside from that, there's also Dropbox and Mega.

As far as alternatives to Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, the LibreOffice Suite is probably the best alternative. As for Winlink, not sure about that one.

 

Not saying that you gotta go Linux, you're free to do whatever. Just wanna show that it could be a viable alternative for you.

I'll definitely keep Linux on the posibility list. But as for now there are just too many apps that I'd have to change for something new or perhaps dump entirely.

 

There are also Surface specific distros of Linux that would be awesome to try out! But another thing that I didn't like was the touchscreen interface of GNOME.

 

UPDATE:

 

So I got a USB C to A adapter from my phone. I had left it in the box the phone came in. Yes, it's 2.0, but hey, better than nothing. In just a few I'll be trying to install the Surface Media onto my Surface Go 2.

[Issac Zachary]

Well there it goes!

 

Interestingly when I looked up my BitLocker keys I saw I have some 10 different keys! I had no idea which one was for this tablet, but the first one I guessed at going   by the date is working, so that must have been it. The Surface is at 34% of the initial phase at USB 2.0 speeds and going!

[Issac Zachary]

Ahhhhhh!!! Windows 10 is up and working just fine! I love the tablet mode!