Surface Pro 3 Windows 10 Upgrade Clean Install and Recovery Partition

Anonymous
2015-07-17T19:54:51+00:00

I read that you can take your Surface to a MS store to have them install Windows 10 on it. Has anyone read the details, I can't seem to find out if this is going to be a new, clean install or an upgrade. And, will it update the recovery partition similar to what we have for Win8? I would guess I can use the iso files and do a clean install myself, but, I'm doubt I'd be able to update the recovery partition from the iso.

Surface | Surface Pro | Install and update

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Anonymous
2016-03-28T17:43:58+00:00

For Surface Pro 3, it is possible to perform a clean install of Windows 10 through the use of a downloaded recovery image. This will put your device into the same state as it would be in when purchased new with Windows 10 installed.

Until the free Windows 10 upgrade offer ends on July 29th, 2016 you can use the Windows 10 recovery image on a Surface Pro 3 that has never had Windows 10 installed and it will activate using the product key that came with the device. After July 29th, 2016 the Windows 10 recovery image will only activate on devices that came with Windows 10 or had previously installed and activated Windows 10.

To use the recovery image:

  1. Go to the Download a recovery image for your Surface page and select your product.
  2. You should see the original Windows 8 image that shipped with your Surface, as well the new Windows 10 Version 1511 image.
  3. Click Download and follow the rest of the steps to create the Windows 10 recovery drive and use it to reset Surface.
  4. For more detailed information, see our Restore or reset Surface article.

 

Hope this helps,

Greg

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-08-07T17:39:34+00:00

    I can't say for sure, I can only tell you what worked (or didn't for me).  The update from 10240 worked and activated, the install from the MS media creation tool didn't.

    You would need to install the drivers when you install Win10 assuming you did a complete clean install.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-08-07T18:49:13+00:00

    So I've been running W10 Preview on my SP3 for some time now, it updated and activated to RTM no problem, but I was concerned about not having a product key should I want to reformat at some time in the future.

    I first tried "slui.exe 4" but the phone activation didn't work, and when I got transferred to someone, they were unable to understand my problem.

    I finally went to a MS Store in Palo Alto (Silicon Valley!!!) and the tech person understood my problem immediately.

    He said the only proper way to do it on a Surface Pro 3 is to go back to 8.1, which is what we did in the store, he told me to then update the KBwhatever (the famous Windows 10 nag one) and "reserve" my copy of W10, and wait, which is where i'm at now.

    He then said to install "produkey" by Nirsoft, which shows all product keys in the bios. He said once my Surface updates to 10, produkey will show the Windows 10 product key in the bios. I am then to copy that product key #, and if I want to do a clean install I can download the standalone Windows 10 ISO from the MS site, boot it from a USB and enter the product key copied from produkey.

    I might do that last part on a 2nd partition, in case the serial key doesn't work, but I felt confident that the guy knew what he was talking about.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-08-08T04:31:14+00:00

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-08-12T10:05:16+00:00

    Hi,

    I just upgraded my Surface Pro 3 from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10. I performed the upgrade as follows:

    Downloaded the tool from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

    Performed the "Upgraded this PC now"

    After the upgrade Activation was OK.

    Following this, to install a clean Windows 10, I ran again the tool but now choosing the option "Create installation media for another PC".

    When I try to boot from USB I get:

    Windows Boot Manager

    Windows Failed to start. A recent ...

    1. ...
    2. ...
    3. ...

    File: \EFI\Microsoft Boot\BCDStatus:

    Info: The boot configuration for your PC is missing or contains errors ...

    The creation of the Windows 10 image on the USB stick has probably nothing to do with the problem. Obviously the upgrade has bring my system in this state.

    How can I solve this and have a clean Windows 10 on my SP3?

    Thanks.

    Guy

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