"Failed to unlock with this recovery key"

glasskuter said:

Here's the complete procedure from creating the recovery drive to performing the recovery.

Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface - Microsoft Support

Learn how to reset your Microsoft Surface and solve problems using a USB recovery drive or Surface recovery image.

support.microsoft.com

Click to expand...

Sorry, but I am confused.
I downloaded the zip file, have it on a 250gb card placed in a "Plugable" and is plugged into my Windows 10 desktop.
The extracted file is called: SurfacePro9_BMR_12010_2023.1106.248
When I type "Recovery drive," "Search the Web" appears with options that take me to a webpage, rather than the usb drive.

Sorry, I guess I am the one confused. Let me back up.
I can only speculate since I've never owned a surface but I would think it would be this, copied and pasted from MS:

Reset your Surface to factory settings using a recovery drive​

A reset returns your Surface to its factory settings. It deletes all your personal files, resets your settings, and removes all apps that you installed.

Boot from a USB drive to reset your Surface​

Before you begin, make sure you have access to the product keys and installation files for any desktop apps, such as Microsoft Office, that you plan to reinstall after the reset.

When you're ready, here's how to reset your Surface:

1. Make sure your Surface is turned off and plugged in, and then insert the USB recovery drive into the USB port.
2. Press and hold the volume-down button while you press and release the power button.
3. When the Microsoft or Surface logo appears, release the volume-down button.
4. When prompted, select the language and keyboard layout you want.
5. Select Recover from a drive or Troubleshoot > Recover from a drive. If prompted for a recovery key, select Skip this drive at the bottom of the screen.
6. Choose either Just remove my files or Fully clean the drive.
   The option to clean the drive is more secure but takes much longer. For example, if you’re recycling your Surface, you should clean the drive. If you’re keeping your Surface, you just need to remove your files.
7. Select Recover.
   Surface restarts and displays the Surface logo while the reset process continues. This can take several minutes.

reference here. It's all in there from how to create a recovery drive and how to use it. Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface - Microsoft Support

Thank you glasskuter, I'll give it a try and hope it works.
Will let you know.

Sorry to be such a pita, but that didn't work. Every way I tried to get it to boot from the usb, that blue screen appears wanting the lengthy password. I told the system to boot from the usb. The blue light on the "plugable" flickered a couple of times, but that was it.

Is it possible I have formatted to the wrong format? I right-clicked and told it to format.

Also, the .zip file is 10gb in size, and the extracted file, SurfacePro9_BMR_12010_2023.1106.248 is 25.0 MB.

I'm going to extract the zip file again and copy it to the usb device.

The usb should be formatted fat32. Try once more.You must create the drive exactly as written. Then to recover from the drive, you must do so using the steps exactly as written.
Did you watch the video? The written steps in the article are the same to what is in the video.


If you can't recover it, contact MS again and tell them you weren't successful. They should guide you in doing so or have you return it with your data on it.

Hi glasskuter. I followed your instruction exactly, saw the video, put the folder with all the files on a fat32 usb, tried all of the options. There was a screen that showed images, but nothing was on the screen. Doesn't seem to find the usb. the led blinks a couple of times, but it always boot with "Preparing Bitlocker Recovery" and ends up with the blue screen. I'm going to return to MS, I have a label.
Thanks for a the help. Very much appreciated.
Will update when I hear back from MS.

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