The best solution, though, is to stop installing software from a disc. Those workarounds will work if you absolutely have to install software from a disc. If you end up using a DVD drive in a friend’s PC or a PC at work, though, you’ll probably have to copy the software to a USB thumb drive, or external hard drive, or to a microSD card so you can use it with the Surface Pro 3. If you have a PC with a DVD drive in your home, you should be able to share it over the network so your Surface Pro 3 can install or run software directly from the drive. No? What about friends or family, or a helpful neighbor? How about PCs at work? Surely you have access to a DVD or CD drive somewhere. While the Surface Pro 3 doesn’t have a built-in optical drive, it’s likely that there is still some other PC in your home that does. It weighs less than a pound, and it’s barely more than half an inch thick, so you could even pack it and take it with you.Īnother option is to just borrow one. You can buy an ultrathin Samsung USB DVD drive that can both play and record data on DVD’s for around $25. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and they’re relatively cheap. The question, then, is how do I get software I already own on CD or DVD installed on a tablet device that has no optical drive? The tepid response to Windows 8, however, has led Microsoft to back pedal in some respects-bringing the focus back to the desktop and traditional Windows software, with less emphasis on the Windows Store apps. You can even find necessities like Microsoft Office in the Windows Store, but if you select it you will be redirected to the Office website where you can purchase and download Office. The Windows Store is still a primary source of new apps for Windows 8 / 8.1 (and the Windows 10 Technical Preview) and it has grown to include most of the apps you’d expect to find. When Microsoft launched the original Surface Pro there was more emphasis on the Windows Store. For today’s 30 Days with Surface Pro 3 post, we’re going to take a closer look at how to install software on the device-especially software you acquire or already own that happens to come on a shiny plastic disc of some sort. In the interest of keeping the Surface Pro 3 thin and light it lacks any sort of DVD or CD drive, which limits your options for installing software. When it comes to devices like the Surface Pro 3, or even hybrid 2-in-1 devices like the Dell Latit2-in-1, there is a tradeoff made between functionality and size.

Install windows 11 on surface pro 3