Install Windows Manually on Surface Duo 2

Surface Duo 2 Dual Screen Windows

Files/Tools Needed 📃

TWRP image: surfaceduo2-twrp.img
Parted: parted
Mass Storage Shell Script: msc.tar
Windows UEFI: Surface.Duo.2.UEFI.Fast.Boot.zip/uefi.img
Platform Tools from Google (ADB and Fastboot)
An ARM64 Windows build of your choice that meets the minimum system requirements (specifically the install.wim file). You can use UUPMediaCreator for this. Here’s a guide on how to use it.
The driver set: SurfaceDuo-Drivers-2XXX.XX-Desktop-Zeta.zip
A Windows PC to build the Windows ISO, apply it onto the phone from mass storage, add drivers to the installation, configure ESP

Warnings

- Don't create partitions from Mass Storage Mode on Windows (because ABL will break with blank/spaces in names), your phone may be irrecoverable otherwise

- If you see a warning and/or error during the process, it is not normal. Contact us on telegram if you see anything odd, but do not continue or proceed on your own, you will break things further.

- Don't rerun the commands if you interrupt the process. You may break your partition table. Parted is a very *delicate* tool, anything you do may cause permanent damage to your device.

- Do not run all commands at once. Parted is a very *delicate* tool, anything you do may cause permanent damage to your device.

- Do not commit *any* typo with *any* commands. Parted is a very *delicate* tool, anything you do may cause permanent damage to your device.

- Be familiar with command line interfaces. Parted is a very *delicate* tool, anything you do may cause permanent damage to your device.

- When using TWRP, it is normal and expected for the phone to be detected as an Asus phone and for touch to not work.

Important

**THIS WILL WIPE ALL YOUR ANDROID™ DATA**

We don't take any responsibility for any damage done to your phone. By following this guide, you agree to take full responsibility of your actions. We have done some testing,

but this is **STILL IN PREVIEW** and things can go wrong.

PLEASE READ AND BE SURE TO UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE GUIDE BEFORE STARTING

What you will get 🛒

You will end up with both Android™ and Windows on your Surface Duo. Android™ and Windows will both split the internal storage (64GB and 64GB or 128GB and 128GB or 256GB and 256GB).

Android™ will boot normally, and you will have to use a PC to boot Windows when needed, unless you create a dual boot image (explained later).

Steps 🛠️

Unlocking the Bootloader

If not already done, please first proceed with the Unlocking the Bootloader guide for Surface Duo 2. Come back once you’re done. If you already followed this guide, please skip the unlocking section.

Partitioning

If not already done, please proceed with the Partitioning guide for Surface Duo 2. Come back once you’re done. If you already followed this guide, please instead follow the Reinstall Windows guide for Surface Duo 2, not this one.

Going to Mass Storage

Let’s load the mass storage shell script in order to boot into Mass Storage from TWRP

adb shell "setenforce 0"
adb push <path to downloaded msc.tar> /sdcard/
adb shell "tar -xf /sdcard/msc.tar -C /sdcard --no-same-owner"
adb shell "sh /sdcard/msc.sh"

Surface Duo should now be in USB 3 SuperSpeed (or what the USB-IF currently calls it) Mass Storage Mode.

Installing Windows

Make sure you are in Mass Storage Mode, that your Surface Duo is plugged into your PC
Mount the partitions you have created using diskpart and assign them some letters:

⚠️ THESE ARE NOT ALL COMMANDS. DISKPART COMMANDS VARY A LOT, SO THESE ARE SOME ROUGH INSTRUCTIONS.
ACTUAL COMMANDS START WITH AN HASHTAG (which you will need to remove)
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE THE LETTERS WE USE AT ALL!!!, THEY ONLY NEED TO BE FREE LETTERS. IF LETTERS DONT ASSIGN FINE, USE ANOTHER ONE.
IF ONE PARTITION IS ALREADY ASSIGNED, YOU ALSO DO NOT NEED TO ASSIGN IT AGAIN IF YOU DONT WANT TO.

