'Recover from a Drive' doesn't show up as an option when trying to reinstall Windows from a USB drive on Surface Go

Question

I am unable to boot my Surface Go as it requires a Bitlocker Recovery Key (a result of accidentally turning off secure boot in UEFI settings before booting) which I don't have, so my only option is to reinstall Windows.

I have downloaded a recovery image for the device from here https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image. The version is SurfaceGo_BMR_35_2.001.2, it is the only version available for my device.

I have followed the steps to create and use a USB recovery drive for Surface from here https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/surface/creating-and-using-a-usb-recovery-drive-for-surface-677852e2-ed34-45cb-40ef-398fc7d62c07#WindowsVersion=Windows_10 and here https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/surface/boot-surface-from-a-usb-device-fe7a7323-8d1d-823d-be17-9aec89c4f9f5#WindowsVersion=Windows_10

However, when I turn the Surface on following the steps in the guide above there is no option to 'Recover from a drive'. The only options are shown in the screenshot attached.

I have made sure 'Enable Boot from USB Devices' is Enabled and USB Storage is at the top of the boot order in the UEFI Settings. Secure Boot is also enabled.

I am using a brand new 32GB USB drive (SanDisk USB 3.0) and have tried formatting it in multiple different ways:

• Using the 'Recovery Drive' app on an alternative PC with backup system files unticked, then extracting the recovery image to the formatted drive.
• Formatting the USB drive in FAT32 using a FULL format manually in disk management, then extracting the recovery image to the formatted drive.
• Both of the above but copying the files across from the downloaded zip file of the recovery image instead of extracting.

I have also tried an alternative USB Drive (a 32GB SD card with USB adapter).

The Surface only has a USB-C port so I'm using a USB-C adapter which has 3 USB-A ports (2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0 - I have tried using both the 2.0 and 3.0 ports).

It clearly recognises when there is a bootable USB drive inserted as without it, it just goes to the bitlocker recovery key entry screen when turning on. It just doesn't show an option to recover from a drive when the drive is inserted.

I read in another thread that using Surface Data Eraser to erase the hard drive before attempting to recover from drive. However, when I try to build a USB drive to erase the data using the Microsoft Surface Data Eraser app on a separate PC, it fails after reaching 5%. This is the same on 3 different USB drives I have tried. It is the original Surface Go so uses the legacy Surface Data Eraser:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/microsoft-surface-data-eraser.

I've exhausted all the suggestions in threads I can find online and without being able to create a data erase drive I'm at a dead end. Any help or tips on what else to try would be greatly appreciated.

***moved from Surface / Surface Go / Surface Go / Install and update***

Answer 1

Hello  Jacob_Holmes，

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community forum.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having trouble reinstalling Windows on your Surface Go. Based on the information you provided, it seems that you have already tried several troubleshooting steps. Here are a few more things you can try:

1. Try using a different USB drive. It's possible that the USB drive you're using is not compatible with your Surface Go. You can try using a different brand or model of USB drive to see if that works.
2. Try creating the recovery drive using a different computer. It's possible that there is an issue with the computer you're using to create the recovery drive. You can try using a different computer to create the recovery drive and see if that works.
3. Try resetting the UEFI settings to default. It's possible that there is a setting in the UEFI that is preventing the recovery drive from working properly. You can try resetting the UEFI settings to default and see if that helps.

I hope the information above is helpful.

If you have any question or concern, please feel free to let us know.

Best Regards,

Haijian Shan