Repeated BSOD after firmware update - Surface pro 3, Windows 10

Anonymous
2015-09-30T05:24:22+00:00

Hey everyone

There was a firmware update for the SP3 I just did and my device now seems completely bricked. When I boot it, I instantaneously get a BSOD with one of those two messages : kernel security check failure or driver unloaded without cancelling pending operations.

The BSOD tells me I have to use a win10 device to boot it from, but when I tell the BIOS to boot with my USB win10 key, it doesn't and keeps telling that the OS can't boot and to use a win10 disc (no CD reader on the SP3). Nothing I've tried works so far. 

I've had my sp3 for just over a year and I really liked it before windows 10, and I really hope I can get it fixed.

Thanks for your help, 

Émile

Surface | Surface Pro | Install and update

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Anonymous
2015-10-01T02:21:41+00:00

MODERATOR EDIT (10/5/2015): Steps listed here previously are now updated to the following.  If you receive a blue screen error after installing the 9/29/2015 Surface Firmware Update please start at step 1 to address.

Step 1 – System Restore Point

1.    Boot Surface using USB recovery media.  If you do not have recovery media you can download from here: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/downloadablerecoveryimage.  Once you have recovery media proceed to next steps.  Note:  The USB drive must be formatted to FAT32 (not NTFS) in order to work correctly.

2.    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.

3.    When prompted select the language and keyboard layout you want.

4.    Select Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, followed by selecting System Restore then select the target operating system.

5.    In System Restore, click Next.

6.    Click on a system restore point that was prior to applying the System Firmware update. Please use a restore point 9/28 or earlier.

7.    Click Next.

8.    Click Finish.

9.    Click Yes when asked if you want to continue.

10.    After moving to an earlier restore point you should boot into Windows.

If you were able to restore to an earlier restore point you should now be able to use your Surface again, no additional steps are needed.  If you were not able restore to an earlier restore point or you did not have a restore point then continue to step 2 below.

Step 2 – Safe Mode

1.    Boot Surface using USB recovery media by pressing and holding the volume-down button while you press and release the power button.  When the Surface logo appears release the volume-down button.

2.    When prompted select the language and keyboard layout you want.

3.    Select Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, followed by selecting Command Prompt.

4.    Type the following command in the command prompt and then press enter:

               bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu yes

5.    Type the following command in the command prompt and then press enter.

               exit

6.    Press Turn off your PC.

7.    Press the power button on Surface to turn it on.

8.    Press F8 when the Windows Boot Manager screen comes up to go to Startup Settings.

9.    Press “4” to enable Safe Mode.

10.    Surface may do disk checking as well as perform a scan and repair.  Surface will then restart.  If Surface does not do this and instead boots into Safe Mode, go to step 13.

11.    Press F8 when the Windows Boot Manager screen comes up to go to Startup Settings.

12.    Press “4” to enable Safe Mode.

13.    Surface will start in Safe Mode.  Sign into Surface.  Press the Windows Start Menu, press Power and select Restart.

14.    Press Enter when the Windows Boot Manager screen comes up to boot into Windows 10.

15.    Surface will start normally.  Sign into Surface.  Right-click the Windows Start Menu and click Command Prompt (Admin).

16.    Click Yes to allow this app to make changes.

17.    Type the following command in the command prompt and then press enter.

               bcdedit /set {bootmgr} displaybootmenu no

18.    Press the Windows Start Menu, press Power and select Restart.

If you are now able to boot into Windows you should now be able to use your Surface again, no additional steps are needed. If you were not able to boot into Windows then continue to step 3 below.

Step 3 – Reset Surface to factory settings

1.    Follow the steps in the article below to boot Surface using USB recovery media and reset Surface back to factory settings: http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/usbrecovery

Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Josh

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T21:21:45+00:00

    I'm running the RTM build. It's the version that was automatically downloaded to the device.

    I have a bootable USB with Windows 10 but didn't have time this morning to give that a try. That is my next step when I get home from work today. I will update you when I'm done.

    Thanks for your help!

