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Pro overheated, won't power back on

Intangir

New Member
EDIT: Issue solved

Like the topic says; I was doing some work on my pro, nothing to power hungry; just some excel spreadsheets and music playing in the background (it was still plugged in). I was using the type cover w/ a wireless mouse, and all of a sudden the Pro just shut off completely without warning. I picked up the Pro to take a closer look, and it was extremely hot to the touch, way above usual. I let it cool down for 10-15 minutes then tried to power it back up... but nothing. I've let it cool off for an hour and it still won't power up... :/

Has anyone else had this happen? Does the Pro have a built in timer to prevent itself from turning on for a while after overheating, or does it seem like it bricked itself? :/ If it is bricked, that will cause a lot of problems since I wasn't able to back up any of my work, and having to send it in could take quite a while.
 
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prscarp

New Member
It should not have damaged itself. It would have throttled itself way before then. Did you make sure it actually has a charge? Maybe something got stuck running in the background using 100% CPU which is why it was much hotter then usual. This would also drain your battery real fast. Make sure to plug it in and try to power it on.

Let me know

EDIT: I see you said it was plugged in, now thats very strange.. Still, make sure the outlet is working and that the light on the power plug comes on when you plug it in. Let it charge for a couple minutes and then try to turn it back on. Also try holding the power button for 30 seconds if it still won't power on.
 
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OP
I

Intangir

New Member
It has been charging for the past hour+. The charging light is on, but even holding down the power button for a while the system doesn't even attempt to boot (just remains off)
 

prscarp

New Member
Oh well hmm.. I guess it is always possible that it is damaged. Do know if the fans were working on it?

I would play around with the power button for a bit, maybe keep a flash drive plugged into it that has an activity light to see if that lights up. Unplug it from the wall and play with the power button some more. Unfortunately there really isn't to much you can do. That I know of at least
 

CMD

Member
Like the topic says; I was doing some work on my pro, nothing to power hungry; just some excel spreadsheets and music playing in the background (it was still plugged in). I was using the type cover w/ a wireless mouse, and all of a sudden the Pro just shut off completely without warning. I picked up the Pro to take a closer look, and it was extremely hot to the touch, way above usual. I let it cool down for 10-15 minutes then tried to power it back up... but nothing. I've let it cool off for an hour and it still won't power up... :/

Has anyone else had this happen? Does the Pro have a built in timer to prevent itself from turning on for a while after overheating, or does it seem like it bricked itself? :/ If it is bricked, that will cause a lot of problems since I wasn't able to back up any of my work, and having to send it in could take quite a while.

Pretty much every modern windows device should never damage itself due to overheating. two things happen first, Severe throttling of the CPU, and if it gets too hot still, (105 degrees I think), it will shut down and restart with a blue screen saying the device got too hot and had to shut down. My guess is on an SSD failure, or a power surge fried it.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
It will shut off if it becomes critically hot and not power on until it cools sufficiently. Has it cooled or is it still hot? If it is still hot I would remove it from the charger which can cause the battery to heat up and slow the cooling process (unless the fans are running then leave it plugged in). Make sure you go into the power profile and set the fans to active cooling instead of passive to help keep it cool in the future.
 
OP
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Intangir

New Member
I plugged in my e-cig's charger (simple USB adaptor with an LED). When I press and hold the power button, the light turns on for one second, then shuts off again. So there is power, it just doesn't want to turn on.
I know the fans were working as of this morning, I could hear them wizzing about when I was taking notes earlier. I am going to leave it charging for another hour and hope for the best :/. In the meantime, I'm going to track down the receipt, sigh :/

EDIT: The device is pretty cool right now, but I'll try setting it next to my desk fan unplugged to see if that helps at all.

EDIT2: I just noticed that I am getting POST lights when I press the power button (I assume it is the equivalent of a POST code?)
short blink -> pause -> 2 short blinks -> pause -> short blink -> pause -> short blink -> pause -> long blink -> stops
 
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CMD

Member
I plugged in my e-cig's charger (simple USB adaptor with an LED). When I press and hold the power button, the light turns on for one second, then shuts off again. So there is power, it just doesn't want to turn on.
I know the fans were working as of this morning, I could hear them wizzing about when I was taking notes earlier. I am going to leave it charging for another hour and hope for the best :/. In the meantime, I'm going to track down the receipt, sigh :/

EDIT: The device is pretty cool right now, but I'll try setting it next to my desk fan unplugged to see if that helps at all.

EDIT2: I just noticed that I am getting POST lights when I press the power button (I assume it is the equivalent of a POST code?)
short blink -> pause -> 2 short blinks -> pause -> short blink -> pause -> short blink -> pause -> long blink -> stops

That blinking sounds a lot like the infinite UEFI bois loop. Is the light orange? I'm surprised you aren't going into the bios: I'll link you to the article that explains about this and possible fixes as well as no power on fixes:

Surface Pro: Known Issues, Bugs & Quick Fixes | CRASHCTRL

At the top of the page is an index check out "My Surface Pro Will Not Power On!!" and "Secure Boot Loader Loop"
 
OP
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Intangir

New Member
Thanks for the help. I just got done talking to Microsoft's chat support. They were actually surprisingly helpful. We managed to get my Surface back up and running with a rather simple fix.

All I had to do was hold Volume-up for a few seconds, then press and hold the power button while continuing to hold up. Booted up into W8 fine as if nothing ever happened. Huuuuuge breath of relief, I really though my Pro was going to be shipped into the Surface graveyard.
 

mitchellvii

Well-Known Member
You gotta love the SP, it is my favorite toaster oven. I was just running some Netflix and the CPU cranked up to 172 F, about 77 C. Far from deadly for a CPU but way too hot to hold comfortably.

Ah the tradeoffs we make for power.

The best solution for the heating problems? A nice case so you don't burn your hands. Also, don't run Netflix on a secondary monitor while you are inking, the glass gets HOT.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
You gotta love the SP, it is my favorite toaster oven. I was just running some Netflix and the CPU cranked up to 172 F, about 77 C. Far from deadly for a CPU but way too hot to hold comfortably.

Ah the tradeoffs we make for power.

The best solution for the heating problems? A nice case so you don't burn your hands. Also, don't run Netflix on a secondary monitor while you are inking, the glass gets HOT.

Are your fans running or is that passive cooling?
 

psnative

Member
It will shut off if it becomes critically hot and not power on until it cools sufficiently. Has it cooled or is it still hot? If it is still hot I would remove it from the charger which can cause the battery to heat up and slow the cooling process (unless the fans are running then leave it plugged in). Make sure you go into the power profile and set the fans to active cooling instead of passive to help keep it cool in the future.

how do you change the fan settings?
 
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