Surface Tweak Tool for Surface Pro 2 - Release!

[GoodBytes]

I need to look into it. Mind you I don't have a Surface Pro 3. But, I know it works with Intel latest drivers available in Intel website (to fix the lack of colors), and to fix the color shift, if it doesn't work my Surface Tweak tool, you can change the option in the Intel Control Panel.

 

[fer]

I need to look into it. Mind you I don't have a Surface Pro 3. But, I know it works with Intel latest drivers available in Intel website (to fix the lack of colors), and to fix the color shift, if it doesn't work my Surface Tweak tool, you can change the option in the Intel Control Panel.

i have surface pro 3 with stock graphic drivers. does this tool work with it? or i need the intel graphic drivers?

 

[GoodBytes]

I don't personally know, as I don't have a SP3.
You can always try. Worst come to come to worst, you can uninstall the drivers from device manager, restart, and check for Windows update, the firmware update will show up again, install it, and the driver and default settings will return. But I doubt it will come to this, it will simply not work.

 

[fer]

I don't personally know, as I don't have a SP3.
You can always try. Worst come to come to worst, you can uninstall the drivers from device manager, restart, and check for Windows update, the firmware update will show up again, install it, and the driver and default settings will return. But I doubt it will come to this, it will simply not work.

maybe is a problem with new drivers in the new update?

 

[GoodBytes]

maybe is a problem with new drivers in the new update?

It seams that Microsoft is doing more and more things to block changes for some reason, since I started this tool.
On my side, it seams that Microsoft fixed the problem. but I don't know if it because my settings was transferred, or the installed drivers are the same as the one I got from Intel website so nothing was changed. I need, like every time, to do some testing to see if that is really the case, and if my tool stopped working, what can be done to fix this. If I can at all, or partially (previous firmware was partially on the SP2, where it fixed the lack of colors, but not the dynamic contrast ratio. You had to to use Intel website drivers, but you can fix the dynamic contrast in the Intel control panel at this point).

 

[fer]

It seams that Microsoft is doing more and more things to block changes for some reason, since I started this tool.
On my side, it seams that Microsoft fixed the problem. but I don't know if it because my settings was transferred, or the installed drivers are the same as the one I got from Intel website so nothing was changed. I need, like every time, to do some testing to see if that is really the case, and if my tool stopped working, what can be done to fix this. If I can at all, or partially (previous firmware was partially on the SP2, where it fixed the lack of colors, but not the dynamic contrast ratio. You had to to use Intel website drivers, but you can fix the dynamic contrast in the Intel control panel at this point).

So i can install Intel driver, Adjust the setting and after restore Microsoft driver that maintain the new setting?

 

[GoodBytes]

So i can install Intel driver, Adjust the setting and after restore Microsoft driver that maintain the new setting?

Sorry for the delay. After testing, no you can't. I miss diagnose on my side. Sorry about that.

 

[GoodBytes]

So I have made a little discovery.
If you install the Intel drivers from Intel website, and discover that you have problems with the Surface Pro switching between headphones and speakers, I have found a workaround fix.

1- Install back the system firmware update again to return back to the original drivers.
2- Get the Intel latest drivers .zip file, which you extract
3- delete the *.cat file inside (this is the driver signature)
4- Delete the folder "DisplayAudio" (this is the driver that causes problem)
5- If you are under Windows 10, edit the *.inf file under "Graphics" folder (igdlh64.inf) with Notepad, scroll down to "Windows 8.1 Install" section (you'll notice it in a box. Should be at Line 165)., and change "[IntelGfx.NTamd64.6.3]" to "[IntelGfx.NTamd64.6.4]", save and close. Again, this applies to Windows 10 users only. This is needed to make the drivers install under Windows 10, else it won't.
6- Open Device Manager, go to "Display adapter" > "Intel(R) HD Graphics". Right-click on it, and select "Update Driver Software"
7- On the panel that just showed up, select "Browse...", then on "Let me pick...", then on "Have Disk" button, then on "Browse", pick the location of the Intel drivers that we just worked on, and go under the "Graphics" folder, and select the *.inf file.
8- Click on "Next" and it will install. Restart your system, and you should be ready to go.
9- Use Surface Tweak Tool to to apply the lack of color fix, start the Intel Control Panel, go under "Power section, then click on "Power" at the top left corner, a menu will show, select "Battery", and click on "Disable" for the option "Display Power Saving Technology". Make sure that "Graphic Power Plan" remains at "Maximum Battery life", if not, set it back to (this is important to keep the battery life of the Surface the same). And voila.

It must be noted: Audio through DisplayPort connection might no longer work. I don't have the equipment to test, but your headphone/speaker switching problem when you plug/unplug headphones/speakers on the audio jack, should be solved.

 

[GoodBytes]

Well here is some sad news.
Windows 10 forces the installation of the Surface Pro 2 drivers. There is no way to not have them installed.
So what it means is that if you want to use Intel very own latest drivers, Windows update will automatically uninstall them, and install the Surface Pro 2 Intel graphics drivers.

-> There is no way to block this. Going under System Properties > Device Installation Settings, and select "Never install driver software from Windows Update" does nothing.
-> I tried changing the version of the drivers from Intel web site own drivers with the ones that Surface Pro 2 firmware has... no luck, Windows update is smarter than this
-> I tried to brute force new drivers onto the system by overriding files. No go.
-> I tried taking Surface Pro 2 Intel driver configuration file, and dump it to the new drivers, thinking it will use the files of the new drivers. No go.

 

[GoodBytes]

I have a fix. But I need testers.
This fix should also work for Windows 8 users using Intel latest drivers.
PLEASE create a system restore point BEFORE apply it to go back in the case something goes wrong.

This is for advance users only.
Instructions:
-> Go to registry, and to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video
-> You have folders (keys) in there. expand each one, until you find the ones with sub folders: 0000, 0001 (other folders such as 0002, can be inside). This folder (key) is the one where for the Intel integrated graphics. Once found, copy the folder (key) name.
-> Download, extract and edit the *.reg file of this post. Replace all "{BAE0F9C0-4A71-40F7-8F80-6B75745952C6}", with the key you found.
-> Save and run the reg file.
-> Restart. Banding issue and dynamic contrast ratio issue should be fixed.

Please let me know if it works out for you.

 

[dezmenn]

I have a fix. But I need testers.
This fix should also work for Windows 8 users using Intel latest drivers.
PLEASE create a system restore point BEFORE apply it to go back in the case something goes wrong.

This is for advance users only.
Instructions:
-> Go to registry, and to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Video
-> You have folders (keys) in there. expand each one, until you find the ones with sub folders: 0000, 0001 (other folders such as 0002, can be inside). This folder (key) is the one where for the Intel integrated graphics. Once found, copy the folder (key) name.
-> Download, extract and edit the *.reg file of this post. Replace all "{BAE0F9C0-4A71-40F7-8F80-6B75745952C6}", with the key you found.
-> Save and run the reg file.
-> Restart. Banding issue and dynamic contrast ratio issue should be fixed.

Please let me know if it works out for you.

Im using surface 3. Where is the exact location to turn off adaptive contrast in regedit?

 

[GoodBytes]

There isn't an exact path. That is why I made Surface Tweak Tool. Else then that, I would have just made a reg file and say where to go exactly for those who prefer it to do by hand.