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T21:37:04+00:00

    1a. last december from Microsoft

    1b. 8.1

    1c. back in July

    1d. windows update

    2a. dont know since windows wont boot. but it was updated this morning with the most recent update (about 8 am cst)

    2b. none

    1. NO
    2. NO
    3. since it wont boot i dont know.
    4. i did mention doesnt boot right?
    5. Chrome, OPera and Firefox are  installed
    6. no
    1. Did you purchase the computer at a Microsoft Store last December or...?
    2. Can you start the computer in "clean boot" troubleshooting mode [use Win8.1 instructions] and/or Safe Mode?
    3. Any idea as to which update(s) was installed on the morning of 29 September?
    • AFAIK the most recent Win10 updates at that point (i.e., KB3081455 & KB3081454) had been released on 08 September.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T22:09:49+00:00

    Can you give step by step instructions on how you did this.  I'm stuck in the blue loop too

    I'm happy to try . . . with a couple of caveats.  First, while I've been using Windows forever, I'm new to Win 10 & am not up-to-speed on it at all.  For instance, I didn't even know the blue screens I was seeing were revamped BSOD <shaking my head>.  Also, I don't know why what worked for me -- and didn't work for me -- worked.  For instance, some people seem to have been successful rebooting or getting to  to a Recovery environment by powering off, pressing & holding the Volume Up button, pressing the Power button, and continuing to hold the Volume Up button until Surface appears -- that didn't work for me.  If you've not tried that, it's worth giving it a shot.

    For me, the only way I was able to make any progress was to download the Recovery Image (on a different computer) from:

    https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/downloadablerecoveryimage

    Then, I had to create a USB flash Recovery Drive (formatted to FAT32):

    https://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/storage-files-and-folders/create-a-recovery-drive?os=windows-10

    Then, make sure your Surface device is powered off, insert the USB flash recovery drive, and power the device on.  Some people apparently have to change settings to have things boot from the flash drive -- I didn't.

    For me, I had to choose my language (English) and keyboard layout (US), and then I arrived at a screen with the following options:  Continue (Exit and Continue to Windows 10); Use a Device (Use a USB drive, network connection, or Windows recovery DVD); Troubleshoot (Refresh or reset your PD, or use advanced tools); Turn Off Your PC.

    Being either overly optimistic or a glutton for punishment, I chose Continue, which didn't accomplish anything other than the repeat of the BSOD.

    Next, I chose Troubleshoot, Advanced Options, System Restore.  That seemed promising:  I was able to choose a restore point from 9/27, and things seemed to go well until I got the following error:

    This disk Windows (C:) has errors.

    Windows had detected file system corruption on Windows (C:).  You must check the disk for errors before it can be restored.

    Check the disk for errors.

    OK, so I allowed that to happen, and got the message that the drive was successfully repaired, but then I got a Startup Repair error (Startup Repair couldn't repair your PC).  Arrgh.  So, I shut down and went through the whole process again.  A few more times.  <sigh>

    I still think it's worth trying System Restore & Startup Repair (Troubleshoot, Advanced Options), but those didn't work on my machine.

    Someone somewhere mentioned being able to choose Safe Mode from somewhere within the recovery environment, but I didn't see that option anywhere.  If you can find that, I'd give that a try before proceeding with the below.

    What did work for me was Troubleshooting, Advanced Options, Command Prompt.  Once there, I followed Steps 7, 8, 9, and .0 only from here:

    http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2569556/safe-mode-windows.html

    Then I rebooted tapping F8, and there was some system disk check and repair process IIRC, and the SP3 started Windows 10 normally.  That's confusing to me because it started normally -- not in Safe Mode -- but to be honest, all I cared about was getting back into Windows so I could immediately grab my files before something else went wrong.  I also checked my Windows Update History, and the problematic Firmware Update shows as installed.  I've rebooted normally several times since then, and everything seems fine so far.

    HTH and good luck!  This experience wasn't a pleasant one for me, but I'm so relieved I got my SP3 working again, although I'm unhappy about the hours & hours it took me to get things figured out on my SP3.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T22:47:50+00:00

    Could it be the initial OS that  was on the Computer? Mine came with 8.1 but was able to flash it with someone I know  who had windows 10 surface image from the beginning.  I had no problem with the update .Honestly I hated w10 until I got the 10 default windows 10 Surface pro 3 image. It made my computer so much better. Don't know why MS wont just release one for all surfaces that want to run w10 and keep w8.1 for people who dont

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