User Guide

4/3/2020 What to try if your Surface touchscreen doesn't work
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4023476/surface-what-to-try-if-touchscreen-doesnt-work 6/8
Solution 5: Restore or reset Surface or create and use a USB recovery drive.
At this point, you must verify that the Surface device is not the issue. Use the
following table to learn which reset option is right for your situation.
Recovery type What it does How it impacts you
Restore or reset Surface
This method puts the
device back to its factory
settings, exactly as it was
when you first took it out
of the box. It uses a
version of Windows that’s
stored on your hard
drive.This works well if
there are no issues with
the version of Windows
stored on your hard drive.
Data loss will occur
Settings will go back
to factory defaults
You must reinstall
both desktop and
Windows Store apps
You will
probablyneed to
install updates after
the reset
Create and use a USB
recovery drive
This is the most thorough
recovery method. It
completely reinstalls the
version of Windows that's
stored on the hard drive
of your Surface device.
Data loss will occur
Settings will go back
to factory defaults
You must reinstall
both desktop and
Windows Store apps
You will
probablyneed to
install updates after
the reset
You will need to have
a USB drive