UEFI Boot loop on Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Question

So I recently purchased a Surface Pro used from a Value Village and it was missing a charging cord. I Purchased a cord on amazon and it turned on just fine.

It started a UEFI Boot Loop, it currently wont do anything but Boot to the UEFI screen no matter what I do.

I have done the 2 button reset with no luck screen flickers and goes back to UEFI screen, followed all of the Moderators advices on other questions with no avail. Do I need to do a USB recovery Image?

Answer 1

Hi Andrew Thompson,

Thank you for providing the details. Based on your description, it sounds like the Surface Pro 4 is unable to find a valid operating system to boot from and is therefore returning directly to the UEFI screen each time.

Since you've already tried the two-button reset and reviewed the other troubleshooting suggestions without success, creating and booting from a USB recovery image would be a reasonable next step. However, I'd like to check a few things first to help determine whether this is a Windows issue or a possible hardware problem.

First, check for Windows Boot Manager:

• From the UEFI screen, open Boot Configuration.
• Look for Windows Boot Manager in the list of boot options.
• If it's present, make sure it's enabled and listed as a boot option.
• Save any changes and restart the device.

If Windows Boot Manager is missing altogether, that may indicate the Surface is not detecting a valid Windows installation.

Next, check whether the internal SSD is detected:

• While still in UEFI, browse through the available menus and look for storage or device information.
• See whether the internal SSD/storage device is listed.

This is an important step because if the SSD is not being detected by the firmware, reinstalling Windows from a recovery image is unlikely to help until the storage issue is addressed.

If the SSD is detected, then I'd suggest trying a Surface recovery USB:

• On another Windows PC, download the official Surface recovery image from Microsoft.
• Create the recovery USB following Microsoft's instructions.
• Connect the USB drive to the Surface while it is powered off.
• Press and hold Volume Down, then press and release the Power button.
• Keep holding Volume Down until the Surface logo appears and check whether it boots from the USB.

If the recovery environment loads successfully, that would be a good sign that the device can still boot external media and may be recoverable through a Windows repair or reinstall.

To help narrow this down further, could you let me know:

• Do you see Windows Boot Manager in the UEFI boot list?
• Is the internal SSD visible anywhere in UEFI?
• Does the Surface display any error messages or does it simply return to the UEFI screen every time?
• Have you already tried booting from a recovery USB yet?

Those details should help determine whether this is a Windows boot issue or a possible hardware/storage problem.

Please let me know what you find and I'll be glad to help with the next steps.

---

If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".  

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.