We recently had a client who had a failed Windows 11 update that ended up boot looping their ARM based Surface Pro 10 laptop. Even Safe Mode refused to boot. No amount of recovery attempts worked so we had to resort to reinstalling the OS via the traditional boot from USB method.
You'd think this would be a similar process to the one you're probably familiar with with x86 or x64 based Windows devices you've done for years, but you'd be gravely mistaken that an ARM based install would be even remotely similar. Why make it the same or have some type of USB creation tool like they have for the normal Windows install. That would be too easy right?
Why bother documenting this in detail on the Microsoft Surface site in an easy and logical fashion, when you can make the masses research this task under numerous links and cryptic posts to get to the eventual answer. It's like Microsoft believe their OS will never become corrupt or require re-installation so why bother going to the trouble of documenting this? It's not like their recovery system ever fails to recover the OS right?
To be honest, I don't think I've ever used the Recovery console to successfully recover the OS on any device since Windows 8 was originally released which is an indictment on the tool itself. Again another package that I believe has never been tested by the developers and only assumptions made that it will work.
I swear, the people responsible at Microsoft for documenting and creating "How Tos" have never used a computer in their lives. It wouldn't surprise me if they just use AI to generate the content in the hope it gets it right.
I understand that creating a bootable USB for an ARM-based device like the Surface Pro 10 requires a different approach. ARM-based systems have stricter firmware and boot loader requirements, and traditional x86 tools like Rufus will NOT work. Trust me, we tried every conceivable way of creating a bootable ARM USB drive. Enough of my whining, here's the correct process to reinstall Windows 11 on an ARM device:
- Prerequisites
- USB Drive: Minimum 16GB.
- Another Windows PC or ARM-based device: To download the necessary tools.
- Windows 11 on ARM Recovery Image: Specifically for your Surface device. You can download the correct Recovery Image for your device here...
- Surface UEFI Support: Ensure your device can boot from a USB by changing the boot order in the UEFI settings to use the USB drive
- Download the Surface Recovery Image
- Go to the Microsoft Surface Recovery Image as outlined above here...
- Sign in with your Microsoft account.
- Select Surface Pro 10 ARM from the device list. You can search for your model using the Serial Number of your Surface device
- Download the recovery image provided for your specific Surface model. This will be in the form of a ZIP file
- Extract the downloaded recovery image by using a tool like 7-Zip to extract the contents of the recovery image
- Prepare the USB Drive
- Format the USB Drive by inserting the USB drive into a Windows PC
- Open File Explorer, right-click the USB drive, and select Format
- Choose FAT32 as the file system (required for UEFI on ARM devices)
- Copy all extracted files from Step 2 above to the root of the USB drive. Yes, I found this weird too but trust me, this is what needs to be done
- Boot Surface Pro 10 from the USB Drive
- Shut down your Surface.
- After it turns off, press and hold the volume-up button
- While holding the volume-up button, press and release the power button
- Continue holding the volume-up button until you see the Surface UEFI screen
- Follow specific instructions for your Surface model to proceed.
- Change the boot order in the UEFI settings to prioritise the USB drive
- In the UEFI menu, go to Boot Configuration
- Ensure USB Storage Boot is enabled and move it to the top of the boot priority list
- Disable Secure Boot Temporarily (if needed):
- Go to the Security section and toggle off Secure Boot
- Install Windows 11
- Insert the USB drive into your Surface Pro 10
- Power on the device while holding the Volume Down button. This forces the device to boot from the USB
- Follow the on-screen instructions to reinstall Windows.
- Post-Installation
Once installation is complete, ensure you're connected to the internet to download and install the latest Windows updates. Check Device Manager to ensure all the drivers are properly installed and functional. Ensure all drivers are up to date using Windows Update or by downloading drivers for your Surface Pro 10 from the Surface Support website.
This method uses the official Surface recovery image, which is pre-configured for ARM-based devices and avoids compatibility issues with traditional ISO creation tools.
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