Surface RT "dead"/black screen after installing optional upgrade(s)

Anonymous
2018-01-23T22:02:45+00:00

Hello!

I've recently reset my Surface RT to factory settings.

Now after setting it up again and installing all needed updates via WindowsUpdate, I also wanted to install the optional ones - especially the one with the Windows 10-like start menu because I like it much better than the big tiles :D

So here I go... but after the needed restart the screen stays black with a blinking WiFi icon in the bottom left and a mouse arrow when I touch the screen or the touchpad (watch here: Youtube Video)

I waited a few hours if there was an update to be finished (until the battery ran out!) - but nothing happened.

  • I already did a complete factory reset
  • Also a complete reset with a recovery USB drive (Windows 8.1 RT image 20.8.17.0)
  • I am out of ideas...

I tried these procedures already...

  1. The first time I installed many updates by hand because WindowsUpdate got stuck - OK I thought this was the mistake...
  2. So the second time I installed only KB2919355, KB3173424 and KB3172614 by hand because of WindowsUpdate stuck again... afterwards I thought this was the mistake because it didn't work...
  3. So the last time I tried everything over WindowsUpdate - which worked only because I flushed the DNS cache before and did the WindowsUpdate repair option from the settings. Again it didn't work...

It works completely flawless until I install an optional update.

PS: I've seen there are already others with this issue which seems to happen since this january...

Please help!

Thank you.

Surface | Other

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Anonymous
2018-02-14T04:32:38+00:00

You can remove KB3033055 after getting the flickering wifi icon, no need to reset from scratch.  

 - Interrupt the boot process a couple times by holding down the power button to force windows into startup repair.

 - Open the command prompt from the menus. (Troubleshoot, Advanced, Command Prompt)

 - You will be prompted to enter username and password

 - At the command prompt type:

dism /image:c:\ /get-packages > c:\dism-output.txt

notepad c:\dism-output.txt

In notepad press ctrl-f and type 3033055, you should find the full name (In my case it was Package_for_KB3033055~31bf3856ad364e35~arm~~6.3.1.19)

Back to the command prompt, In my case I typed:

  dism /image:c:\ /remove-package /packagename:Package_for_KB3033055~31bf3856ad364e35~arm~~6.3.1.19

  exit

From there you should be able to continue to Windows as normal.

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Anonymous
2018-08-15T17:57:24+00:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your feedback. We have identified the root cause and published a fix through Windows Update. This fix is available in the August 14, 2018—KB4343898 (Monthly Rollup) package.

  • Addresses an issue that may prevent your device from starting up properly if you install KB3033055 (released September 2015) after installing any Monthly Rollup dated November 2017 or later.

If your device is already booting to a black screen, you may need to Restore/refresh Surface with a recovery image.

Greg

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-03-06T03:16:10+00:00

    my surface rt is still having the blinking icon, I don't have a keyboard and everything I do is not working. I've had this problem for dats.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-03-03T19:11:32+00:00

    This problem started almost two months ago and Microsoft has still not fixed it.

    You have to refresh the RT to start over and download all the updates again.

    KB4056895 2018-01 (Jan) Security Monthly Quality Rollup is listed as an important installs automatically. KB3033055 is the update that gives the Windows 10 interface. It is an optional update. If it is installed after****KB4056895 the RT will not boot up and gives the symptoms you describe. So, all users that decide to install optional updates and all users that have to reset or refresh their their Surface RT or Surface 2 wil have a system that will not boot up after installing the updates in sequence.

    The only way around this is to catch KB4056895 in the list of available updates and not install or hide it. 2018-02 (Feb)Security Monthly Quality Rollup KB4074594 replaces KB4056895 (Jan), and does not give you this problem.  This is not fixed. The problem is still there. KB3033055 has to be installed first

    Download the Windows RT recovery image

    https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/downloadablerecoveryimage      SurfaceRT_BMR_10.8.17.0.zip    3.033GB

     Extract the zip and paste all of the folders and files  to the a fat32 formatted USB stick.

    Refresh your Surface RT with the recovery image booting from the USB drive.

    Put the RT on the charger. This is going to take several hours to complete.

    Turn the RT off and boot from the USB drive, press and hold the volume-down button while you press and release the power button. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down button. It will take a while to boot, maybe a minute or longer.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-03-03T13:04:04+00:00

    I've done ot but it's still doing that flickering wifi stuff i dont want to reset my surface rt....this start after i install the optional update

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