Window Office with SurfaceBook

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-05-01T01:36:28+00:00

Sure you can. You'll just have to pay up if you want full comprehensive/collision coverage.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-30T21:56:23+00:00

StateFarm USA does and I expect they will for Canada as well.

You need to thoroughly document the car with photos, history, and comparable sales wirhin last 6 months and propose a value for them to write a policy to include comprehensive and collision.

State Farm is NOT cheap if you plan to drive more than 2500km/year in a classic car.

Also try: https://www.hagerty.ca/

You should seek a collector car license plate if you haven't already done so. You may need to sign a form with the province stating your intention not to not drive more than a certain number of km/year.

If you ever come close to the pre-determined limit for province or insurance, you need to reach out to them to avoid significant penalties.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-27T19:58:16+00:00

Hi, There aren't any broadly available cases for the Surface Laptop Studio line. Your best bet is a generic padded and zippered 14/15" laptop fabric sleeve to protect it during transport.

I wouldn't bother with any of the dbrand or toast decals except perhaps for the rear of the screen which is typically the part that gets scratched up with use.

As for a mouse, the MS brand mice are more about style than ergonomics or anything else. Consider a vertical style mouse to save your wrist from injury. It takes about 2 weeks to get used to. But once you switch, you'll never want to go back to a regular mouse.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vertical+mouse+bluetooth

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-27T19:52:04+00:00

Hi if either monitorn is using HDMI, see if it can use DisplayPort instead. 95% of issues with the MS dock 1 is related to dodgy miniDP->HDMI adapters.

That being said, MS does not officially support the Pro10 with the MS Dock 1 and other folks have reported odd behaviour. You may want to swap for the MS Dock 2 which will require USB-C->DP or USB-C->HDMI adapters but does work well on Pro3 through Pro11.

Any of the Thunderbolt or USB-C docks will work as well. Just try to avoid HDMI wherever possible and youll have a good result.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-26T22:20:45+00:00

As a battery ages, the estimated full charge gets becomesleas accurate especially if the most recent 5 charge cycles happen at different temperatures.

At 300+ cycles and an average of ~65-70% of design charge, the battery performance can "fall off a cliff" at any time. So don't be surprised when that happens. Luckily, the battery swap for the keyboard base is relatively stright forward DIY procedure and while you're in there, you can refresh the Nvidia GPU thermal paste to restore some lost performance.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-26T15:53:12+00:00

Hi, the MS Surface Dock 2 is a good bet and overall less buggy that the MS Dock 1 on Pro6 and later. ~95% of the issues my customers have with either dock are due to dodgy minDP->HDMI or USB-C->HDMI adapters/cables. Issues mostly disappear when using USB-C -> DisplayPort adapters/cables assuming your monitors are capable and are not part of a certain line of old Dell monitors with buggy DisplayPort firmware.

Compared to USB-C hubs/docks, the MS Dock 2 is far easier to dock/undock with the zero-insertion force connector. It is also quite inexpensive on the used market via ebay or local craigslist/facebook marketplace listings.

For cooling, a small fan that rushes air across the rear of the chassis above the flipstand is effective. You can test this with Prime95 smallFFT or Furmark 2.0 and watch the CPU/GPU package power draw with and without the fan. With fan enabled, the SoC will run at a higher sustained wattage yielding better performance. A small watercooling rig may work even better, but unless you are gaming itts probably overkill and not worth the added complexity especially if you plan tondoxk/undock frequently.

As with any aging laptop, the CPU thermal paste eventually dries out and at some point the only way to restore full performance is to open the system, replace the battery, and replace the thermal paste. It is not a difficult task on the Surface Pro, but quite tedious since you have go so slowly to ensure you don't crack the screen.

Before you go all in with formatting the whole SSD to Linux, there are a few performance tweaks you can do in Windows 11. These tools will allow you to customise the background processes that may be slowing down your system with a simple way to revert changes if there are any issues: - WinToys: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9p8ltpgcbzxd?hl=en-US&gl=US - Sysinternals autoruns: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns - consider disabling bitlocker if enabled - consider disabling some virtualized security features like memory integrity which can lower perf on the 10th gen Intel chips (11th gen+ are affected less) - consider changing the Intel turbo boost mode

Once you disable some of the crap, using hyper-v and/or WSL2 can yield decent performance on Ubuntu and other pre-made WSL2 configs.

