Hey.
I'm trying to perform a restore to leave my surface pro 1 back to factory defaults. When I try to do it, it says some files are missing and that I should use a media with those. However I never created a disk for that.
Did some research and found out that people who have upgraded to win 8.1 all experience this issue.
I also tried to download the win 8/8.1 isos from microsoft be it won't accept my product key...Then, I downloaded a legal windows 8.1 iso that would need to be activated after being installed. Put it in a flashdrive and then the surface didnt ask for the missing files anymore. It reset all fine. HOWEVER, I would always need that flashdrive to make it work. As Im planning on selling it, thats not the case.
I just wanted it to recover from the recovery partition, but apparently, it's not properly "seeing" it, as it keeps asking for additional files.
Im clueless. How do I make that partition work again?
sneak3 said:
Hey.
I'm trying to perform a restore to leave my surface pro 1 back to factory defaults. When I try to do it, it says some files are missing and that I should use a media with those. However I never created a disk for that.
Did some research and found out that people who have upgraded to win 8.1 all experience this issue.
I also tried to download the win 8/8.1 isos from microsoft be it won't accept my product key...Then, I downloaded a legal windows 8.1 iso that would need to be activated after being installed. Put it in a flashdrive and then the surface didnt ask for the missing files anymore. It reset all fine. HOWEVER, I would always need that flashdrive to make it work. As Im planning on selling it, thats not the case.
I just wanted it to recover from the recovery partition, but apparently, it's not properly "seeing" it, as it keeps asking for additional files.
Im clueless. How do I make that partition work again?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's a bug, because my Surface Pro 2 which came with 8.1 has always done that. I needed to pull a recovery drive from my dad's Toshiba U925t to recover mine after a bad Linux dual boot
Well thats just bad. I guess the right question now would be how to fix the recovery partition.
Havent found anything about that yet though.
Have you tried searching for "create recovery" and creating a new flash recovery drive? I did this after updating my Surface Pro to 8.1. It creates an 8.0 recovery but I was able to create it from an 8.1 system. You can then boot from the flash drive and do a refresh.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Hi
Apologies for the longwinded explaination of my problem but I wanted to be thorough and to let you have as much info as poss to know what I have tried and I think I have it mostly down here..
I recently sucessfully (I think) rooted my i9100 with Neat Rom 4.4.2, which seems very nice
I also have two ZTE Kis phones (via Virgin) which I thought I would try to revive.
I managed to flash one with Firefox OS and it seems fine for the most part although it flickers occasionally
The other one that I had rooted ages ago I eventually managed to reset my recovery via a terminal emulator and flashed a Rom back to its original state except with an unbranded rom courtesy of http://blog.podtwo.com/android/rom/de-branded ROM for ZTE Roamer2 [gingerbread].html THANK YOU SEBASTIAN
As this was not ideal as the storage space quickly disappears I though I would try to flash it with something else... and after some looking around I went here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_DJhaNH14o and downloaded the miscellaneous files attached (first dumb move)
I then tried to flash each of these Roms in no particular order and finally got one of the Xperia Roms to take me to the install stage (2nd dumb move) I was working on some other stuff and yessed away in my own smugness only to find that the rebooting phone showed a green android that gradually faded to a blueish whiteout...
It also would not boot to recovery! power + volume = same android fading away...
It also would not boot to FTM
My main OS - OSX could not recognise the phone via adb/fastboot etc so I decided to try Win 7 (3rd or possibly a lot more by now dumb move)
so I booted to windows and low and behold... adb/fastboot could not see the device upon opening my Browser to try to find a solution I discovered that my Browser had been taken over by Conduit... (I am certain it was not before attaching the Kis and the suspect rom) and I was bombarded by a number of options to remove malware threats and virus' etc.. figuring something was wrong (first smart move) I switched operating systems back to OSX and ran Clam scan and Sophos scan of Windows drive (infected with something in the region of 40 nasties) I quarantined and deleted all the nasty infected files. I booted into Linux and ran ClamTK scan of the windows drive which found something in the order of 1200 threats.. some of which were standard methods used by programs but I spotted a few trojans I think amongst the readout.
I have deleted the Rom files and formatted the SD card that it was on.
Neither ADB nor Fastboot sees the infected/soft bricked Kis device from any OS
I have discovered too that the infected Kis does actually do different things when volume buttons are held down in conjunction with the power button (I am guessing that although the rom was corrupt - or perhaps not meant for my device) the phone is still trying to enter FTM mode as it just boots to a red light on.
