Microsoft Windows won't load on a Surface Studio Laptop

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frednz

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#304664 25-May-2023 16:48

A friend who owns a Surface Studio Laptop that is only 10 months old has been unable to load Windows. The logo loads ok, but after a minute or so, the computer switches itself off. So, she took her computer back to who she bought it from and they tried to reinstall Windows 11, but this didn't work. The dealer said they would send the computer back to Microsoft under warranty, but she should expect to lose all her programs and data.

Has anyone else had this happen? Is there any way the data and programs can be saved? What is the most likely cause of this failure?

Thanks for your help.

hsvhel

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#3079652 25-May-2023 17:00

can you boot it in safe mode and retrieve data?

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frednz

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#3079653 25-May-2023 17:03

hsvhel:

can you boot it in safe mode and retrieve data?

No, the dealer was apparently unable to do this.

xpd

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#3079654 25-May-2023 17:11

Get it to a geek to try via a linux USB stick..... failing this, then no, if not booting into any OS, then you're stuck unfortunately.

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frednz

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#3079656 25-May-2023 17:36

xpd:

Get it to a geek to try via a linux USB stick..... failing this, then no, if not booting into any OS, then you're stuck unfortunately.

Apparently the computer is not booting into any OS, so when you say "you're stuck", I guess this means she will lose all her programs and data. This shows the importance of continuously backing everything up.

freitasm

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#3079667 25-May-2023 20:01

If the computer is using Windows Pro and Bitlocker is enabled then booting with Linux will see nothing as drive is encrypted. Could you confirm?

Ruphus

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#3079671 25-May-2023 20:24

The Surface Laptop Studio has a removable m.2 SSD so you may be able to transfer to another device. However, you will need the recovery key if BitLocker was enabled.

Was the laptop bought from an authorized Microsoft dealer?

frednz

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#3079674 25-May-2023 21:28

Ruphus: The Surface Laptop Studio has a removable m.2 SSD so you may be able to transfer to another device. However, you will need the recovery key if BitLocker was enabled.

Was the laptop bought from an authorized Microsoft dealer?

Yes it was, thanks for your post.

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Silvrav

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#3079726 26-May-2023 08:35

Yes, ask tehm to remove the SSD to try and recover the data (if the SSD is not the problem)

https://youtu.be/cnBAeUD0Li4

frednz

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#3079774 26-May-2023 10:36

Silvrav:

Yes, ask tehm to remove the SSD to try and recover the data (if the SSD is not the problem)

https://youtu.be/cnBAeUD0Li4

Thanks for the link, it provides a very good guide as to how to service the Surface Studio. I agree that the SSD, if not faulty, would be useful in recovering the data and should be given to the client if the unit is replaced with a new one. But here's a question, do Microsoft actually do repairs to laptops that are under warranty or do they simply replace faulty units with brand new ones?

Silvrav

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#3079776 26-May-2023 10:41

frednz:

Silvrav:

Yes, ask tehm to remove the SSD to try and recover the data (if the SSD is not the problem)

https://youtu.be/cnBAeUD0Li4

Thanks for the link, it provides a very good guide as to how to service the Surface Studio. I agree that the SSD, if not faulty, would be useful in recovering the data and should be given to the client if the unit is replaced with a new one. But here's a question, do Microsoft actually do repairs to laptops that are under warranty or do they simply replace faulty units with brand new ones?

In my experience, it depends on the tech centre who handles it and whats wrong. If its something simple, they will repair OR replace with a previously fixed unit. If its major they will just replace. These days one just doesnt know. But I would suggest OP specifically ask them to remove the SSD and provide this to him (a few factors again, bitlocker could be an issue and the drive is still ok)

Probably the worst time to say, but it needs to be said, but get your friend to now invest in off device backups or cloud backup as unfortunately things like this happens more often then not.

trig42

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#3079777 26-May-2023 10:48

frednz:

A friend who owns a Surface Studio Laptop that is only 10 months old has been unable to load Windows. The logo loads ok, but after a minute or so, the computer switches itself off. So, she took her computer back to who she bought it from and they tried to reinstall Windows 11, but this didn't work. The dealer said they would send the computer back to Microsoft under warranty, but she should expect to lose all her programs and data.

Has anyone else had this happen? Is there any way the data and programs can be saved? What is the most likely cause of this failure?

Thanks for your help.

If the retailer tried to install Win11, there's a good chance that the drive is already wiped (that's the first step).

If they didn't get to the User Interface to install Windows, then data may still be there, but it will probably be bitlockered.

When they get it back, if they have Office, they should have OneDrive - at the very least set that to sync Documents/Pictures and Desktop.

frednz

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#3079878 26-May-2023 20:19

Silvrav:

In my experience, it depends on the tech centre who handles it and whats wrong. If its something simple, they will repair OR replace with a previously fixed unit. If its major they will just replace. These days one just doesnt know. But I would suggest OP specifically ask them to remove the SSD and provide this to him (a few factors again, bitlocker could be an issue and the drive is still ok)

Probably the worst time to say, but it needs to be said, but get your friend to now invest in off device backups or cloud backup as unfortunately things like this happens more often then not.

Thanks, very good advice, quite a lot of important data was backed-up but, to be safe, all work needs to be backed-up on a daily basis to external hard drives and also preferably to a cloud backup, such as Dropbox. It was quite unexpected that a top-of-the-line Microsoft computer would fail when it's not even 12 months old! The retailer did warn that to remedy the problem the data would almost certainly be lost, but even so, it may pay to check whether the SSD has any recoverable data on it.

frednz

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#3080195 28-May-2023 07:59

freitasm: If the computer is using Windows Pro and Bitlocker is enabled then booting with Linux will see nothing as drive is encrypted. Could you confirm?

Thanks for your post, I can confirm that Bitlocker had not been enabled on the Surface Studio laptop.