Image Courtesy: Microsoft.com

Microsoft today pushed out a new Windows Insider Preview Build 16291 for PC users in Fast Ring. The company also provided a workaround for Surface Pro 3 who complained of having issues installing Preview builds on their devices.

Microsoft Engineer, Jason Howard in the Blog Post has provided a work around for Surface Pro 3 users who are facing issues installing the builds on their devices. Jason explained that the workaround pertains to users with Surface Pro 3 devices with build 16288.1 or 16291.

Below are the steps penned by Jason Howard as a workaround:

  • Prepare a bootable USB image from a working PC.
  • With the device powered off, boot your Surface Pro 3 device from the USB drive.
  • When the Windows setup box appears, press Shift + F10.
  • In the Command Prompt window that appears, type: wpeutil reboot.
  • Hit enter to execute this command and immediately remove the USB drive from the computer.
  • The device will reboot and load the Windows OS as expected.

The above steps are workaround for Surface Pro 3 users to boot back to Windows 10 Operating System. There are also some advanced steps which have been recommended to permanently fix the issue.

  • Open a web browser and navigate to aka.ms/fixsp3ec.
  • Download the file: fixsp3.zip.
  • Open File Explorer on your PC and navigate to the Downloads folder.
  • Downloads is the default folder, it may be different if you have changed your default location.
  • Right-click the file fixsp3.zip and select extract all.
  • A window will open after extraction. Right-click the file fixsp3.cmd and choose Run as Administrator.
  • The process will execute and implement the necessary patch to prevent this bug from recurring.
  • Reboot your Surface Pro 3 device. It is now fully patched.

If Surface Pro 3 users are not willing to go through the above process, then Microsoft has already got a permanent fix for the issue which will be made available in the next flighted build to be released soon with version 16294 or higher.

If any of our Surface Pro 3 users have already encountered the issue, then make sure to check the workaround above and let us know if it fixes the issue in the comments below.

About The Author

Akshay Waghray

Akshay Waghray, who holds a degree in Computer Science, was a former technology news reporter for Windows Latest and his area of expertise include Windows. Articles contributed by Akshay have been referred by big publications such as TechRadar, XDA Developers, Future Inc, Purge, and others over the years. At Windows Latest, Akshay has written and edited thousands of articles using his decades long experience with Windows Server and Windows Update for Business.