From Linux in terminal (lsusb, usb-devices and dmesg | tail) all identify the device - attached file which has a different device id depending on the "mode" it is in when I attach it - Vendor ID is always 19d2, but Device ID is either 1353 or 0112 (the latter is when it is in FTM? mode - Vol down, power on , red light constant)
OS X also see the device: when the device ID is 1353 it identifies it as ZTE HSUSB Device, serial no ROAMER2, version 2.29, ZTE Incorporated. Whne device ID is 0112 it identifies it as ZTE WCDMA Handset Diagnostic Port
Win 7 sees it in "FTM" mode as ZTE Handset Diagnostic Interface (DSU)
Now I have... (mainly from OSX and more recently unbuntu 12.04) with my limited intellect and even more limited knowledge of programming and restricted understanding of terminal commands tried to have tried to cp files directly to the device, I have looked to try to boot from an sd card, I have tried to go into the recovery mode even though I can't see the screen and navigate blindly to the update.zip or recovery.img etc --- I have put them all on the card. I tried to do this http://linux-sunxi.org/Boot_Android_from_SdCard - but got a failure around "awutils, make" I have looked at Odin, Heimdall options, I have tried to adapt other solutions for different phones to mine (which was how I somehow or other managed to recover my CWM through terminal emulator in the first place). I have tried through ZTE to get thir automatic update program/instructions.zip (which despite being on broadband was proposing to take something in the region of 2 to 3 hours to download 136MB....! made me think that that might be how long it might take to copy my 4 and a half ish Terabytes of data... (paranoid now? MAYBE) so I cancelled the download and rebooted to Linux where I feel comparatively safe!?
BUT NOW I AM STUCK
I have the Unbranded rom and CWM recovery I can see the device but I don't know how to force the two together... can anybody help me (I have just tried very hard to resist an Obi-Wan-Kenobi joke)
I hope someone can help
Okay, so some of us were in this boat. You have to reinstall Windows on your nice little Surface Pro tablet. But sadly you don't have a recovery partition or a flash drive! So what are you supposed to do?
Well, first you ask Microsoft support. That does not go well: they tell you to send them your Surface. But that's not really a good option - to lose your tablet for two weeks over a software problem? That's just not fair!
So, next, you try googling for help. But all you ever find are similar unanswered pleas for help, which usually end up being either unanswered or closed by moderators.
But fear not, as you CAN solve this, and you don't even need to do crazy things like making your own recovery image, or downloading one from weird Chinese sites.
----
HOW TO REINSTALL WINDOWS 8.1 ON YOUR SURFACE PRO WITHOUT A RECOVERY PARTITION/USB
Step 1.
Obtain a Windows 8.1 ISO. I can't tell you where to obtain one, but it is not a hard task.
The flavor Surface Pro uses is Windows 8.1 Pro x64. I used the EN-US version, as I have an American Surface, so I can't verify how other languages will work.
Step 2.
Burn that ISO to a USB drive. I suggest using Rufus for that: http://rufus.akeo.ie/
Step 3.
Boot your Surface from the USB drive.
To do that, hold the volume down button when turning on your Surface
Step 4.
Install Windows 8.1.
Step 4.5.
It will ask you for an install key, and might not accept your real Surface key. The reason for that is that the installer for Windows 8.1 does not accept Windows 8.0 keys (and your Surface might have one of those).
To proceed with installation, you will need this install key:
XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This key is for installation only. IT DOES NOT ACTIVATE WINDOWS.
Step 5.
After installing the OS, you'll notice that it's not behaving quite right, for example, there are 4 rows of tiles on the start screen instead of three.
Go to Windows Update, and install everything.
Step 5.5.
If you installed with the install key, use this utility to get the original Windows key: http://forums.mydigitallife.info/threads/30363-Windows-8-Product-Key-Viewer
Choose the "MSDM" option, copy that key, and activate Windows with it.
Step 6.
Enjoy your happily recovered Surface.
----
So there. That was a little guide on how to recover a Surface Pro without a recovery drive. I was in this situation myself recently, and Microsoft offered me to send my Surface to them - which would've cost me $200, as I live in a different country from the one my Surface came from, and also would've meant living without my tablet for a month or even longer. So I just fixed it all myself.
A lot of people seem to be posting in that other recovery thread, so I'm just gonna make this visible again.
Only one question, do I need a keyboard or mouse for that?
Cause I've got only wireless mouse and original type cover, which does not work for some reason, and that's why I want reinstall windows.
I think it should pop up the on-screen keyboard if you use touch.
