How to fix new upgrade to Windows 11 that keeps crashing (except in Safe Mode)

Question

My 'spare device' Surface Pro 7 (model 1866) had Windows 10 Pro from new. Windows Update offered me the upgrade to Windows 11 which I eventually accepted a few days ago. It completed the install and accepted updates, and ran well for a few days of occasional use, just me setting up User Accounts etc and a little browsing but no 3rd party apps or data added. It then announced some new updates which I allowed after which it immediately began crashing, by which I mean stopping about 10 seconds after start, with no BSOD or error message. I tried the basic WinRE repairs including CHKDSK and full offline virus-check without any luck so assumed it needed a clean install.

So I did a clean install via USB Recovery Drive using the Microsoft-supplied image of Windows 11 Pro 24H2 specifically for my device (Surface Pro 7). This installed ok and was stable (no crashes) long enough for me to download all required and optional updates, but before I could finish setting up further it also began crashing like before (within a minute of startup). All this is before any additional apps (Microsoft or 3rd party) are installed, and with no peripherals connected, nor my files uploaded.

After a few restarts it became stable again for a while, during which time I checked Device Manager (doesn't show any problems), and ran Surface Toolkit (no problems except that Bitlocker isn't running, but I haven't enabled it). There are no more updates available through Windows Update, required or optional. Now it is crashing again. I guess something that Windows Update thinks is required, is also breaking it, but I can't tell what (it installs several updates at once) nor avoid the required updates.

It is stable in Safe Mode, so I can run Event Viewer and see a somewhat consistent pattern of about 8 errors that are reported before each crash. However I don't know what they mean or how to fix them, and can't find anything consistent/understandable when I search them online.

Is there a way I can upload the event logs (which I've exported/saved) here for someone with expertise to tell me what the errors mean and what I can do about them? I have seen other posts which post text of errors or provide minidump files but I don't know how to do that.

I'll paste what I can of the 'repeated sequence of errors before crashing' below in case that is enough for someone to offer me some advice, which will be very welcome!

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device ROOT\WINDOWSHELLOFACESOFTWAREDRIVER\0000.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_8A03&SUBSYS_72708086&REV_03\3&11583659&0&20.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device HID\VEN_8086&DEV_34E4&SUBSYS_00391414&REV_30&Col09\4&1f1b4878&0&0008.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device {DD8E82AE-334B-49A2-AEAE-AEB0FD5C40DD}\DetectionVerification\5&23cc679b&0&0.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device HID\HID_DEVICE_SYSTEM_VHF\6&20972bab&0&0000.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device {98DE32A9-5D44-419E-B67D-66072BCEF58B}\SurfaceSarManager\3&63c0d5b&0&SID_DEVICE_05.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device HID\Vid_8087&Pid_0AC2\6&2d0ab97b&0&0000.

The driver \Driver\WudfRd failed to load for the device DISPLAY\LGD0555\4&1bd78084&0&UID8388688.

Netwtw10 6062 - Lso was triggered

The previous system shutdown at 9:02:23 PM on ‎1/‎6/‎2025 was unexpected.

***Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Performance and system failures***

Answer 1

Hello, Kiwi.

Welcome to Microsoft Community!

Thank you for describing the issue and providing information about the incident.

I noticed that your Surface Pro 7 was able to maintain a stable state in Safe Mode, which suggests that the device's system files are good. Combined with the error reporting information, we are almost certain that most of the problem stems from the driver.

This may be a compatibility issue triggered by the fact that the current driver version of the Surface Pro 7 is not updated. Therefore, I would recommend you to manually get the driver and firmware installer for Surface Pro 7 to troubleshoot the unknown driver issues and maintain the performance of the device:

Download Surface Pro 7 Drivers and Firmware from Official Microsoft Download Center

Please download the driver for Windows 11 version.

If the problem stems from the driver, then the above steps usually work.

If the problem persists, it is necessary to consider whether there is a hardware issue that is causing the Surface Pro 7 to not work correctly under Windows 11.

As I am not in a position to directly assist you in debugging your device, I recommend you to contact the Surface Technical Support team for more efficient hardware service.

I share with you the steps to create a service order here, you can use a working device to access the browser for the following:

1. Use your personal Microsoft account (not your organization account) to access the following links:

Contact - Microsoft Support

2. Type Surface Continues to Crash, press Enter, and click "Contact Support" at the bottom:

3. Select Technical Support and select the device model (Surface Pro) you are currently using in Product family, then click Confirm:

4. You will see contact options for Chat support and Phone support, please contact them during business hours:

I wish you all the best.

Best Regards.

Leo.L - Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Thanks for the advice, Leo. Much appreciated!

I immediately followed your instructions to sign in for support from Microsoft. There was no chat option but I left my phone number. Unfortunately I have not received a call, although 6 days have passed. The tablet is out of warranty so perhaps that is why.

Anyway, I also downloaded the official Drivers and Firmware msi that you recommended, but have been unable to run it because the tablet is only stable in Safe Mode, and msi won't run in Safe Mode. Is there a workaround for that?

Many thanks!

Answer 3

Hi, Kiwi.

Thanks for your reply.

If you are completely unable to boot this device in regular mode, then we really can't do the firmware installation in safe mode.

We can only make some possible attempts through Device Manager.

You can right-click on the Windows icon and select Device Manager, and you can start by selecting to uninstall the NIC driver, the Graphics driver, and the Bluetooth driver. Once the uninstallation is complete, please select Scan for hardware changes to complete the reinstallation. This is also able to realize the driver update.

And these three drivers are easy targets for device failure.

For service order creation, I'm not sure you followed the options I showed you exactly:

Although your device is out of warranty, Microsoft still offers out-of-warranty repairs for the Surface Pro 7. So this could be a case of delayed requests, community supporters are not affiliated with the Surface tech support team, but users can always reach them through the means we provide.

In order to continue to be able to use this device, a more in-depth inspection is necessary.

I'm with you.

Best Regards.

Leo.L - Microsoft Community Support Specialist