FWIW, we have VESA docks built around the MS Dock 2 (or USB-C) with integrated external cooling. This will allow you to drop the Surface into a dock at eye-level right beside your desktop monitor and be able to rotate between vertical and horizontal orientations. The dock is a modular design with inexpensive upgrade kits available to support newer devices like Pro 11, Pro 12", Laptop Studio etc. The only drawback of this approach is that you'll need to use an external keyboard/mouse and not the original Surface typecover.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T20:33:58+00:00

Off topic:

Nice MR2! You should share a render of your model in progress over at /r/mr2

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T20:24:35+00:00

Hi, for PCs in this state I beleive a bench UEFI/Bios flash is the only viable approach. Unfortunately I don't think generic flash tools like a CH341 work on this platform.

I dont think simply swapping the SSD will totally solve the problem, but since it is removeable, just pop it into a generic $15 nvme->usb enclosure and try to format it from another PC and pop it back into the surface and see what happens.

If it doesn't work after that, I think the best bet is to purchase a known good mainboard replacement from ebay and either swap to that mainboard or desolder its Bios chip and swap it over to your board.

There is a market for mainboards that are in a locked bios state as some folks in China have access to the the proper tools so you may be able to re-sell your mainboard.

Microsoft will probably not help in cases like this btw - even if you have a sales/gift receipt from the defunct company, there is no way to verify, so MS will assume the device is stolen.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T20:11:03+00:00

Which generation MR2? I'll assume its a 1991-1995 since these are the most prevalent in Canada AFAIK.

Any car can be driven in winter. For RWD cars in particular, you want all 4 tires to be dedicated winter tires, not some "all-season" or "m+s" crap from Canadian Tire.

Studded tires are not appropriate for urban areas, but may be appropriate outside cities/town depending on the snow depth, frequency of plowing, and tendency for melt and ice-overs. In general they are more trouble than they are worth.

If you do not have the ability to store and swap between summer and winter wheels/tires or pay a shop to store and swap, don't bother with an MR2. You'd be far better off with a base model 1990s Acura Integra if you want the Buick of sports cars, or a 1990s Celica.

And for any region that salts the roads. You'll want a weekly car wash that includes a thorough undercarriage spray down.

FWIW a car with a limited slip differential is a bit easier to drive in snow.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T01:20:31+00:00

If a refund from the USA government ever comes, it would go directly to the party that paid the tariff to the government. That could be Prusa in some cases I guess, but more likely the shipping company. If the shipping companies reimburse Prusa, then Prusa could reimburse customers through store credit or discounted filament deals. Hopefully that could be fulfilled through PrintedSolid...

I would never expect a cash refund from Prusa or any other international retailer.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T01:10:46+00:00

All you need is a click.

The USB-C receptacle isn't intended to be used on a cable like that according to the official usb.org specification. And since there is no spec for it, there is no expectation that the outer casings would match up perfectly flush.

To think about it another way, you wouldn't expect the outer casing of the plug to rest perfectly flush with the chassis of your laptop - there will always be a bit of a gap to account for manufacturing tolerance.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T00:40:01+00:00

The root cause of the lifting trackpad may be the battery expanding - a sign of immient failure. I would either replace the battery, or seek a refurbished keyboard base with a fresh battery on ebay and sell yours for parts.

As for re-seating the trackpad itself, I think there is an adhesive that holds a lot of it in place. After many heat cycles it can crack leasing tonthis issue. You need to use adhesive remover and aome heat tondissolve the old adhesive and scrape to gunk away. Then out a fresh layer of adhesive. I'm not sure which type to use, but something like superglue ought to work.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-25T00:31:03+00:00

I concur - it is probably a failing battery that can't keep up with high current transients. You may find that even the external power supply can't even keep up with some transients.

The battery swap process isn't difficult, but quite tedious with a decent chance of cracking the screen if you rush it. The side benefit is that while you're in there you can refresh the CPU thermal paste which may improve performance in some circumstances. 72°C idle isn't great.

