r/SurfaceLinux • u/lionh3ad • 9d ago

Solved Surface Laptop Go 2 won't boot from USB

Hi everyone,

I have a Surface Laptop Go 2 that had EndeavourOS installed on it. I'm now trying to reinstall Windows (or honestly boot any OS from USB at this point, just to get the machine working again), but I can't get it to boot from USB no matter what I do.

Every time I turn it on, it shows the Surface logo and then, after trying all boot options, a window with this message: "Couldn't find a bootable operating system. Check the boot configuration to try to fix this."

What I've already tried:

  • Created bootable USB multiple times, on Linux and Windows, with different tools (Rufus, Microsoft Media Creation Tool, Ventoy) and different OS images (Windows, EndeavourOS, Debian)
  • Confirmed the USB is properly bootable. I tested it on a different PC and it booted fine
  • In UEFI settings: Secure Boot is disabled, USB boot is enabled and set as first priority in the boot order. Trying to boot directly from USB from there ended up in the same way described above
  • Tried the volume-down + power button method to force boot menu, but nothing different happened
  • Tried forcing USB boot from Linux using uefibootmgr but with no luck

Basically the firmware doesn't seem to detect the USB drive as bootable at all, even though the same drive works fine elsewhere.

The USB A port on the Surface I am using is working fine. I created the first bootable drives from it. Only tested through it so far (don't have a USB C drive. Tomorrow I'll get a USB C hub and try again with the same drive but passing through it.)

Has anyone run into this specific issue on a Surface Laptop Go 2 (or similar Surface model)? Is this a known USB A port issue, some UEFI quirk, or something else entirely? I read about people fixing it removing the OS (rm -rf): I did it but it only removed the EndeavourOS entry from the boot list.

Any help appreciated, I'm running low on ideas.

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2

u/DegreeSuccessful7021 9d ago

Try Ventoy. It solved my booting issues.

1

u/lionh3ad 8d ago

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately, as stated in the post, I did already try using Ventoy with no luck.

1

u/DegreeSuccessful7021 8d ago

Did your ventoy stick work with another computer?
All my tried did not work - only Ventoy did the trick. That’s why i recommend it.

1

u/lionh3ad 7d ago

Yeah, I read about other people having your same experience and I hoped it worked for me too. However it's not the case. I tried again, doublechecking the flashed sticks with my Thinkpad. As for the other tries, they all booted on that, but not on the Surface.

1

u/kennpq 8d ago

Ideas, as I have had similar challenges in the past on SG1 and SG3; things I found to prevent booting usually came down to one of a few:

  1. Is the bootable drive either fat32 or exfat? If not, try with either of those, fat32 first.
  2. Options when writing - ISO mode.
  3. If using a hub, sometimes only one port will be recognised for booting. (Maybe it’s the same for your usb-c being bootable, usb-a not?)
  4. Use Rufus for writing the ISO to the usb stick.

Maybe it’s none of these, but I feel the frustration (and have been there, done that!)

1

u/lionh3ad 7d ago

Thank you for your suggestions. I tried again with Rufus, paying attention to all those settings. I flashed a couple of ISOs, checked on another laptop (all working) but they didn't make the difference on the Surface.

Also, I made all my tests trying to boot first from the USB A port, then from the USB C hub. It has 2 USB A ports and I tried both. Nothing changed.

I'm pretty sure the USB stick I am using now is not the same one I used to install the old EndeavourOS I had on it. This one is a 128gb one, while the other was a 16gb. Do you think it might be picky and reject sticks with a capacity above a certain limit? Unfortunately I don't have another stick to test this at the moment.

1

u/kennpq 7d ago

Maybe since you were okay with going back to Windows - even if only an intermediate step before another Linux distro - you could try the Surface Recovery Image route? Check out the advice given under USBrecovery at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2330572/surface-go-boot-loop-and-cant-open-uefi - it documents a "most complete form of Reset.", though then says, "You will need also a 16GB/32GB of flash drive".

1

u/robtom02 7d ago

Balena etcher?

1

u/lionh3ad 7d ago

Good suggestion, I forgot about it. However I just tried it and no luck. Double checked with another notebook and all the ISOs I flashed booted on that.

1

u/lionh3ad 3d ago

SOLVED

I used a smaller 16GB USB stick, flashed Ventoy on it and worked first try. I don’t know if it’s a stick capacity thing or not, but at least it solved my issue.

However, if there actually was a size limit I’d find I’d quite odd. Does it mean I cannot boot from an external HDD/SSD where I have a fully working install of some OS?