Anyone else did this process and got the Surface Pro 2 back to "out of the box" state?
touch screen
has anyone of you got the issue with the touch controller? and after the windows reinstall did it come back?
regards
Worked perfect
Worked perfect on a MS Surface Pro 1, with windows 8.1 Pro install USB, no keyboard or mouse needed.
Thank you! :good:
Thanks a heap for this guide, thought my Surface was done for.
For those unable to boot normally into Windows, holding VolKeyDown + Power while the unit is off will force the unit to boot from removable storage (doesn't have to be a USB Stick, you can plug in any kind of bootable media, including a USB DVD-ROM).
Have fun!
Can this works for Surface Pro 2
westjgames said:
Thanks a heap for this guide, thought my Surface was done for.
For those unable to boot normally into Windows, holding VolKeyDown + Power while the unit is off will force the unit to boot from removable storage (doesn't have to be a USB Stick, you can plug in any kind of bootable media, including a USB DVD-ROM).
Have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Can this method work for surface pro 2?
syahchrono said:
Hi,
Can this method work for surface pro 2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna try this now on my Surface Pro 2 because I got one with only scandinavian languages and I'm from Germany ^^ Will report back!
# UPDATE #
Worked perfectly fine
question
I just installed the latest Firmware / Drivers MS has pushed through Windows Update,
and i would like to refresh my Surface Pro 2 to get a clean install.
- First thing i did was create a bootable usb drive using Microsofts new 'Create Installation Media Tool'
. I selected 'Windows 8.1 Pro x64' in my native language which is Dutch.
The tool created a bootable USB stick, which i haven't tried yet.. before i continue i have some questions;
....
1. I copied my recovery image to a USB stick and deleted the recovery partition.
- If i reinstall Windows can i still use the recovery usb in case something goes wrong during the installation, or is it linked to your current installation?
2. Would Windows automatically recognize the serial number, which i believe is stored in the BIOS / UEFI, and activate Windows? I've written down the serial using the tool mentioned in the OP to be on the safe side.
3. Like i mentioned before, i installed the lastest driver / firmware package, will Windows automatically install the latest drivers after installation or first install more basic drivers to get WiFi up and running and then install the latest drivers?
4. When you install new driver / firmware software will Windows automatically update the then older drivers in the recovery image?
I've read the previous posts saying that everything went smoothly, but i just want to make sure i'm not forgetting anything..
i have a Surface Pro 2 btw!
koffiemelk said:
I just installed the latest Firmware / Drivers MS has pushed through Windows Update,
and i would like to refresh my Surface Pro 2 to get a clean install.
- First thing i did was create a bootable usb drive using Microsofts new 'Create Installation Media Tool'
. I selected 'Windows 8.1 Pro x64' in my native language which is Dutch.
The tool created a bootable USB stick, which i haven't tried yet.. before i continue i have some questions;
....
1. I copied my recovery image to a USB stick and deleted the recovery partition.
- If i reinstall Windows can i still use the recovery usb in case something goes wrong during the installation, or is it linked to your current installation?
2. Would Windows automatically recognize the serial number, which i believe is stored in the BIOS / UEFI, and activate Windows? I've written down the serial using the tool mentioned in the OP to be on the safe side.
3. Like i mentioned before, i installed the lastest driver / firmware package, will Windows automatically install the latest drivers after installation or first install more basic drivers to get WiFi up and running and then install the latest drivers?
4. When you install new driver / firmware software will Windows automatically update the then older drivers in the recovery image?
I've read the previous posts saying that everything went smoothly, but i just want to make sure i'm not forgetting anything..
i have a Surface Pro 2 btw!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1:I have no idea
2: Yes it will, I have a surface pro 1 and it was activated automatically, so i didnt had to do anything with my serial. (on a new windows 8.1 install)
3: Yes it will, but you can always install them manually (doesn't really matter unless there are issues with drivers).
4: Dont know (dont think so). (I havent ever uses a recovery installation ever, i always install everything manually back on .
Hi together,
I did the steps and everything went fine. But I had to disable secure boot at first.
Now, after the isntallation of Windows 8.1, I activated it again and reinstalled the default keys. Is this the way it is meant?
Or do I need to leave it disabled?
Thank you very much!
Best regards,
thrain2
So I have a question.
I removed my recovery partition to regain the space.
Does your method reformat the drive and repartition everything? Will it reinstall the recovery partition?
I remember all former windows os installations I've done allowed me to format the drive and clear the partitions and then either create new ones myself or use the blank disk. Win7 would (on a blank disk) create it's recovery partition.
So I went ahead and did it.
To anyone looking to do this, use the official media creation tool. It's free from Microsoft and extremely simple.
