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What happened to March Firmware Update?

jrapdx

Member
Sorry to hear that. I would give it a try if I had a keyboard. I know I've seen it recommended to do the firmware updates with the keyboard covers installed. Was yours connected when you did the update?

Hey, I've been suffering with these absurd SP2 issues since December, I know the drill all too well, and of course the TC2 was attached.

Any other ideas?
 

GoodBytes

Well-Known Member
Like I said hardware revision. Nothing new here. Same story with other manufactures, however the difference with other manufactures, is that most don't upgrade their drivers ever. Or if they have a problem on specif hardware they'll upgrade to some beta drivers from the manufacture or latest or older. Here, there isn't this luxury. And I think Microsoft is starting to see that while, I am sure that all or most people here would agree that on paper, pushing everyone on the latest drivers and automated via Windows update is a great idea... we are seeing it's downfall.

But one thing that we MUST consider... hardware faults. It is true that, and must expect that, a driver version might have a bug which hides a hardware fault. This is nothing new. When Windows has a new Service Pack or version, same for Linux, and MacOS, some people have problem, and discover faulty RAM or hardware, same even with drivers. This is nothing new. Just not obvious and very hard to come to such conclusion, as "it used to work fine before".

Now I AM NOT saying that everyone with issues has hardware fault, it could be a hardware revision issue.

But I am not seeing many people with issues. just less than a hand full. Same for Feb. Or maybe I am not checking the forums that you go check.
 
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jrapdx

Member
Like I said hardware revision. Nothing new here. Same story with other manufactures, however the difference with other manufactures, is that most don't upgrade their drivers ever. Or if they have a problem on specif hardware they'll upgrade to some beta drivers from the manufacture or latest or older. Here, there isn't this luxury. And I think Microsoft is starting to see that while, I am sure that all or most people here would agree that on paper, pushing everyone on the latest drivers and automated via Windows update is a great idea... we are seeing it's downfall.

But one thing that we MUST consider... hardware faults. It is true that, and must expect that, a driver version might have a bug which hides a hardware fault. This is nothing new. When Windows has a new Service Pack or version, same for Linux, and MacOS, some people have problem, and discover faulty RAM or hardware, same even with drivers. This is nothing new. Just not obvious and very hard to come to such conclusion, as "it used to work fine before".

Now I AM NOT saying that everyone with issues has hardware fault, it could be a hardware revision issue.

But I am not seeing many people with issues. just less than a hand full. Same for Feb. Or maybe I am not checking the forums that you go check.

Whether the SP2 defects are "hardware faults" or "software faults", the issue here is that it is MS responsibility. MS designs, builds (or has it built by 3rd party), and creates the drivers and software, lock, stock and barrel. It's their baby, they own the whole process, start to finish. It doesn't matter what other vendors do. Comparing how many updates are offered by various manufacturers is completely irrelevant. The only thing that counts is: does it work or how well does it work?

I can't tell you how many computers I've owned in the last 30 years, business and personal, there have been many hundreds. Sure, no system is perfect, some had "faults", but none has been as bug-ridden as the 2 SP2 samples I've been acquainted with in the last 4 months. And I'm hardly the only one having such experiences. If you are not seeing that many owners have trouble with their SP2's, just open your eyes, this forum is jam-packed with reports of device misbehavior; these comments have been going on for months and continue to appear at a steady rate.

So I don't understand your point. Your apologetic "defense" of MS failure of responsibility misses the point entirely. It doesn't matter how defects are classified, it only matters that MS lives up to its obligation to deliver what it promised--a device that meets its specifications, and works as advertised, reliably and consistently. That is what we paid for, and exactly proper to expect.
 

Dim-Ize

Active Member
be77solo - I now see what you mean on your system. Ugh. I hate that! I don't have that issue though. I haven't done anything special, only installed the updates. I have the 256/8 model.

Capture.JPG
 

Great

New Member
I updated the firmware yesterday and my biggest issue was with WIDI connection to my LG 3D Smart TV (Yes WIDI!!! My TV doesn't support Miracast but I can connect wirelessly with WIDI). There is a very pronounced lag between the vídeo and áudio.
Which is weird because this firmware update is almost all about Miracast improvement!!!!

Fortunately I have a clone image of my ssd and I could revert to my previous state just before the firmware update ;-)
 

mennogreg

Active Member
I have the March update and have noticed no problems so far, but I think I know why (one of) the reason they pulled it. Several sites comments have reported booting to the black BIOS screen upon installing the firmware and getting stuck there, essentially bricking their device. Don't know if that was because they weren't following firmware procedure (having it plugged in) or the update itself is bad on some systems. I still don't understand why MS doesn't have a pop-up message stating to have the device plugged in when doing a firmware update, or not letting you install it at all until you do.
 

GoodBytes

Well-Known Member
I agree. Or better yet:
Have the system keep the firmware update in memory, apply it the next time the system is plugged in. Same for the keyboard part.
 

jrapdx

Member
jrapdx,

Did you try to clean restore or reinstall the updates, or something along those lines?

Nope. Doing restore or refresh is a last step of desperation, and not there yet. Similarly, no point in reinstalling updates, especially since MS, once again, has pulled the updates, presumably to minimize damage done. If my SP2 is damaged by FW updates it's pretty much irreversible by anything I can do.

OTOH it's not clear at all which of the updates is causing trouble. If it's a driver or OS component, it can probably be reverted. The task is to determine which is which. Uninstalling updates one at a time might be informative, I just haven't yet had time to mess with it.
 
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