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.

Installing Windows 11 on devices that don't meet minimum system requirements. If you changed your hardware in order to upgrade to Windows 11 and the system is not recognizing the change in a timely manner, this article explains how to initiate the assessment manually.

Fix your audio drivers. Hardware problems can be caused by outdated or malfunctioning drivers. Make sure your audio driver is up to date and update it if needed. If that doesn't work, try uninstalling the audio driver (it will reinstall automatically).

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.

For Windows 8.1, see Create a USB recovery drive. To download Windows 11 installation media, see Recovery options in Windows. Create a recovery drive so you can reinstall Windows 10 or Windows 11 in case you experience a major issue such as hardware failure.

We understand that sometimes purchases of digital game products don’t go as planned. When that happens, we’ll help you request a refund. Refunds are typically issued for requests meeting the following criteria: Requests are made within 14 days of the purchase date.

Manually update Surface drivers and firmware. Manual updates are useful if you need to update an offline device, update many devices that are all the same model, or if you’re creating system images for your organization.

Getting ready for the Windows 11 upgrade. How to check if your device meets Windows 11 system requirements after changing device hardware. Learn how to use the PC Health Check app to help you improve your device performance.

UEFI offers new features including faster startup and improved security. It replaces BIOS (basic input/output system). More recent Surface devices use a new UEFI called Surface UEFI. For more info, including info about which specific devices use it, see How to use Surface UEFI.

In the search box on the taskbar, type device manager, then select Device Manager from the menu.