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.

Windows 8.1 includes a built-in tool to create a USB recovery drive. Windows will let you know how big the recovery partition is, and you'll need a USB flash drive at least that big. Warning: Creating a recovery drive will erase anything already stored on your USB flash drive.

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.

Voice access in Windows 11 enables everyone, including people with mobility disabilities, to control their PC and author text using their voice. For example, you can open and switch between apps, browse the web, and read and author emails using your voice.

With Microsoft Edge, you can sync your favorites, passwords, and other info across multiple devices. Just sign in to Microsoft Edge using the same Microsoft account on each device. For more information about syncing across multiple devices, see Sign in to sync Microsoft Edge across devices.

Make sure it says Connected underneath the network connection name. If there’s an error, such as one that says Action needed, select Ethernet to view your Ethernet connection settings. If one Ethernet cable doesn’t work and you have another one nearby, try the other Ethernet cable to see if that works.

Register the password reset verification method for a work or school account. If you forgot your work or school password, never got a password from your organization, or have been locked out of your account, you can use your security info and your mobile device to reset your work or school password. Your administrator must turn on this feature ...

How to troubleshoot Windows Installer errors. Describes the new and improved features of Microsoft Windows Installer 4.5. The article also discusses the issues that are addressed from earlier versions of Windows Installer.

You can repair some apps and programs if they're not running correctly. Note that you won't see repair, change, or modify options for all apps and programs. Repair options from the Settings page. Select Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features. Apps & features in Settings.

The following is a list of the articles detailing Media Feature Packs for each version of Windows N editions from Windows 8 N forward. Some Media Feature Packs for early versions of Windows 10 are available for download at Media Feature Pack for N versions of Windows 10.