No login password prompt available for Surface Laptop 4 model 1769 - Update: VERY slow

Question

I have a MS Surface 4 laptop, model 1769 running Win10 and I'm unable to log in. I can't provide any more software details....because I can't log in.

What happened: This laptop was being used and the screen was closed for a short period of time (less than 30 minutes). When it was reopened the login password prompt (and current user) never came up. I've included two screenshots of the problem.

1. Date and time shown, battery charging icon shows, no network connection (there is WIFI available and it has connected to it in the past)
2. After hitting spacebar, or swiping, or clicking on the screen the background blurs (normal) but there is no username or password prompt.

Therefore it is not possible to log in.

How do I fix this?

Thanks,

Paul

UPDATE: Apparently the login eventually comes, but many, many minutes later and is extremely slow to get a network connection or to even log in.

Answer 1

Hello PaulGerst,

Thanks for reaching Microsoft Community. We're sorry to learn that you were having a problem signing in to your device.

This may be due to software conflict or corrupted system files on the device. Please try Forcing a shut down and restart your Surface then see if it allows you login after the restart. But if issue persists, please give these methods a try:

1. Boot to recovery menu and perform a Startup repair. On the sign in screen, hold down the Shift key and click the Restart icon. This should route you to Choose an option screen.
2. From Choose an option screen, click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair. Wait for it to complete. Then, check if you could now login.

Feel free to respond on this thread to let us know how it goes.

Regards,

StevenK

Answer 2

Thanks, I guess I should have mentioned that I tried both the forced shut down as well as the second method. If I push shift and click on restart it just simply restarts with absolutely no prompt what so ever.

Update - So, it appears that I have to completely wait (30 minutes perhaps) for the login to finally appear. Then, and only then, will the shift restart prompt as you suggested.

In doing so, the repair did NOT fix the problem.

Updated: In trying to even do a restore point (through the shift-restart option) I get error code 80070013.

I would like to run SFC scan but I can't even log in to do this. How do I fix this?

Answer 3

Thanks for keeping us posted, PaulGerst.

It appears that your Windows might be corrupted. At this point, we would highly recommend that you reset your Surface using a USB Recovery Image. This option reimages the entire device, including the partition on the hard drive. It is the most complete form of reset.  You must have at least 16GB/32GB of USB Flash drive and it must be formatted to FAT32 prior to downloading the Recovery Image.

Note: This removes all the files and apps on your device. You will need to back up your data and reinstall the desktop apps or run updates after the completion.

To download the Recovery Image:

1. Visit the page at http://www.surface.com/support/warranty-service-and-recovery/downloadablerecoveryimage
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account (this is the email address we asked you for at the start of the call)
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for
   Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for that device
4. Download the recovery image using the button on the page
5. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

Format USB Drive:

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it
2. At the top of the window tap on Extract and then Extract all. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Perform USB recovery image:

1. Turn the Surface off by pressing the power button
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. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout
7. Select Troubleshoot
8. Select Recover from a drive. If prompted for a recovery key, select Skip this drive at the bottom of the screen.
9. If prompted, select Repartition the drives.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I do not want to jump into a full reimage at this time. Doing so would certainly cause major loss of data since I cannot backup any data on the computer since I can't log in.

It appears that the pagefile may be corrupt. The best first step would be to do a repair, not a reimage. How do I run a repair, such as SFC /scannow?

Answer 5

I do not want to jump into a full reimage at this time. Doing so would certainly cause major loss of data since I cannot backup any data on the computer since I can't log in.

It appears that the pagefile may be corrupt. The best first step would be to do a repair, not a reimage. How do I run a repair, such as SFC /scannow?

Thanks for getting back, PaulGerst.

We totally understand how important those data are. In this case, you can only use Command prompt in recovery menu. Turn off your device. Press the power button again to turn on your device. On the first sign that Surface logo appears, hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your device. Press the power button again to turn on your device. When Windows starts again, hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your device. Press the power button again to turn on your device. This time, allow your device to fully start up. This should boot you to Choose an option screen, the select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt. In the command prompt, run the System File Checker in Windows (microsoft.com).