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Signs of a dying Surface pro 3?

Moonsurface

Super Moderator
Staff member
I have a 2014 Surface pro 3 which I used to use very heavily up to 2018 when I got myself a new Pro 5. I kept on using the pro 3 until a year or two ago when it developed a boot loop which turned out to be something to do with an SD card I had in the slot, it seemed to be working Ok after that though I used it very infrequently

However recently my husband decided to use my SP3 for a business trip to the USA as his old Surface 3 had become so slow. It mainly worked fine but started to have issues with the over temp icon coming on the screen. I never had that in all my years running the SP3 despite it being an i7 and supposedly prone to it. My hubby did enjoy the experience with my old SP3 so much that he went out and bought himself an SP8 (me ... jealous?.... Never!)

Could it be something like that the paste used for the CPU has got old and not working so well any more? What are the signs of an end-of-life SP3 due to hardware failure? Does the SSD fail? I suspect the SSD may have some issues as well. IS there any way to "fix" or upgrade an oldSP3 without completely destroying it in the update process. I love my venerable SP3 it really has been the best computer I ever owned and 7 year service from a tablet PC used heavily is very impressive. I never warmed quite so much to my SP5 (placement of the vol keys annoys me and I had to get a replacement after hardware failure only a month or two into my ownership).

I'd like to keep my old SP3 going if possible
 

macster

Member
Try using "canned air" to blow into the cooling slots and see if that helps. Also, run a virus/malware scan. If all that checks out try a fresh install of the system software. My refurbish SP3/W11 is showing it's age in that the touch screen takes a time out every now and then. I will eventually upgrade to a refurbished/used SP7 and be thankful for the wonderful memories that my SP3 has provided me.

Good luck.

M~
 
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