Linux Works, Windows Doesn't, HELP!

[Salv8 (sam)]

1 minute ago, fastamdman said:

Ya, best I could find was this link https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/deploy-the-latest-firmware-and-drivers-for-surface-devices

 

Problem is that is just firmware / drivers and they are all .msi files that need to be installed inside of windows lol.

 

Actually, I found this link that has a .rom file that "might" be for my surface.  It came with a PDF so I will read through it.  Heres the link in case anyone else needs it in the future.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7190

DON'T INSTALL IT, its from 2009 and for windows vista, i think you have the wrong file!

[fastamdman]

Ugh, the bios I found and linked above is for an older model.  They are talking about windows vista and it was published 11/16/2009 which is way way before mine was ever made lol.  The surface 2017, also known as the surface pro 5, didn't come out until last year lol.

 

If anyone can find a bios update for it, I will give it a shot.  Otherwise, it's looking like the microsoft store is gonna be my best route unfortunately.  I am gonna keep plugging away at the problem though until Saturday when I can get to the store lol.

[fastamdman]

Just now, Salv8 (sam) said:

DON'T INSTALL IT, its from 2009 and for windows vista, i think you have the wrong file!

We sent that at the exact same time lol.  I can't find any other bios's however for the surface.  It looks like all the firmware and bios updates are pushed out through windows updates unfortunately.  At this point, I am out of ideas.

[Salv8 (sam)]

i found this but i don't see any indication that its for your surface

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55484

[fastamdman]

Whether it is or not, that package is a .msi which would need to be installed inside of windows unfortunately.  I would need a .rom of the bios to be able to even attempt to flash it through usb.

[Salv8 (sam)]

i found some info on how to do this with a pro 3, not the 5

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/askpfeplat/2014/10/19/how-to-update-the-surface-pro-3-firmware-offline-using-a-usb-drive/

but it could help

[fastamdman]

Looks like they are using WinPE to be able to update the firmware.  Unfortunately, I can't get WinPE or any Windows for that matter, to boot from the flash drive on the surface.  Maybe we are looking at this wrong.  Maybe instead of trying to figure out how to get it to boot from windows, we should be trying to get windows to boot from within linux.....I dunno, just an idea.

[Salv8 (sam)]

i found some info on deploying the surface

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/manage-surface-pro-3-firmware-updates

but this is for IT administrators and most don't understand what they are saying as they expect you to have level 3 Microsoft certification

( i have an understanding but a. i don't have certification and b. i read most of the technet website for months before i started to get an understanding of this level of crap)

it might just be better if you take it in for Microsoft to repair it and let them fix it or replace it

[Salv8 (sam)]

2 minutes ago, fastamdman said:

Looks like they are using WinPE to be able to update the firmware.  Unfortunately, I can't get WinPE or any Windows for that matter, to boot from the flash drive on the surface.  Maybe we are looking at this wrong.  Maybe instead of trying to figure out how to get it to boot from windows, we should be trying to get windows to boot from within linux.....I dunno, just an idea.

PE is meant for deploying  and installing to the OS, not much else...

it lacks most of the crap programs expect to be there so it's not going to work

[Salv8 (sam)]

4 minutes ago, fastamdman said:

Maybe instead of trying to figure out how to get it to boot from windows, we should be trying to get windows to boot from within linux.....I dunno, just an idea.

i think you can do this, hold on, let me go though my ISO collection to see what distro/OS can do this...

[fastamdman]

That's the older surface pro 3, not the newest surface 2017.  But the information is still valid either way.  I read through that a couple of days ago.  I have a very high technical understanding of software and hardware (which is why I am not giving up on this and just waiting until my Saturday apt at the Microsoft Store).  I am more intrigued by this issue than anything else.

 

It just baffles me that a nix os will boot and install perfectly fine, but windows won't.

[Salv8 (sam)]

2 minutes ago, Salv8 (sam) said:

i think you can do this, hold on, let me go though my ISO collection to see what distro/OS can do this...

 hiren's boot cd allows you to install windows from the USB, doesn't work with 10 though, i don't know of any other OS which can do this though....

sorry i though my collection of ISO OS's would yield something (i have +200 of them taking about ~400GB of storage, couldn't find anything)

5 minutes ago, fastamdman said:

That's the older surface pro 3, not the newest surface 2017.  But the information is still valid either way.  I read through that a couple of days ago.  I have a very high technical understanding of software and hardware (which is why I am not giving up on this and just waiting until my Saturday apt at the Microsoft Store).  I am more intrigued by this issue than anything else.

