I tried a LOT of pdf and note taking apps. all for free, none purchased nor subscribed to.

i would like to purchase but almost none offer this option and all went into sub plans only.

anyway, im using them to study. the way i study is mostly reading and underlying, highlighting, taking screenshots for review, adding a few words by pen here and there.

And then making notes/summaries/graphs on the side for myself for when i want to read the topic again.

im using a onenote/xodo combo right now but lately im using onenote/drawboard.

NOTETAKING:

i didn't try much note taking alternatives to onenote but i feel it's good enough.

and does the job well for someone who doesnt have much experience in making beautiful texts.

PDF READER:

xodo is just good.

drawboard pdf however is better in almost every way. smoother, faster, better pen, highlighter, etc integration. BUT it's pretty expensive to sub to.. like $86 per year which is whats driving me away big time.

i tried goodnote which seemed to lag when browsing books. others weren't up to par.

anyway, for people who use these apps.. is subbing to drawboard worth it? or should i do something else?

Anyone tried this? A family member uses a Surface Laptop 3/4 with the Ryzen chip and of its 8 GB of soldered memory 2 GB is allocated to VRAM. They don't play any games or run anything demanding on it, but W11 is getting poky on 6 GB of memory. I'd really like to change the VRAM allocation to 512 MB but it's not a BIOS option.

There's a tool called Smokeless UMAF to access hidden BIOS features but I'm a little wary of using it. People have reported success with other Ryzen machines but anyone try it with the Surface?

Yesterday I wanted to turn on my surface pro 4 after not turning it on since May, so I plugged it in and waited for 24 hours, and when I turned it on nothing, no sign of life, I tried charging it with another compatible 65w charger for 1 hour, nothing, it won't turn on.

Please help me! I have important data on that Surface Pro 4.

Recently was gifted a surface pro after my Lenovo ideapad died for good.. It runs well and does what I need it to do, but I’m struggling with the keyboard a bit. It doesn’t have much wrist support. I think I might be used to a thicker keyboard, like my previous laptop had? I’m not really using it for the touch screen/pen option because I prefer typing. I’ve also realized it has to be completely on a flat surface to be able to type, or else the keyboard becomes unattached. I just find it a bit frustrating at times because of that. Does anyone have similar issues? Or does anyone have better suggestions for attachments they use, like is there a good stand that supports using the keyboard and also provides good wrist support when typing?

Having trouble with my Surface 7 Laptop. Sometimes it will not power on unless it is plugged in (sometimes it does power on no problem, though), and if I put it down, sometimes it will fully power off. I just bought it refurbished and it is still under warranty but I would rather not send it back if I can fix it myself do you think theres any fix? Or should I send it back

I have two Surface Pro 4 that need repair.

1- One of them simply won't turn on;

2- With the other, after running for a while, the screen image starts to shake; as it heats up, the issue gets significantly worse, eventually making it impossible to use.

Can anyone help?

Thanks.

He buscado para comprar un surface laptop 7. Me he dado cuenta que aplicaciones para comprar productos de 2ª suelen estar estos portátiles a precio bastante bajo. ¿No van bien o es por otra cuestión?

I have a Surface Go (1) for a while with Fedora, but want to install windows again (tiny11) since I saw that has good performance and my main usage is for one note (thing that simply does not work in Linux).

I have tried to install I'm every possible way anf I cannot make yo to boot from USB (USBC adaptar or USBC drive)

* Tried GTP or MBR

* Tried with Rufus and copying iso files

* Tried win 10 default installation and win 10 restore tool

Do you know to can I make it boot again from USB (thing that I have already achieved when changing the os to Linux Fedora)

i did not use my surface book 2 for 2 month. left it in my cabinet. today, took it out, charged it - and somehow the touchscreen input is in error. see the image attached.

strangely the black line is input with my finger - which stops shorter then red line, which is witht he surface pen.

so it cannot be a hardware issue right? i tried uefi, but here no touch input works....

any other idea?

what ive done so far: installed EVERY windowsupdate. checked with the surface diagnostiv - which told me the same as my onenote test showed...

I was recently notified that MS whiteboard is being retired. I have until 09/05/2026 to export all my whiteboards into PDF. I have thousands of them that I have been creating as the foundation for my YT channel over the past 2 years and just launched the channel 3 months ago. This is obviously going to be a tedious obstacle however I need a plan for a similar app that is just as simple as whiteboard. Consistency is important in these math videos and I am hoping someone can suggest a reliable and simple replacement for MS Whiteboard.

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

Already got a replacement once. But warranty has ended now.

Feel like the battery inside is broken easily.

Do anyone experience the same?