# list disk
Find the Surface Duo Disk, and take note of the number.
# select disk <number>
# list partition
You will be able to recognize the partitions we made earlier by their size. take note of the ESP and WIN partition numbers.
# select partition <esp-partition-number>
# assign letter=<THE LETTER YOU WANT AS LONG AS IT IS NOT CURRENTLY IN USE IN FILE EXPLORER FOR ANOTHER DRIVE! (Example: X)>:
# select partition <win-partition-number>
# assign letter=<ANOTHER LETTER YOU WANT AS LONG AS IT IS NOT CURRENTLY IN USE IN FILE EXPLORER FOR ANOTHER DRIVE! (Example: Y)>:

You will have two partitions loaded, one is the ESP partition, and the other is the Win partition. Take note of the letters you’ve used.

Warnings

From now on we will assume X: is the Win partition and that Y: is the ESP partition for all the commands. You very very likely used other letters, or have to use other letters. Replace them correctly with what you previously picked or you will lose data on your PC.

We will need our install.wim file now. If you haven’t it already, you can use this guide. When you are ready, run these commands:

dism /apply-image /ImageFile:"<path to install.wim>" /index:1 /ApplyDir:X:

This will take a bit of time. Go make some coffee ☕ or some tea 🍵.

Once that is done:

bcdboot X:Windows /s Y: /f UEFI

Windows is now installed but has no drivers.

Installing the drivers

Download the latest driver package from https://github.com/WOA-Project/SurfaceDuo-Releases/releases/latest

Note: Here’s a table of what to download if you’re a bit lost:

File Name	Target Device
SurfaceDuo-Drivers-XXXX.XX-Desktop-Epsilon.zip	Surface Duo (1st Gen)
SurfaceDuo-Drivers-XXXX.XX-Desktop-Zeta.zip	Surface Duo 2

Extract the driver package, and go to the folder where you extracted it.
Double click the OfflineUpdater.cmd file.
Accept the User Account Control warning when prompted
Enter the drive letter of the connected phone in mass storage, as we previously mentioned, for us it’s currently X:, but it may very well be different for you. In our example, we enter X: and then press enter.
The process may take a while, once it is done, you will be prompted to press any key, press enter when that’s the case.

Congratulations, you just installed your drivers!

You can now reboot your phone using adb reboot bootloader. You will be able to boot to Android™ and your phone will work normally. Set it up if you need it.

You will be back into Surface Duo’s bootloader.

Image of what you should see right now: Surface Duo in Bootloader mode

Boot Windows 🚀

We are ready to boot for the first time!

Reboot your device to the Bootloader mode, using adb or from the recovery.

Image of what you should see right now: Surface Duo in Bootloader mode

Let’s boot the UEFI, from a command prompt:

fastboot boot uefi.img

This step above will be needed every time you will want to boot Windows and needs to be done from the Bootloader mode.

If you did everything right, Windows will now boot! Enjoy!

Note: If the Touch keyboard won’t show up in OOBE, touch somewhere else (to let the text box loose focus) and then touch into the text box again. As an alternative, you can use the On-Screen Keyboard.

Let Windows set itself up, and come back once you’re on the Windows Desktop on your Surface Duo

Boot Windows again after initial installation

You’ll have two methods of booting Windows.

Manual booting with a PC
- Pros: You can freely update Android™
- Cons: You will need a PC to boot to Windows
Enabling Dual Boot
- Pros: You’ll be able to boot Windows directly from the device
- Cons: Every time you update Android™, you’ll have to follow this guide

In case you want the dual boot option, then follow this guide

In case you want to manually boot each time: (Click to expand)

Reboot your device to the Bootloader mode, using adb or from the recovery.

Image of what you should see right now: Surface Duo in Bootloader mode

Let’s boot the UEFI, from a command prompt:

fastboot boot uefi.img

This step above will be needed every time you will want to boot Windows and needs to be done from the Bootloader mode.

If you did everything right, Windows will now boot! Enjoy!

Snapdragon is a registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated. Microsoft, the Microsoft Corporate Logo, Windows, Surface, Surface Duo, Windows Hello, Continuum, Hyper-V, and DirectX are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States. Android is a registered trademark of Google LLC. Miracast is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Other binaries may be copyright Qualcomm Incorporated and Microsoft Surface.

Limited emergency calling

Running Windows on your Surface Duo is not a replacement for a proper phone operating system and does not have emergency calling capabilities.

Hello from Seattle (US), France, Italy.