Translate

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

PSexec failing with no process on the other end of the pipe

Recently we had a new strange issue with current Windows versions and PSExec.



If you execute something like PSExec -s -i cmd.exe 

which is creating a CMD under local system context you may receive an error like this

Error communicating with PsExec service on [MACHINE_NAME]:
No process is on the other end of the pipe.

Solution: Simply update PsExec to the latest version!
Minimum here is 2.32!

Monday, January 11, 2021

Surface device - driver and firmware support lifecycle

Recently a friend ask me for an updated driver for an issue with an older device in the surface family. So I thougth it would be a good idea first to check if the device is still supported. As we have the row of devices now for a couple years.



The good news were the devices up to Surface 3 are still under "firmware and driver" support. So in this case I could open a case for this driver issue and still believe it may be served. Actually its not a guarantee that PG agrees with my issue and will fix it. But there is some how a legal basis for it according to their own support policies.

Checkout here the list!

DeviceRelease DateEnd of Servicing Date
Surface RT1October 26, 2012April 11, 2017
Surface Pro1February 9, 2013April 11, 2017
Surface 21October 22, 2013April 10, 2018
Surface Pro 21October 22, 2013April 10, 2018
Surface Pro 3June 20, 2014November 13, 2021
Surface 3May 5, 2015November 13, 2021
Surface BookOctober 26, 2015November 13, 2021
Surface Pro 4October 26, 2015November 13, 2021
Surface Book with Performance BaseNovember 10, 2016November 13, 2021
Surface Studio (1st gen)December 15, 2016November 13, 2021
Surface Laptop (1st gen)June 14, 2017November 13, 2021
Surface Pro (5th gen)June 15, 2017November 13, 2021
Surface Book 2November 17, 2017November 17, 2021
Surface Pro LTE (Model 1807)December 1, 2017December 1, 2021
Surface GoAugust 2, 2018August 2, 2022
Surface Studio 2October 2, 2018October 2, 2022
Surface Laptop 2October 16, 2018October 16, 2022
Surface Pro 6October 16, 2018October 16, 2022
Surface Go with LTE AdvancedNovember 20, 2018November 20, 2022
Surface Laptop 3October 22, 2019October 22, 2023
Surface Pro 7October 22, 2019October 22, 2023
Surface Pro XNovember 5, 2019November 5, 2023
Surface Go 2May 6, 2020May 6, 2024
Surface Book 3May 26, 2020May 26, 2024
Surface Pro X SQ2October 13, 2020October 13, 2024
Surface Laptop GoOctober 13, 2020October 13, 2024

1. Indicates devices with a previously declared end of firmware/driver servicing support date.


More details especially also the differentiation on device support and OS version support you will find here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/surface-driver-firmware-lifecycle-support


To dig deeper its also very helpful to checkout the surface update history which is found here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4036283