Trying to factory reset Surface laptop -

Question

Hello,

I'm trying to factory reset Surface laptop - I get to "Reset the PC" screen which gives you two options - "Cloud Download" or "Local Install" but I can't make a selection. ???

What is preventing me from making a selection?

Thanks.

TJ

Answer 1

Hi TJ3848

We appreciate your post on Microsoft Community. There could be a few reasons why you are unable to make a selection on the "Reset the PC" screen. One possibility is that the touchscreen or touchpad is not working properly. You can try using an external mouse or keyboard to see if that resolves the issue. Another possibility is that there is a software issue preventing you from making a selection. In this case, you can try restarting your Surface laptop and attempting the factory reset again.

The Surface Laptop SE is running Windows 11 SE, if you have an issue during reset you can contact your school IT to help you regarding your concern. Or you can try the steps below if the issue persists.

1. Keyboard Shortcut Method:
   • Press the Windows logo key + L on your keyboard.
   • If needed, dismiss the lock screen.
   • While holding down the Shift key, select Power > Restart in the lower-right corner of the screen.
   • After your Surface restarts and displays the “Choose an option” screen, select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC.
2. Alternate Method:
   • Press the Windows key + L.
   • Hold down the Shift key and press the Power icon in the bottom-right corner.
   • Choose Restart.
   • Your Surface will restart, and you’ll see a blue screen with various options (known as the Recovery Environment).
   • Select Troubleshoot > Reset your PC.

The next step is to download the recovery image to your Surface device if you haven't been able to reset it using the prior methods. A brand-new Windows installation tailored for your Surface is contained in the recovery image.

To Download USB Recovery Image - http://aka.ms/sri    

REQUIREMENTS:

To ensure compatibility with your Surface device, it is recommended to use a USB flash drive with a minimum storage capacity of 16 GB to 32 GB and format it to FAT32. If the storage capacity exceeds 32 GB, it is not possible to format it to FAT32 as only XFAT and NTFS options are available. Please note that if a USB flash drive is formatted to XFAT or NTFS, it will not be detected on your Surface device.

NOTE: Creating a recovery drive will erase all existing files that are stored on the SSD drive. Make sure to transfer any important data on your USB flash drive to another storage device before you proceed.

Once the download is complete, create a folder on your desktop and rename it to ‘recovery’. Extract the recovery image to the folder you created on your desktop. After the extraction is complete, select all the files in the folder and copy and paste them directly to your USB flash drive. Do not copy the folder directly to the USB. Once the copying is done, remove the USB and connect it to your Surface.

When you are ready, please click this link Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface - Microsoft Support to follow the step on how to use the recovery image.

Thanks again for choosing Microsoft. Hope this helps!

Kind regards

Christopher.

Answer 2

Thanks. Using an external mouse solved the issue.