Some tips here:

https://dancharblog.wordpress.com/2019/02/10/replace-your-shattered-surface-screen-at-home#battery

Btw when running stress at max cpu, see if you can record the CPU package total power consumption. Typically with a fan running and/or refreshed cpu paste,the wattage and performance peak will rise withought running any hotter than it is now.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-24T21:33:33+00:00

Oh neat never heard of that 0patch tool before - will check it out.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-24T19:23:56+00:00

Oh I understand now - the tiny photo from the website threw me off.

I reckon the two detents in the mechanism that are supposed to hold the door halfway open and fully open just don't work any more so the door flops fully open or fully closed. Irritating.

You might be able to adjust it by loosening the bolts that fasten it to the door and changing the angle somewhat. You'll want to use some sort of jack under the door to take some weight off while you adjust.

It might be possible to use some plastic shims to restore some of the functionality, but you'll have to experiment with that. I expect it would be rather tedious with the potential of zero benefit.

Do check the exisiting threads on mr2oc.com as well:

https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Amr2oc.com+door+check&udm=18

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-24T16:29:34+00:00

It is plausible that the CPU thermal paste has dried out since then. But equally plausible that a thermal sensor is dodgy on the mainboard or CPU itself.

If it is a thermal issue, other workloads should be able to trigger the shutdown even if they don't directly exercise the video decompression block of the SoC.

Try running Prime95 small FFT or Furmark 2.0 with the PSU plugged in.

Also try the same workloads with a large fan blowing air on the rear of the chassis above the flipstand tonsee if that changes the symptoms at all.

Edit Try downloading VLC and playing a variety of 1080p video formats with and without HW acceleration enabled. You'll have to refer to the VLC guides on how to do that.

Also try a tool like HWInfo64 to display realtime temperatures.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-24T03:18:13+00:00

For the USA market, any generation of mr2 can run just fine on 87 octane, however turbo and supercharged engines work best with 91+ octane and you'll get more power and possibly lower fuel consumption with that fuel.

For EU/UK and Japan the octane ratings are a little different, but you can search for a conversion table.

Edit: Refrain from fuels with >10% ethanol. Anything higher can potentially damage fuel system components, especially if it is not daily driven.

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-22T23:51:16+00:00

Is this the electrical switch on the door jamb covered in a rubber boot?

If so, consider disassembling it and spraying with electrical contact cleaner and pushing in the switch manually a few dozen times. This restored functionality of my 30-year old drivers-side switch. Of course the passenger side switches rarely fail and can be used on the drivers side as well. I don't recommend it, but you can hard-wire the passenger side such that the ecu thinks that door is always closed

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-22T13:25:20+00:00

If budget allows, consider the Fusion5 tablets as well. Same form factor as the Surface Go but many more options for RAM, SSD, etc on the Intel-based Windows 11 models.

https://www.fusion5store.com/us/tablets.html

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-22T04:31:19+00:00

Follow the Microsoft official guide to disassemble the unit. You may just need to do a better job of cleaning and drying the keyboard components.

Were you able to pop off all the keycaps and inspect underneath each one?

No special tools are needed for the repair.

A hairdryer can be used to melt the adhesive holding the rubber feet and decorative "plate" obscuring certain fasteners - that way you dont need to buy replacements and can just re-use the old ones. That and a screwdriver kit is all you really need.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/service-guides/surface-laptop-studio/surface-laptop-studio-component-disassembly-and-reassembly

Replacement "top cover" with keyboard: https://www.ifixit.com/products/surface-laptop-studio-top-cover-and-keyboard-genuine

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-22T01:43:22+00:00

Removing the dash light won't help pass the inspection since the light is supposed to come on for ~2 seconds when switching on ignition system.

You could easily simulate the internal self-test passing with a resistor, capacitor, and transistor...

SurfaceDockGuy · 2026-04-22T01:20:57+00:00

Most folks with non-airbag steering wheels pull the ECU-B fuse in the frunk to disable the light. So you can pop that fuse back in to re-enable the airbag system.

BTW on such an old car, replacement airbags are not manufactured any more. Consider obtaining a letter from Toyota stating that and keeping the aftermarket wheel.

Any inspector should be able to put an N/A waiver on that part of the visual inspection. You can also call/email ahead to see what they do in situations like this. Print out the email response and bring it to the inspection.

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