Surface Pro 3 will not shut down/off

Question

I have a Surface 3 Pro. I inherited it from a family member, so I really don't know any background history with it. But it has a problem of restarting about 75 percent of the time. I noticed the problem when the battery kept running down after I thought I turned it off:):). Come to find out when I thought I was turning it off, it would reboot about 15 to 30 seconds after I left. Reboot time varies. Sometimes it can be a little bit longer than that. But the problem never presents itself when the Surface is Plugged in. It always turns off like it should. Other than this problem, the Surface 3 runs perfect. Battery has and holds a very good charge. But every once in a while, it will turn off like it should. Included is an Event Viewer screenshot of what is happening, which I will add in a short time. I don't really understand all of this but hopefully one of you guys will be able to:):) I will gladly answer any questions you may ask. Im trying to determine if it is a bad firmware update. Maybe a piece of bad hardware. But I say the problem with it being hardware, is that when I fully re-install the OS using the Surface Install media, it takes me back to a really really early version of windows. Something in the early 2016 or 2017 versions. I don't think the problem presents itself at this time. Its when installing updates and firmwares that I think the problem begins to present itself.

Hope this sheds a little light on the issue:):)

I appreciate very much the help:):)

Answer 1

Hi beeson76,

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Community and posting your inquiry.  

The issue could be caused by an error on the Windows system. We suggest performing a USB recovery image. This process will wipe everything out on your device and install a brand-new operating system. Please make sure that you have back up your files and data either in an External Hard drive or use your OneDrive app. You’ll need a USB with at least 16GB/32 GB and format it clean (make sure that you have chosen FAT32 as the file system while formatting the USB). You'll need a PC running Windows 10 or Surface Device to download the system files/recovery image on the Microsoft Website.   

Note: USB/Flash drives are the only required device for you to perform the follow steps below successfully.

• We’ll need to convert the USB into a Recovery/Bootable USB:

1. Plug in the 16 GB/32 GB to your working Windows 10 device. 
2. Go to the Search bar on the lower left that says “Type here to search” and type the keyword, Create a recovery drive. 
3. Choose the “Create a recovery drive app” and uncheck the box “Backup system files to the recovery drive” 
4. Click on “Next” then wait for it to finish.

• Download the System Files or Recovery Image:

1. Go to the Download a recovery image for your Surface
2. If you’re signed in with your Microsoft account, you will be prompt to choose the device from the list of devices on your Microsoft Account. If you’re not signed in, choose a product on the drop-down menu and provide the Serial Number of the device. 
3. Once the download is finished, go to the file, right-click and choose Extract all then choose the USB/Flash drive.

• Perform the USB recovery:

1. Shutdown the device by pressing/holding the power button for 10 seconds until it’s off. 
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port. 
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker. 
4. Press and release the power button. 
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker. 
6. Choose your language options and keyboard layout. 
7. Select Troubleshoot. 
8. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive. 
9. Select “Recovery”. 

Please let us know about the issue by replying on this thread.

Kind regards,

John Neil_J

Answer 2

Ok. I think I am figuring something out. After looking at the Event Viewer I am tracing it back to a problem with the Bios. I have 3.11.2650.0 installed as my latest version of Bios. That is the newest Bios available for the Surface Pro 3. The problem is when I go into Bios, it seems like its messed up. Like it had a bad Bios Update. I am trying to put a new Bios on it but it comes in the form of .cab file. I tried installing it by using: DISM.exe /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:c:\xxxcabnamexxx.cab but I just cannot get it to install.

The reason I say the Bios is messed up is because I cannot scroll between many of the options. I have 2 of the Surface Pro 3s and on the good Surface Pro 3 I can scroll on all the options. But on the one that keeps restarting I cannot scroll through all the options.

Any help in getting this Bios updated to a good Firmware install is greatly appreciated. I wonder if I can somehow do it by USB install of by command prompt.

Thanks for any help guys:):)