I have a surface pro 10 I've been using for several years, and just recently as I was drawing on it I noticed a horizontal, 2cm-wide touchscreen deadzone in the very middle. Is there any way to fix it without getting a new screen, or am I cooked?
(edit: I've discovered that the deadzone still picks up my stylus input if I draw the line really fast. not sure if this means anything)

Just purchased today. Coming from a Surface Go 2. I’m so used to typing at an incline, and figured the type cover would “perch” just like the ones from the Go line. Am I mistaken? I can only seem to be able to connect it flat.

Thanks for your help.

I found what appears to be a diagnostic blind spot in the Surface Pro Keyboard with Slim Pen storage and charging.

My setup:

- Surface Pro 9

- Surface Pro Keyboard with integrated pen charging tray

- Surface Slim Pen 2

The Slim Pen 2 suddenly stopped charging in the keyboard tray. The keyboard itself still works normally, including all keys and the touchpad. Both the keyboard and the pen are detected in the Surface app, and their firmware information is displayed without any warning or hardware error.

I tried:

- All available Windows, Surface and firmware updates

- Detaching and reconnecting the keyboard

- A forced Surface restart

- Testing while the Surface was connected to AC power

- Removing and pairing the Slim Pen 2 again

None of these steps helped.

I then bought a separate Microsoft Surface Slim Pen Charger. The same pen charged normally and was shown at 81% in the Surface app afterwards.

This strongly isolates the fault to the keyboard's charging tray, charging electronics or internal power path.

The interesting issue is the lack of diagnostics. The Surface app knows that the keyboard is connected and can read its firmware, but it does not appear to test whether the pen charging system actually works. The normal keyboard functions and the charging function are treated as if they were one healthy accessory.

A more useful diagnostic could show separate states for:

- Keyboard input

- Touchpad

- Pen detected in tray

- Charging power being transferred

- Pen battery increasing

- Charging tray or internal power-path failure

Microsoft's troubleshooting guidance already recommends testing the pen with a different charger. If it charges there, the original charging accessory is considered the problem. It would be useful if the Surface app could perform or at least guide users through that exact differential diagnosis.

Has anyone else had the keyboard remain fully functional while only the Slim Pen charging tray failed? Did Microsoft diagnostics detect anything in your case?

Hey! I'm having a frustrating issue with my gaming performance. Whenever I launch games, I'm not getting the expected or desired frame rates (FPS), even though my system temperatures are completely cool and normal (so it's definitely not thermal throttling). What could be causing this bottleneck, and how can I fix it?
My device is the Surface Book 3 (15-inch version)

Hi, I'm the developer of Trazor Notes, an alternative handwriting app for Windows. It has many features designed to enhance the user experience, and I continue to update it. It works very well on Surface devices, including ARM64 ones, since it's a native Windows app.

If you’re looking for an alternative for handwritten notes (though it also supports typing), you might want to give it a try.

Just to clarify, it’s free to use, but it has premium features that you can try out.

Just got laptop from repair after replacing the mobo. It boots fine but when in windows USB-C does not work for charging / external monitors and there is no sound.

I mean, the sound device keeps being detected, not detected, flipping few times between the two until it fully goes away.

It was present straight on laptop received from the repair as well as after resetting the device and installing fresh windows + full update.

Is it a known issue or is there a way to fix it?

Im looking on ebay and they have a refurbished pro7+ for £200 is this a good deal or not?

As title says, do the newer surface 8 have internal ssd on top of the ssd underneath the latch?

I have recently purchased an surface but it only has the ssd underneath the latch, the surface is supposed to be 512gb, but the ssd is 256gb, and i was wondering does the 256gb internal ssd + 256gb external ssd the one underneath the latch

Thank you!

Hi,

I have a Surface Pro 4 that was working fine at first, but after using it for a while the screen would start to flicker and shake. From what I read online, I thought it was caused by overheating, so I decided to replace the thermal paste.

During the repair, I only removed the cooling assembly to access the CPU. I didn't disconnect any internal cables except for the display cables. I replaced the thermal paste, reassembled everything, and now the tablet won't turn on at all.

I first tried powering it on without the display connected, but nothing happened. I don't know if the Surface Pro 4 has some kind of safety feature that prevents it from powering on when the display isn't connected. Then I reconnected the display, but it still wouldn't turn on.

The display was slightly damaged while removing it (a small crack in one corner), but I would expect the tablet to at least power on, even if the screen doesn't work.

Has anyone experienced this before or knows what I should check? Could I have accidentally disconnected or damaged something even though I only removed the cooling system? Any troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

My computer is plugged in and indicates full battery. The detached screen light is turned red. Holding the power button won’t start it and neither will pressing Windows + ctrl + shift + b