A update (through Windows Update) brick my Surface Pro 2 256Gb

[Great]

Okay so if I understand well you're actually running your SP2 with the March update without any issues ?
Okay so what I should do is creating a bootable USB before doing anything on the SP2, then update.

But do the March Firmware is really necessary ? I'm pretty sure this thing destroyed my SP2.

Actually I'm not running the March firmware.

I installed it but as I had problems with wireless connectivity with my TV, I reversed the process through a cloning ssd I had done before installing the March firmware.

Currently I have in my windows update, the option to install the March firmware. But I refuse to do it.
I have all other updates installed.

 

[Rob85]

Okay, thank you very much for the confirmation

 

[GoodBytes]

Correct, CCLeaner registry cleaner part.

I installed it but as I had problems with wireless connectivity with my TV, I reversed the process through a cloning ssd I had done before installing the March firmware.

Aha! Well now you introduced a lot more factors. That is probably the problem.

You are using old drivers mixed with March firmware installed on the device.
Firmware includes: Drivers and system firmware (BIOS/UEFI)
Basically the device configuration is untested.

And also, when you clone/restore a partition, errors might have occurred during either process (cloning or restore).


You said you had wireless TV problems. Did you try turning off Bluetooth?
The Surface Pro 2, sadly, uses a 2-in-1 card, and most 2-in-1 things, it's: jack of all trade master of none.

 

[Rvacha]

0xC0000185 is STATUS_IO_DEVICE_ERROR: improper termination or defective cabling of SCSI-based devices, or two devices attempting to use the same IRQ.

If you have an SD card plugged in remove it and try to reboot. If that does not work I would personally try volume up/power for 20 seconds. The above error can also happen if the boot area is fubar (and not the entire drive) but I am not liking your odds here

 

[Rob85]

Thanks for the informations !

I haven't put any SD card in my Surface, and I have already try the "volume up + power" for 20 seconds. Indeed I think that this update destroyed something around the SSD or the FW. I could totally format the SSD, but as I said before my store is accepting that I return the SP2 for getting another one. And I don't like to stay with a strange product.
So I'm just testing with this one (if it wants to start... That's 1 time on 10...) if I can DL and install GPU drivers available here in "standalone" without getting stuck with this horrible March Update.
But the annoying thing is that I don't understand why some people gets stuck, and some doesn't, and WHY Microsoft is always getting this update on if it can brick some devices...

EDIT :
After a billion of try, I successfully started my Surface and installed the Intel GPU Drivers from the Microsoft website without getting the March Update, and this is working very well.
I would recommend to people getting a Surface Pro 2 and who want to use softs like Photoshop to download "Surface Pro 2 Display Driver 3431.zip" and disable updates coming from Windows Update for now, waiting a official announce from Microsoft or something like that.

 

[javispedro]

I agree with your idea. But, due to the fact that I don't really know if this is the Bios Firmware who is corrupted or the Windows 8 installation / partition, I prefer change it.
But what are you calling "recovery disk" ? You're talking about Windows 8 DVD ?

I am talking about the USB Recovery drive you can create from a running system.

I think this is the only option that will actually allow you to fully entirely erase and recreate all the partitions on the SSD.


If you can change it for a new unit, go for it. If not, they'll send you a refurbished unit and it seems it's all downhill from there; for the latter situation I think it's best to ensure it's not a purely software issue.

 

[Rob85]

Thank you for the confirmation.

I returned my SP2, a new one will come saturday.

It would be nice to know if someone with the same problem succeed to correctly reset the SP2 with the bootable USB.
If not, this is meaning that the problem is coming from the firmware, meaning that restore the SSD would do nothing.
If yes, this is maybe meaning that the bootable USB is also reseting the SP2 Firmware, and that would be great.
(Yes, I'm pretty sure this brick is due to a firmware error).

 

[horseflesh]

Rob, I had similar problems while installing an update. When I saw the blue screen telling me that I needed to repair my PC, I told it to reboot and I disconnected the Type Cover 2. Without the Type Cover 2 attached, the SP2 booted normally and was able to finish installing its updates.

If this happens to you again, it's worth a try. Good luck!

 

[Rob85]

Thanks for the information, that's strange, and now you can use your Surface without any problems ? Do this issue occurred with the March Update or another one ?

As I said before I hadn't any Type Cover, but during the firmware update, my bluetooth keyboard and my mouse was connected.
And I saw in the official Microsoft Surface Pro forum that someone tried the bootable USB after the problem, and this did nothing. So the March Update is totally breaking the Surface Pro's firmware.

And I have a new question, do someone know how this bootable USB is created ? I mean, do the bootable USB is created with files coming from the hided/untouched partition OR directly from the actual system running up (so including updated drivers/softwares in the bootable image) ? Thanks !

 

[Rvacha]

Hi Rob-
This should help a bit - you should be able to copy the contents of the recovery partition during the process
Recovery Drive - Create with USB Flash Drive in Windows 8

One word of warning - early in this thread I talked about using DISM. One of the things DISM does if it finds a corrupt file is to try to fetch it from the recovery image (and Windows Update if /Online is present). By removing the /Online switch it will only attempt to fetch a non-corrupt version from the local image. If that fails, it is best to assume the image is itself corrupt. This is rare I think, but I know it happens since it happened to me on my SP1. Before I understood all this I was plain lucky - the recovery drive process noted the problem and flagged me (I don't remember the exact wording anymore) - otherwise I would have possibly attempted to use the recovery USB later only to discover it was junk. For me it was best to simply flatten the machine, including partitions, and start all over again.

I am sure you will fare better though