Dock - nothing but trouble

[kenargo]

Surface Book i7 512 (just opened yesterday).

A plethora of issues and I'm on my second dock with no resolution!

Connecting anything USB is mostly broken. I cannot connect even something simple like a USB mouse or keyboard; the Book doesn't beep; it's like it isn't detecting the connections.

DisplayPort - if I connect to it then the Book's monitor goes black and flashes. I'm using the same connection I used for my Surface Pro 2; I moved the connections one to the other.

I went to the company store and tested the surface with a dock they had on the display and the mouse was found and DisplayPort worked (but that was the dock on the display). They exchanged my dock and I tested at the store; same issues, mouse wouldn't come alive. Just to verify the Surface Book; I connected it to the display dock and the DisplayPort and mouse worked so I figure the Surface Book is likely good.

Since I can't imagine 2 out of box failures I left with the replacement dock and it's pretty much a power brick at this point (oh, the network connection works).

I've done all updates and everything else I can think of.

Any ideas?

Is it possible I have a second bad dock?

 

[msolok]

Have you done a refresh of your Surface (wipe it and start again)? To me it is more sounding like a Software/Driver issue, not a Dock hardware issue.

 

[Kevin Cossaboon]

Have you done a refresh of your Surface (wipe it and start again)? To me it is more sounding like a Software/Driver issue, not a Dock hardware issue.

@msolok does the refresh really help? and should I do everything or keep files.

I have two docks and they work OK, in the sense that they are no more flaky then the rest of the platform. I went to do the refresh (being a Mac person I can reinstall OSX at anytime and loose nothing) and was surprised that it would at a minimum wipe the Applications and/or files.

BIG commitment, but if it helps the stability....

 

[msolok]

I have two docks and they work OK, in the sense that they are no more flaky then the rest of the platform. I went to do the refresh (being a Mac person I can reinstall OSX at anytime and loose nothing) and was surprised that it would at a minimum wipe the Applications and/or files.

BIG commitment, but if it helps the stability....

There are ways on doing a repair of Windows without data lose or having to reinstall your apps. This is useful if there is something wrong with Core Windows files, but not if there is an app or driver causing grief.

You can make use of Restore Points if you know that it used to be fine and a software/driver install caused the issue.

Then there is the Refresh option. This, in WIndows 10, works in multiple ways. The first is keeping your files and settings but will remove the apps and drivers (as these are often what caused the issues) and gives you the Out Of The Box Windows files. The second is a wipe of the HDD, lose of ALL data, and a completely fresh Windows.

Each of the above recovery options has it's own benefits and draw backs. The Refresh option is the best in these sorts of situations because you are starting at the beginning without any drivers of applications there to cause conflicts. This will then give a good indication of weather it is a software issue (if you have the same symptoms with the refresh it is more likely to be a hardware fault) or something to do with the hardware.
Plus the OP only opened their SB yesterday. Now is the best time to do the refresh, before there is a huge amount of stuff on there.

 

[Kevin Cossaboon]

Now is the best time to do the refresh, before there is a huge amount of stuff on there.

Thank you, I think I might just try the full Monty here. FLAKY is what I have and would hate to do it in 4 weeks. Limited amount to back up, just a lot to reinstall With Respect To applications.

My Surface Book is Day 6 with good days and mostly bad days.

 

[Inversion]

Get a DisplayLink. I got one from Dell. Works great I can run 3 screens. No issues.

 

[genenz]

Received my Surface Dock yesterday (bought in Hong Kong). Touch wood I've had zero complaints and it just worked.

I have two Dell U2415h monitors that were daisy chained together for my SP3. Moved them as is across to the Surfacebook plus dock and it just worked - EXCEPT the monitor at the end of the chain flickered every so often.

That annoyed me, so I connected the second screen directly to the dock and everything works well.

 

[Nuspieds]

Surface Book i7 512 (just opened yesterday).

A plethora of issues and I'm on my second dock with no resolution!

Connecting anything USB is mostly broken. I cannot connect even something simple like a USB mouse or keyboard; the Book doesn't beep; it's like it isn't detecting the connections.

DisplayPort - if I connect to it then the Book's monitor goes black and flashes. I'm using the same connection I used for my Surface Pro 2; I moved the connections one to the other.

I went to the company store and tested the surface with a dock they had on the display and the mouse was found and DisplayPort worked (but that was the dock on the display). They exchanged my dock and I tested at the store; same issues, mouse wouldn't come alive. Just to verify the Surface Book; I connected it to the display dock and the DisplayPort and mouse worked so I figure the Surface Book is likely good.

Since I can't imagine 2 out of box failures I left with the replacement dock and it's pretty much a power brick at this point (oh, the network connection works).

I've done all updates and everything else I can think of.

Any ideas?

Is it possible I have a second bad dock?

You're not alone and the Dock and/or Window' support of it definitely has its reliability issues.

I am using the same external monitors that I used for my SP2, yet I'm still getting all these weird issues (black screen, resolution, monitor loss, etc.). Sometimes, all it takes is just a reboot for things to go haywire; for example, all could be well and then I reboot after installing some software but after rebooting, my eternal displays are all messed up! This is so extremely frustrating!

Without a doubt, in my experience, multi-monitor support on the SB is far less stable than on the SP2. I bought two docks and my first thought, too, was swap out with my other Doc when I started to receive the problems. But sure enough: No change!

All I can do is keep hoping they finally fix this mess sooner rather than later.