How to Download and Use Official Recovery Image for your Surface
InformationAll Surface devices come with a Windows recovery partition that incudes information that allows you to refresh your device or reset Surface to its factory condition. In case you have any issues with the Surface, you could use the built-in recovery options.
If you ever have a problem getting Surface to start, or if the built-in recovery info has been removed from your Surface, then you can download the recovery image files you need from Microsoft and create a Surface USB recovery drive to boot from and use to access recovery tools and solve problems with your Surface.
This tutorial will show you how to download a recovery image for your Surface, and how to create and use a USB recovery drive from the downloaded recovery image.
If you ever have a problem getting Surface to start, or if the built-in recovery info has been removed from your Surface, then you can download the recovery image files you need from Microsoft and create a Surface USB recovery drive to boot from and use to access recovery tools and solve problems with your Surface.
This tutorial will show you how to download a recovery image for your Surface, and how to create and use a USB recovery drive from the downloaded recovery image.
NoteSurface USB recovery drives are not interchangeable between the various Surface models. Only use a USB recovery drive that is for your specific Surface model.
What you will need:
What you will need:
- Downloaded recovery image files for your Surface model in the tutorial below
- At least a 8 GB USB flash drive for Surface RT and Surface 2 models
- At least a 16 GB USB flash drive for Surface Pro models
Here's How:
1. Go to the Microsoft website below, and sign in with your Microsoft account that you used to register your Surface. (see screenshot below)
:ar: Click on: Download a recovery image for your Surface
2. Select your registered Surface that you want to download a recovery image for, and click/tap on Continue.
NoteIf you have not registered your Surface yet, then you will need to enter the serial number of your Surface to register it before continuing. (see screenshot below)
3. Click/tap on the Download button, click/tap on Save (ex: from IE), and save the ZIP file (recovery image) to your desktop. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: This is a large file (ex: 6.21GB) that can take a while to finish downloading.
4. Follow the onscreen steps below to create a Surface recovery drive from the downloaded recovery image.
5. You can now use this Surface recovery USB drive to refresh or reset your Surface. (see screenshot below)
That's it,
Shawn
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