how to reset computer to factory settings due to bitlocker and no recovery key need to make sure I can install windows 11

Question

I have the bitlocker screen and do not have a recovery key. How do I reset the computer and install windows 11?

Answer 1

Hello,

If you don't have the bitlocker key, you have to do a clean install.

Video tutorial is available here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsinsider/cleaninstall?msockid=2f024275e21f64ea3c9c52cde3346537 (This link is only available in English unfortunately, please use the browser translation if need to).

To perform a clean installation of Windows 11 using the Windows Media Creation Tool. You do need to get access to another computer so you can download the Windows installation files into a flash drive, then use the flash drive to help your computer. Hopefully you have a spare computer, or you can have friend or family help you.

The following steps should be done on a working Windows computer:

Download the Windows Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's official website. https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 click on the "download now" button under "Create Windows 11 Installation Media"

Run the tool and select "Create installation media for another PC."

Choose "USB flash drive" as the media to use for the installation and select "Next."

Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of free space to your computer.

Select the USB flash drive you want to use, and then select "Next."

The tool will then download the required files and create the installation media.

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Now these steps will  be done on your problematic computer:

Go to the computer's BIOS boot menu to have it boot from the USB drive.

Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 11, making sure to choose "Custom install" and select the option to delete all existing partitions.

Once the installation is complete, you'll have a clean installation of Windows 11 on your computer.

Answer 2

I don't see a cloud recovery option

Answer 3

If you are at the BitLocker screen and do not have the recovery key, you will need to perform a cloud recovery or use a USB drive to reset your device to factory settings. Here’s how you can do it:

Cloud Recovery Process:

1. Select Press Esc for more recovery options.
2. Choose Skip this drive.
3. Select Recover from the cloud.
4. Confirm by selecting Yes.
5. Choose Reinstall to start the recovery process.
6. After the cloud recovery process is complete, you will need to go through the Out of Box Experience to reconfigure your device.

Recovery from a USB Drive:

1. From a separate PC, download the appropriate recovery image for your device from the Surface Recovery website.
2. Create a recovery drive by searching for recovery drive in the taskbar and selecting Create a recovery drive.
3. Follow the prompts to create the USB recovery drive.
4. Once the recovery drive is ready, copy the recovery image files to the root of your USB drive.
5. Boot your device from the USB drive to reinstall it to factory settings.

Please note that both methods will erase all data on the device, so ensure you have backups if possible.

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References:

• Use cloud recovery for BitLocker on Surface Hub
• Reset & recovery for Surface Hub 2S & Surface Hub 3