The Surface laptop is a beautiful piece kit from Microsoft. It has all the specifications of a regular laptop, plus the extra bit of performance enhancement that distinguishes from the others. Although the device offers some reasonably decent amount of specs, it doesn’t come cheap. It comes preloaded with Windows 10S or Windows 10 in S Mode which in the beginning may displease some users; it’s not that bad. Windows 10S is a streamlined lite version of the original Windows 10 and restricts the user to a lot of things. If you have upgraded to Windows 10 Pro and want to go back to Windows 10S or for any other reason, this guide is for you. This post will guide you through the basics of how you can reinstall the Windows 10S back into your laptop.
Windows 10S or Windows 10 in S Mode?
Microsoft renamed Windows 10S to Windows 10 in S mode. The mode works exclusively with apps from the Microsoft Store within Windows and accessories that are compatible with Windows 10 in S mode.
Windows offered a one-way switch out of S mode is available. You need to go to Settings > Update & Security > Activation.
Find the Switch to Windows 10 Home or Switch to Windows 10 Pro. However, there is no way to switch back to Windows 10 in S mode. The only way to go back is to reinstall Windows 10S or Windows 10 in S Mode.
A Detailed Guide to Reinstall Windows 10S on your Surface Laptop
You can use this method to reinstall Windows 10S on Surface using an ISO image or Bootable USB drive.
- Download Recovery Image
- Create Bootable USB Recovery Drive
- Extract Recovery files
- Recover the Surface Laptop
- Booting and Setting Up
Make sure to backup files and create a restore point before moving ahead.
1] Download the Recovery Image
Visit the official Microsoft website and download the recovery image. You will need to provide the serial number of your laptop, so you might want to look it up before going to the website. The file may vary in size (9GB approximately) and once the download is complete, proceed on to the next step.
2] Create Bootable USB Recovery Drive
This step involves the creation of a recovery device. We are going to use a pen drive and make sure you have a 16 GB one so that everything can be stored in them. Go to Start and search for Create a Recovery Drive.
Next, deselect the Backup System Files to the Recovery Drive.
In the next step, direct the path to your pen drive that you want to create a Recovery image. Press Next followed by Create, and the backup will be stored on the portable drive.
3] Extract Recovery files
Once you have transferred the files, you need to extract the Recovery files that you have downloaded earlier and transfer them to the pen drive. Navigate to your Downloads folder, find file name with SurfaceLaptop_BMR_151_8.199.0.
Once you have located the above file name, right-click on it and select Extract All. Select Next.
You may be prompted to replace the files, to which you must select to restore the data in the destination. Once the extraction of data is done, copy all the files and paste it into your recovery USB drive.
This method creates a recovery pathway to your pen drive, only instead of the default backup, the computer will be loading the Windows 10S recovery files. It’s a neat trick, and you can repeat with any other version of the operating system.
4] Recover the Surface Laptop
Now the fun part. Till now, all you have been doing will come to fruition in this step. Here, we are going to install the recovery files onto the hard drive finally. Before proceeding, make sure you have backup all the data somewhere else. Now, turn off the laptop and insert the pen drive into your computer.
You need to press the Volume Down and Power Button simultaneously and leave both the button once Windows 10 S logo appears on the screen.
However, nowadays every laptop comes with a custom button for a boot menu. It’s a pretty small button, and once you press it, you will be greeted with a list that offers various pre-boot options. Select the recovery option from there.
5] Booting and Setting Up
Once that’s done, and the boot menu is up, you will be asked to Select your Language and Keyboard Settings. Then select Troubleshoot followed by Recover from the Drive.
In the next step, Select Just Remove my Files, and in the situation you are giving your laptop away to someone, select “Fully clean the drive”.
Now select Recover, and this will restart your laptop. The booting may take some time, so be a bit patient, and once it’s done, your computer will start up and windows 10 S will be installed.
That’s it! This is how you can reinstall Windows 10 S on your Surface laptop. If you have any questions on how to reinstall Windows 10S on your Surface laptop, do let us know and we will try to solve it asap.