 

It just baffles me that a nix os will boot and install perfectly fine, but windows won't.

windows is crap, your best bet is just to take to the Microsoft store for a repair or replacement

unless you don't mind using Linux on a laptop with wine (allows users to run windows programs on Linux, sometimes doesn't work well and has limitations) then thats an option

[fastamdman]

I will give hiren's boot cd a shot later on tonight, maybe I can get an older version of windows on there, like 8.1.  Even though 8.1 has no driver/firmware support, MAYBE just maybe if I get it installed, I will then be able to install windows 10.  I highly doubt microsoft will be able to "repair" this, at least not in store.  If they do, I will be amazed.  I will have to record them working on it   Thanks for all of your help guys.  I will let you know how Hiren's boot cd does and if I can get anything else to install besides linux.  Wish me luck

 

I will say though, for the day or two of use that I got out of the surface before this issue arrived, it's a bad ass machine.  The price point is a little high, but I got it much cheaper than retail, which made it a great deal.

[BeefyMeats]

Is secure boot and UEFI enabled (legacy disabled) before booting the windows usb? 

Did you use the latest media creation tool to make the usb? If you are making your own boot drive with an old iso than it may not have the proper pe drivers for your hardware.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

If you needed to format the drive than a live linux would work with gparted or DD.

[fastamdman]

@BeefyMeats I have tried with secure boot enabled and disabled.  We can't change modes between uefi / efi / legacy etc, so it's just always UEFI enabled.  No way to change that part.  I have used the media creation tool, rufus and imgburn to make the bootable usb drives.  I downloaded the ISO straight from microsoft with the media creation tool.  The usb drive will work on my desktop, my wifes desktop and any other computer but it will NOT work on the Surface.

 

I have formatted the drive in linux mint with gparted and kde partition etc.  I've formatted it and left it blank, put it in fat32 and put it in ntfs file formats.  No matter what I do, the bootable usb windows drive will not work.  Like I said, they work great on my desktop, but not on the surface.

 

The issue is, the second it starts to open up the "loader" where you would click "next".  As it STARTS to load that, it will BSOD.  OR, before it even gets to that point, it will give a BSOD, aka right after the spinning circle of dots finishes.

[2FA]

I think there is either a firmware or hardware issue here. An IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL stop code along with the driver acpi.sys is a huge sign of that due that particular driver being part of the chipset and the one included in the installer shouldn't be an issue, especially since the installer works on your desktop. Since I know the Surface has effectively zero meaningful consumer serviceability, the only thing I can recommend doing yourself is try MemTest86 to check for faulty RAM (like 8 or 13 passes minimum). Otherwise MS will have to look at it.

[fastamdman]

3 minutes ago, 2FA said:

I think there is either a firmware or hardware issue here. An IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL stop code along with the driver acpi.sys is a huge sign of that due that particular driver being part of the chipset and the one included in the installer shouldn't be an issue, especially since the installer works on your desktop. Since I know the Surface has effectively zero meaningful consumer serviceability, the only thing I can recommend doing yourself is try MemTest86 to check for faulty RAM (like 8 or 13 passes minimum). Otherwise MS will have to look at it.

 

Thanks for the advice.  I do agree with you, I am leaning to a firmware issue myself.  Only reason I am leaning away from a hardware issue is because everything works really well in linux.  If I can pass stress testing in linux, I should at least be able to load a windows installer, unless there was a firmware issue.

 

Do you know if it's possible to install firmware in linux??  If so, this might be the only solution.  I just don't know how to install .msi files (and where they would go) to be able to then hope to be able to install windows.

 

I am just so intrigued by this issue that I keep tinkering with it.  I know I can return it to the store at any point and get a new one, but I will never figure out the why or the what, that was the issue.  I rarely run into problems that I can't solve on my own, so needless to say I am intrigued lol.

 

Thanks again for the advice

[2FA]

Just now, fastamdman said:

 

Thanks for the advice.  I do agree with you, I am leaning to a firmware issue myself.  Only reason I am leaning away from a hardware issue is because everything works really well in linux.  If I can pass stress testing in linux, I should at least be able to load a windows installer, unless there was a firmware issue.

 

Do you know if it's possible to install firmware in linux??  If so, this might be the only solution.  I just don't know how to install .msi files (and where they would go) to be able to then hope to be able to install windows.

 

I am just so intrigued by this issue that I keep tinkering with it.  I know I can return it to the store at any point and get a new one, but I will never figure out the why or the what, that was the issue.  I rarely run into problems that I can't solve on my own, so needless to say I am intrigued lol.

 

Thanks again for the advice

Hardware can work in Linux and not Windows due to faults, I had a 980 Ti that was causing crashes in Windows but ran perfectly fine in Linux until a few weeks later when it completely died due to (I think) a VRM failing.

 

.msi files are called Windows Installer files (formerly Microsoft Installer, hence .msi) and can only be used in a Windows environment.

[fastamdman]

@2FA So much for the idea of trying to install them in Linux then  Welllll besides trying to play with Hiren's boot cd later on tonight, I am pretty much throwing in the towel and just gonna swap it out for a new one at microsoft.  Thanks again for all the help and advice