I didn't have to disable secure boot or anything, just hold down the volume and power button with the USB plugged in.
The installer let me delete all my existing partitions and it automatically created only the ones needed.
It never asked for a key and was activated correctly when I booted into widows.
I found the installer created 3 total partitions on it's own.
1st a 300mb empty partition which I believe is supposed to be for windows RE and required by bit locker.
2nd a 100mb partition containing an EFI folder.
Note: these two aren't supposed to be accessible, I did special mounting to check them out.
3rd the rest of my disk space was created for my system partition
I'm mostly happy with this.
The only issue I've had so far is I can't turn bit locker on, even though there is a 300mb partition, it's empty and bit locker complains about the widows recovery environment not being on the system dive.
iXNyNe said:
So I went ahead and did it.
To anyone looking to do this, use the official media creation tool. It's free from Microsoft and extremely simple.
I didn't have to disable secure boot or anything, just hold down the volume and power button with the USB plugged in.
The installer let me delete all my existing partitions and it automatically created only the ones needed.
It never asked for a key and was activated correctly when I booted into widows.
I found the installer created 3 total partitions on it's own.
1st a 300mb empty partition which I believe is supposed to be for windows RE and required by bit locker.
2nd a 100mb partition containing an EFI folder.
Note: these two aren't supposed to be accessible, I did special mounting to check them out.
3rd the rest of my disk space was created for my system partition
I'm mostly happy with this.
The only issue I've had so far is I can't turn bit locker on, even though there is a 300mb partition, it's empty and bit locker complains about the widows recovery environment not being on the system dive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing this.good
Anyone tested this yet with a surface 3 or surface 3 pro?
Tried this with my Surface 3, which is stuck currently on Win10 10074, and the install key didn't work.
It works
I used the freeware ISO2Disc to burn a Windows 10 ISO file to my USB drive and I can then reinstall successfully. Remember to choose GPT partition style as Surface Pro can boot in UEFI mode only.
iXNyNe said:
The only issue I've had so far is I can't turn bit locker on, even though there is a 300mb partition, it's empty and bit locker complains about the widows recovery environment not being on the system dive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did basically the same, reinstall a clean Windows on my Surface pro 3, but can not turn on bit locker, too. Have you figured out, how to solve this issue?
I was messing with my galaxy core prime (android 4.4.4) using a app to remove system apps that you can't with the stock app manager.. (no reason for crap like smartcard manager, bluetooth, wifi sharing..etc to be running when i haven't authorized such things, seems like security risk imo)
Was also editing the autorun list and messing with Norton applock and phone encryption settings to try to further secure it.
Welp, I f'ed things up because phone crashed and now can't do anything.. can't access home screen, settings, call/txt, nothing. So I booted into the stock bootloader and tried formatting the entire thing including cache..
Didn't fix the problem, can't finish the setup wizard without it crashing, get message saying setup, hangouts, and keyguard stopped working and then my phone bricks and can't do absolutely anything. No backup either.
I have been googling and googling for solutions but everything I read says to either:
-Reformat from bootloader (tried a 100 times)
-Wipe with TWRP or CWM (don't have either and can't access play store)
-Use Kies (won't detect my device since I can't enable MTP)
-ADB sideload twrp or cyanogen (cant, usb debugging probably not enabled since I formatted and no way to enable it since setup of android fails)
Odin can't detect anything either.. probably due to same reason. (Cant enable MTP or usb debugging)
So am I totally screwed? What are my options here?
I noticed the stock bootloader has a option to install from external storage.. can I put my sd card in a phone that does work and download twrp, cyanogenmod, (or ANYTHING else to fix this) to that, then put it back in my bricked phone and re flash it that way? That way I wouldn't need mtp or usb debugging... or won't that work?
Wasted so much time trying to fix this guys, googling and even formatted my pc removing Linux and reinstalling Windows hoping suddenly my pc would detect it.. atleast on linux when I used "adb devices" command it detected my device (trying to sideload anything didn't appear to work though, phone says error about verifying it and tries again and says completed and reboots but no sign of the rom I just supposedly sideloaded anywhere)
removing Linux and installing Window seems to have been a mistake because on windows using "adb devices" returns a blank list.. Tried different cords, ports, kies 2 and 3, reinstalling drivers, disabling firewall..etc but like I said even if I do get adb to detect it, what can I do from there without mtp or debugging?
Sorry for wall of txt, just want to be descriptive as possible so I don't get all replies telling me to try stuff that I've tried 100 times or just flat out won't work for my particular problem because of the above reasons..
will be sincerely grateful to anyone that took the time to read this and try to help me.