A recovery drive lets you reset your Surface to its factory condition and can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your Surface device. It reinstalls the Windows operating system, deletes all your …

Learn how to reset your Microsoft Surface and solve problems using a USB recovery drive or Surface recovery image.

Your Surface comes with Windows recovery info that you can use to refresh your Surface or reset it to its factory condition. When possible, try to do that first before downloading a recovery image.

Press and release the Power button to select Recovery mode. On the screen that shows a small robot lying down, press and hold the Power button, then press and release the Volume up button.

Start your Surface by using a USB recovery drive. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port on your Surface, and then press and hold the volume-down button while you press and release the …

For info about how to create a bootable USB drive for your Surface, see Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface. To download a recovery image for your Surface device, see Surface …

Learn how to reset your Surface Duo to the default factory settings and erase all data.

Learn about the recovery options in Windows. Find out how to reset your PC, go back to a previous version of Windows, or use media to reinstall Windows.

Make sure you have access to product keys and installation files for all desktop apps (for example, Microsoft Office) that you may have installed after the point to which you’re restoring your Surface.

Oct 14, 2025 · Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) is a set of tools included with Windows that can help you troubleshoot and fix common problems with your computer. If your PC is having …