If your system is asking you for your BitLocker recovery key, the following information may help you locate your recovery key and understand why you're being asked to provide it. Important: Microsoft support is unable to provide, or recreate, a lost BitLocker recovery key.

Activate Microsoft 365 or a non-subscription version of Office. When you start an Microsoft 365 app that's not activated, you'll be prompted to sign in to Microsoft 365. Be sure to sign in using the Microsoft account, or work or school account, that you used to buy or subscribe to Microsoft 365.

It's a good idea to create a recovery drive. That way, if your PC ever experiences a major issue such as hardware failure, you'll be able to use the recovery drive to reinstall Windows 11. Windows updates to improve security and PC performance periodically, so we recommend you recreate the recovery drive annually.

This article applies if you’ve recently made changes to your device hardware and are trying to upgrade to Windows 11. Hardware changes might affect your upgrade eligibility, though you’ll need to take a few steps to see your updated eligibility in Settings.

Possible causes. Make sure your PC, the external display, and the cable all support DisplayPort or MHL alternate modes. Make sure the device or dongle is connected directly to your PC. Make sure the device or dongle is connected to the USB-C port on your PC that supports the correct Alternate Mode.

You can use installation media (a USB flash drive or DVD) to install a new copy of Windows, perform a clean installation, or reinstall Windows. To create installation media, go to the software download website, where you'll find step-by-step instructions.

Booting from a USB device doesn’t refresh or reset your Surface. Instead, it lets you start your Surface using Windows or another operating system that’s on your USB device. For info about how to create a bootable USB drive for your Surface, see Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface.

The Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant works by running tests to figure out what's wrong and offers the best solution for the identified problem. It can currently fix Office, Microsoft 365, or Outlook problems.

Help Microsoft stop scammers, whether they claim to be from Microsoft or not, by reporting tech support scams at: www.microsoft.com/reportascam. You can also report unsafe websites in Microsoft Edge by selecting Settings and More > Help and Feedback > Report unsafe site when you encounter something suspicious.

Get Windows updates as soon as they're available for your device. When the latest Windows update is ready for your device, it will be available to download from the Windows Update page in Settings.