Trouble factory resetting

Question

I have a surface pro 8, I haven’t used it in years and recently went to turn it on and discovered I can’t remember the password, the reset your password option takes me to the USB recovery bit, which doesn’t allow me to do anything even when installing a USB. I’ve tried to factory reset via shift and restart and choosing troubleshooting and resetting pc. Nothing has worked and brings me straight back to the sign in page, asking for a password. How can I get into the tablet?

Answer 1

Hi Annaliese Bourke,

Thank you for reaching Microsoft Community. We're sorry for the trouble this has caused you.

I am aware that you're having trouble factory resetting your Surface device. I am here to help and let us work on this together. Allow me to ask a question.

• May I know if you're receiving any specific error when trying to reset your device via shift and restart?

If you have gone through resetting your password using the reset password options and via shift key and restart were unsuccessful. Then the option is to reimage your Surface device using a USB recovery drive. A recovery drive image lets you reset your Surface to its factory settings and can help you troubleshoot and fix problems with your Surface device.

To reset the Surface device using a USB Recovery Drive. you need to use a 16GB/32GB of flash drive and must be formatted into FAT32 prior downloading the Recovery image. Don't use anything larger than a 32GB USB drive. This option will reimage the entire device and reload Windows including the drivers and firmware. It is the most complete form of Reset and it will wipe out everything on the device. See steps below for guidance.

To download the Recovery Image: You'll another working device running on Windows.

1. Visit the page to Download the recovery image for your Surface.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account
3. From the list of Surface devices available, select the device that you need a recovery image for.
4. Please note that while you will only be presented with devices that are currently registered on your account, you will also be presented with the option to get an image for a different type of device. If you try to use this option, you will be prompted to enter the serial number for that device.
5. Download the recovery image using the button on the page.
6. When the download bar pops up at the bottom of your screen, save the file in a location you will be able to find it.

Note: Formatting a recovery drive will erase anything that is already stored on your USB drive. Make sure to transfer any important data from your USB drive to another storage device before using it to create a Surface USB recovery drive.

 Format USB Drive:

1. Insert your USB drive into the USB port of your PC.
2. From the desktop, open File Explorer
3. Tap and hold or right-click on the USB drive and choose Format.
4. Select FAT32 as the file system and enter a Volume label to name the USB drive, such as RECOVERY, and then tap or click Start
5. Tap or click OK to erase the contents of the USB drive
6. Tap or click OK when the format is complete

Create a recovery drive:

1. On your Surface or PC, open recovery image that you downloaded by double-clicking it or right click then select Extract and then Extract all.
2. Select the USB drive you formatted earlier for the location and click Extract.

Use a USB recovery drive to reset your Surface:

1. Shutdown the Surface
2. Insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port.
3. Press and hold the volume-down (-) rocker.
4. Press and release the power button.
5. When the Surface logo appears, release the volume-down (-) rocker.
6. Surface will start the recovery software on the USB recovery drive.
7. When prompted, choose your language options and keyboard layout.
8. Select Troubleshoot
9. Select Recover from a Drive. Choose Remove Everything and Fully Clean the Drive. Recovering this PC.
10. If prompted, select Repartition the drives.
11. If prompted for BitLocker Key, tap Skip this Drive.

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.

Kind regards,

Lavenia

Answer 2

Hi Annaliese Bourke,

We haven't heard from you, so we assume that your issue has already been addressed. We will not be monitoring this thread moving forward so, if you need further assistance, please create a new thread to discuss these concerns by clicking this link: Create a new question or start a discussion (microsoft.com)

Thank you for understanding. 

Kind regards,

Lavenia