Turn off secure boot and "reset"? for my sculpture, iRobot

[Mac]

Hi all,
I'm using my SP2 to exclusively run my sculpture, iRobot.

This artwork has been years of work but I finally have it running smoothly so I'd like to backup the Surface exactly the way it is now. I used windows 10 (on the surface) to create an image of the SSD on an external hard drive and I've made a bootable flash drive using the microsoft.com tool. I'd like to test it but I'm unclear as to what "Exit and Reset" means after I turn off Secure Boot. Does "Reset" mean the Surface's SSD will wipe and reinstall, or does it just mean that my new UEFI settings (non-secure boot) will be saved and windows will restart?
Just to be clear, I DO NOT want to reset my surface, I just want to test the bootable flash drive so that I know it works.
Many thanks,
-Mac

 

[GreyFox7]

I don't get why you are turning off Secure Boot, that's not part of the process. A lot of people will tell you to do that but it's based on misunderstanding, misinformation, and wrongheadedness. if you made your backup boot drive correctly it will boot without turning off Secure Boot.

example instructions
How to Create System Image Backup in Windows 10

How to Restore Windows 10 Computer Using System Image

You can Restore Windows 10 computer using System Image Backup, while logged in and also if you are unable to login to your computer.

www.techbout.com

Although if it was me I'd just use Macrium Reflect Free edition to create the Image and recovery drive.

 

[Mac]

Thanks for the replay, GreyFox7. Your example instructions is how I made my backup to the external HDD. But since the Surface doesn't have a disc drive to create a system repair disc, I used another win10 computer to download and create the flash drive, specifying for another computer. Maybe that's my problem? After inserting the flash drive and starting up the Surface, it bypasses the flash drive and boots to windows normally.

 

[Mac]

Oh, and yes, literally everything I read and watched online said I must turn off secure boot. So I'm still curious, will selecting "save and reset", after turning off secure boot, wipe my SSD and install a fresh OS?

 

[GreyFox7]

Oh, and yes, literally everything I read and watched online said I must turn off secure boot. So I'm still curious, will selecting "save and reset", after turning off secure boot, wipe my SSD and install a fresh OS?

I tested this on Pro 3 which is the closest thing I have to a Pro 2. "save and reset" is Unfortunate/BAD wording. no, it won't wipe your drive HOWEVER it will trigger Bitlocker Recovery and you would need to enter your recovery key to access the drive. I powered off at this point and re-enabled Secure Boot and it then booted normally. I have used the recovery key in the past ... it works...

THE IMPORTANT PART HERE IS NO REPUTABLE SITE TELLS YOU TO DISABLE SECURE BOOT FOR THIS PROCESS.
DON'T DO IT!

If your USB drive doesn't boot with Secure Boot ON there's something wrong with it.

The disable secure boot detour is just people don't know what they are doing fumbling around until they get there but it's completely unnecessary and a waste of time. when you see some youtuber saying this ... leave immediately they're a moron.

My personal recommendation is to use Macrium Reflect Free.
It's much easier to use, it will also create a Bootable USB that works and you can include the BitLocker info as well.

 

[Mac]

Sorry you went to all that trouble, GreyFox7, but thanks! I'll give Macrium a go, it's probably better than using windows anyway. Do I have to have a Microsoft account to get my Bitlocker code?

Maybe there are just a lot of people out there that want us to turn off our secure boot. I don't like thinking that way, but it's the world these days. A few months after getting pushed online to teach (during the lockdown) someone hacked my school and demanded ransom, so we had to start all over with a workaround. Sigh....

Again, thanks for the help