Back Up Disk
- Thread starter AndyWear
- Start date
leeshor
Well-Known Member
There is a way to get the SN using a program like MagicJellyBean but a SN is no longer required if your OS has been activated. If you want/need a fresh install just skip the SN and it will still activate. Windows is using the components in your Surface Book as a signature to ID your system as having a valid license.
Windows 10 can create a recovery image natively but my suggestion is that you look at Macrium Reflect (Free) for creating backups and a recovery ISO that would allow you to do a bare mental recovery in case of a disaster.
Windows 10 can create a recovery image natively but my suggestion is that you look at Macrium Reflect (Free) for creating backups and a recovery ISO that would allow you to do a bare mental recovery in case of a disaster.
It is now located in the UEFI Firmware...Volume Rocker Up and Power Button from a complete shutdown...
Easiest way to get the serial number is just launch the Surface App (big tile that says Surface, allows you to set pen sensitivity but that's about all it does. Hopefully more to come) and click on the smiley at bottom of the left menu icons. This will display the serial number, a few other bits and pieces of info and allow you to send feedback to Microsoft. While I'm at it I may as well mention that I generally include a request to get rid of the overly obtrusive smiley icons MS is kludging onto their software for feedback. Feedback buttons are all well and good but c'mon MS, you're not a fourteen year old kid you're forty years old, use something a little more subtle...
Wayne Orwig
Active Member
I have not looked. My eyes aren't that good.
. But online Microsoft points there to register your Book.The serial number of the clipboard is in Settings->System->About, but not for the keyboard section. Physically, the serial numbers are on the connect edge of the clipboard and on the bottom of the keyboard near the hinge.
As far as a CD-key, I think MS is moving away from that for pre-installs and upgrades. They use a HW fingerprint instead. You still get a CD-key if you purchase a retail version of Win 10 I believe, but other installations are recorded in your MS account instead.
Finally, there is a recovery partition on the disk that probably has the data for reinstalling the OS, though it is only 800MB so unless they've done a lot of compression it may not be complete. You could go into Disk Management and assign it a drive letter and poke around at it and copy it to an external drive, but I'm not sure if it will fully replace an install CD/DVD. Perhaps it installs a mini-OS that then launches and downloads the full Win 10 OS?
As far as a CD-key, I think MS is moving away from that for pre-installs and upgrades. They use a HW fingerprint instead. You still get a CD-key if you purchase a retail version of Win 10 I believe, but other installations are recorded in your MS account instead.
Finally, there is a recovery partition on the disk that probably has the data for reinstalling the OS, though it is only 800MB so unless they've done a lot of compression it may not be complete. You could go into Disk Management and assign it a drive letter and poke around at it and copy it to an external drive, but I'm not sure if it will fully replace an install CD/DVD. Perhaps it installs a mini-OS that then launches and downloads the full Win 10 OS?
