USB Recovery Drive does not work

Question

Split from this thread.

How were you able to speak to a person? I tried the recovery jump drive and it did not work.

Answer 1

HI LIsaShelburne,

I have seen this many times, I had it on my own Surface Pro 5, this issue is a hardware issue, you either return it to your point of sale for a full refund.

I would not recommended getting a replacement as you will get a refurb not a new device.

Try these steps to try to get it to boot into the F12, or WinRe

Surface won’t turn on or wake from sleep (microsoft.com)

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/force-a-shutdown-and-restart-your-surface-cf13996e-fef0-dbb0-1e94-cdd7ff88b840

It is better to return the computer and get a new one from the point of sale, as you will not get a new one from Microsoft.

Thank you :)

Shawn

Answer 2

What was the exact error when you used the USB recovery stick? Did you follow these instructions: Go to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surfacerecoveryimage  

(with a different Windows computer if yours is not working properly) 

and download a recovery image for your Surface. You will need a 16GB or 32GB USB stick (also called a flash drive) formatted FAT32 (use a Windows computer).  You can't use an actual external USB hard drive for this and don't use anything larger than a 32 GB USB stick. Best to purchase and use a new, previously unused USB stick for this. Use FULL format and not quick format and give the volume a name like surfboot. Unzip/extract the recovery zip to the root of the formatted USB stick.

There are full instructions and a video at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4023512/surface-creating-and-using-a-usb-recovery-drive#download

You can use a phone to contact support https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4051701/global-customer-service-phone-numbers - ask for Surface support. Use the phone numbers listed under *For Business Users* for your location (these also work for consumers/home users).