Change Windows 8.1 Language for System Messages

I purchased a Surface Pro 2 in the US and then moved to Spain. I just completed a warranty exchange here in Spain and received a Spanish version SP2.

I immediately changed the display language to English and almost all of the system is using the English language. The only time I'm seeing Spanish is when the system displays certain messages.

For example, when I restarted so updates could be installed, I see the message:

"Instalando actualizacion 25 de 40...No apague el equipo."

I can't figure out how to change those messages to English. Any help is appreciated!

Solution

In order to localize the system, these boot configurations need to be changed too:

• Windows Boot Manager
• Windows Boot Loader
• Windows Memory Tester
• Resume from Hibernate

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated command prompt.

2. Run the following commands after replacing <lang> with the installed culture name you want to use. A list can be found here: National Language Support (NLS) API Reference.

   for %G in (bootmgr,current,memdiag) do bcdedit /set {%G} locale <lang>
   for /f "tokens=2" %G in ('bcdedit /enum {bootmgr} ^| find /i "resumeobject"') do bcdedit /set %~G locale <lang>
   

   For example, to change the language to US English:

   for %G in (bootmgr,current,memdiag) do bcdedit /set {%G} locale en-US
   for /f "tokens=2" %G in ('bcdedit /enum {bootmgr} ^| find /i "resumeobject"') do bcdedit /set %~G locale en-US
   

3. Restart Windows to apply the changes.

Further reading

• Command-Line Reference
• BCDEdit /set