Cant reinstall win8.1 surface pro 2 after win10 install

Question

So i bought a secondhand surface pro 2 and installed windows 10. To then find out the battery is not good enough for my needs. Therefore i need to send it back in the same form i recieved it. 

So i tried to DL a 8.1 iso both from microsoft website which is just a multi version edition and a dedicated win 8.1 pro iso. The Surface simply doesnt report the usb setup device is there when booting in from UEFI. Tried the surface dedicated win 8.1 installation with firmware driver directly from microsoft, still just does nothing wont even let me start installation. 

I cant go into settings to revert back for the 10/30 day time i read about on the internet, the option is not there at all for me. 

When i enter the 8.1 setup directly from the USB, not booting into it, it start up and DL updates then proceeds to say

"Something happened

Setup has failed to determine supported install choices"

And all i can do is close it.

People have had luck to run the installer directly from the Sources folder, but that does nothing for me. 

Please help me!

Answer 1

Go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surfacerecoveryimage   (with a

different Windows computer if yours is not working properly), enter the serial

number for the Surface  and download a recovery image for your Surface. You will

need a 16GB USB stick formatted FAT32 (use a Windows computer). Use FULL format

and not quick format. Give the volume a name like surfboot.

Unzip/extract the recovery zip to the formatted USB stick and then-

To reset your Surface from a USB recovery drive:

Step 1:    Make sure your Surface is turned off and plugged in (hold down the power

button for 30 seconds).

Step 2:     Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port on your Surface.

Step 3:    Press and hold the volume-down button while you press and release the

power button on your Surface.

Step 4:     When the Surface logo appears, release the volume button.

Step 5:    When prompted, select the language and keyboard layout you want.

Step 6:     Select Troubleshoot > Reset your PC.

If prompted for a recovery key, select Skip this drive at the bottom of the

screen.

Step 7:     Select the target operating system you wish to reset. This

refers to the current operating system installed on your Surface.

Step 8:    Select Yes, repartition the drives, and on the next page, select Next.

Step 9:     Choose Just remove my files.

Step 10:    Select Reset.

Surface restarts and the Surface logo displays while the reset process continues

(this can take a while).

Answer 2

Thank you for the quick answer!

I cant get past step 4. 

It will just boot into windows 10, even if holding down the volume down button.

Answer 3

Sounds like it is not even booting from USB. Can you try a different, 16GB USB

2.0 stick formatted FAT32 on a Windows computer? If you are in the US, a

Microsoft Store https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/locations/find-a-store can

assist with this.

Answer 4

Dear Barb,

Thank for your procedure.

Just to explain my problem.

I've tried to install windows 10 but at the end of installation it just restarts and stop on the Surface logo.

Then I've tried to reinstall windows 8.1 with your procedure.

I can go up to step 7 and after a while it says : sysreset.exe application error

Instruction 0x1b75c18d try tu use memory address 0x33e2cd70

Memory can't be in read state

Thank for your help

Answer 5

Go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surfacerecoveryimage   (with a

different Windows computer if yours is not working properly)  and download a

Windows 10 recovery image for your Surface. You will need a 16GB USB stick

formatted FAT32 (use a Windows computer). Use FULL format and not quick format.

Give the volume a name like surfboot.

Unzip/extract the recovery zip to the formatted USB stick and then-

To reset your Surface from a USB recovery drive:

Step 1:    Make sure your Surface is turned off and plugged in (hold down the power

button for 30 seconds).

Step 2:     Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port on your Surface.

Step 3:    Press and hold the volume-down button while you press and release the

power button on your Surface.

Step 4:     When the Surface logo appears, release the volume button.

Step 5:    When prompted, select the language and keyboard layout you want.

Step 6:     Select Troubleshoot > Reset your PC.

If prompted for a recovery key, select Skip this drive at the bottom of the

screen.

Step 7:     Select the target operating system you wish to reset. This

refers to the current operating system installed on your Surface.

Step 8:    Select Yes, repartition the drives, and on the next page, select Next.

Step 9:     Choose Just remove my files.

Step 10:    Select Reset.

Surface restarts and the Surface logo displays while the reset process continues

(this can take a while).