If you are using a Surface device and running Windows 11/10 OS, then this tutorial, based on steps suggested by Microsoft on how to restore, reset, downgrade and reinstall Windows 10 on your Surface device, is sure to interest you.
Restore Microsoft Surface from a System Restore Point
A System Restore Point is a saved state of your system files. If you run into a problem, you could restore your system to a previous good point in time, using this feature. Even though Windows will create restore points automatically from time to time, it is always advisable to create it manually now and then, especially if you are making some changes to your system.
Here is how you can restore your Surface Pro from a system restore point: When you do this, you are taking your system to a previous state which means any installations, drives, updates performed in the meantime would get deleted.
If Restore Points are not available
If you cannot find any restore points in your system, then you can solve your problem by resetting your Surface device. Right after resetting Windows, make sure that System Protection is turned on, by following these steps:
If you cannot sign in to Windows 11/10
If you cannot sign into your system, you can restore your system in the Windows Recovery Environment. You would be able to start your system, once the process gets completed.
If you cannot start Windows 11/10
If you cannot start your Surface device at all because of a problem, you may want to perform a system restore in the Windows Recovery Environment, by following these steps – When the process is completed, you will be able to start your Surface.
Reset Surface Pro
Resetting allows you to reinstall Windows. You can choose whether to keep your files or delete them whole doing so. This comes handy when the system isn’t working well and you didn’t install anything new for a considerable amount of time. Adding to that, Resetting is the next step you want to do when Restoring doesn’t solve the problem you are having. Follow below steps to reset your Surface Pro: You need to note that if you upgraded to Windows 11/10 and reset your Surface Pro within a month after the upgrade, downgrading to a previous version isn’t possible unless you took some steps that would let you downgrade even after 30 days. Read more details on how to Reset Windows 10.
If you cannot sign in to Windows
For some reason, if you cannot sign in into your System, you can reset your Surface Pro from the Recovery environment.
If you cannot start Surface
If you cannot start Windows at all on your Surface Pro, then you may want to reset it from Windows Recovery Environment. Follow these steps After the wizard completes, you would be able to use the system normally.
Downgrade to Previous Version of Windows 11/10
If you want to install a previous version of Windows, you can rollback from Windows 10. This option would be available only to those who upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 that too within a month’s time right after the upgrade. The important thing here which needs a mention is if you reset your System within a month, this option wouldn’t be available to you either – unless you took some steps that would let you downgrade even after 30 days. Another thing is that some apps that came with Windows like Mail and People might not work if you go back to Windows 8.1 and you may need to reinstall them. Follow the below steps to go back –
Go to Start and navigate to Settings > Update&Security > Recovery.
To go back to the Previous version, you may need to do a couple of things. 1] Keep everything in the $Windows.~BT, $Windows.~WS and Windows.old folders after the upgrade. 2] Remove user accounts you’ve added after the upgrade. 3] Keep the password you’ve used for your previous version to be able to sign in, if any. 4] Keep the USB stick you used to upgrade, ready with you.
If Go Back isn’t available
If the Surface Pro you’ve bought came with Windows 10, then go back isn’t an option. If you ran into a problem, all you can do is resetting your machine to Factory settings. Refer section above to know how to do that. If you have a recovery drive before upgrading to Windows 10, you can use that as well to restore it to factory settings (discussed in the section that follows), even if the option isn’t available in settings.
If you are a Windows Insider
If you a member of the Windows Insider program and running a preview build, if ran into a problem then navigate to Start > Settings > Update&Security > Recovery . Under Go back to an earlier build, select Get Started .
Use a Recovery Drive to Reinstall Windows
You can use this mechanism when a recovery drive is available to you and your system won’t start because of a problem. Follow these steps to use it in your Surface Pro running Windows 11/10. Depending on the option you’ve selected, the wizard would run for several minutes. If it prompts to change your TPM, simply select OK. One important thing which needs a mention here is if you choose not to back up system files when you created a recovery drive on Windows 10, then you cannot be able to use that to reinstall Windows.
How do I restore my Surface Pro to factory settings?
To restore your Surface Pro to factory settings, you need to follow the entire guide mentioned above. Whether it is running Windows 11 or Windows 10, the steps are almost the same. Therefore, you can go through these steps to reset or restore your Surface Pro to the factory defaults.
How do you refresh a Microsoft Surface?
Refreshing a Microsoft Surface and a regular desktop computer are not that different. However, you may find a slight change in the initial steps. Following that, you can follow this guide to refresh a Microsoft Surface within moments. All the best.
