Help

Talk to us. Support is free and there's no time limit.

Nearly every problem people bring to us turns out to be a single setting on their computer, and we can usually name it in one reply. Ask us before you give up on it.

How to reach us

Message us through Amazon

All our support runs through Amazon, because it lets us see your order and answer properly. On a computer or in the Amazon app:

  1. Open Your Orders.
  2. Find your Repairo drive in the list.
  3. Choose Get product support, or Ask a question on the product page.

We read every message and normally reply within one business day. There's no time limit on this — message us a year later and you'll still get an answer.

Four things to tell us so we can actually help

  1. The make and model of your computer. The single most useful thing — it's on a sticker underneath a laptop, or on the back of a desktop. For example “HP Pavilion 15-eh1010wm”.
  2. Which Repairo drive you have — the name printed on the stick.
  3. What you see on screen. A photo taken with your phone is ideal, and often lets us answer in one reply.
  4. What you've already tried. Saves us both going round in circles.

Still not working? Three checks

Every drive is tested for correct operation before it ships, so an actual faulty drive is rare. These three checks take about ten minutes between them and resolve the overwhelming majority of cases — usually in a couple of minutes.

  1. Did you actually boot from the drive?

    This is far and away the most common answer. The drive does nothing when plugged into a running Windows computer — it isn't meant to. You have to start the computer from it.

    The five steps to boot from it →

  2. Have you tried Fast Startup and Secure Boot?

    Two settings on modern computers stop USB drives booting, and between them they explain most of the rest. Both are quick to change and both are reversible.

    Both fixes, step by step →

  3. Have you tried it on a second computer?

    Boot the drive on any other Windows PC — a friend's, a relative's, an old one in a cupboard. This settles the question in five minutes.

    • Works on the other computer: the drive is fine and it's a setting on your first machine. Message us with that machine's model and we'll name the setting.
    • Fails on both: that's a genuine fault, and we'll replace it straight away. Message us and we'll get one out to you.

    Either way, message us — we can nearly always have you up and running the same day.

What these drives can't do

We'd rather be straight with you than have you discover this after buying. If your situation is on this list, the drive can't solve it — but there is almost always another route, and we're happy to point you at it.

BitLocker and other encrypted drives

A blue screen asking for a 48-digit recovery key means the drive is encrypted with BitLocker. No tool of ours can read an encrypted drive without that key — that's the entire purpose of encryption, and if we could bypass it, it wouldn't be worth having.

Where to find your recovery key:

  • On another device, sign in at account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey with the Microsoft account that set the computer up.
  • Work or school computer: your IT department holds it.
  • A printout or saved file from when BitLocker was first switched on.

Without the key the data is unrecoverable by anyone. You can still wipe the drive and reinstall Windows — you just can't get the existing files back.

BIOS, UEFI and hard drive passwords

If a password is demanded before the Windows logo appears — typically a plain black or blue screen mentioning BIOS, Setup, System, Supervisor or HDD — that's a firmware password. It sits underneath the operating system, so no USB drive can reach it. It also blocks booting from USB at all, which is exactly why it exists.

Your only routes are the manufacturer's support line with proof of purchase, or, for some desktops, clearing the CMOS on the motherboard. A hard drive password ties the drive itself and generally means replacing it. Second-hand ex-corporate machine? This is a fairly common surprise — contact the original manufacturer.

Microsoft account passwords (the online kind)

If your sign-in screen shows an email address, the password lives on Microsoft's servers rather than on the computer. Reset it free at account.live.com/password/reset from your phone.

Unlock Pro can convert that account into a local one to get you back in without the internet — details here — but Microsoft's own reset is cleaner where it's an option.

Broken hardware

Software cannot repair a physical fault. If any of these describe your computer, no USB drive will help:

  • A failing or dead hard drive — clicking, grinding, or not detected at all
  • Faulty memory causing random crashes and blue screens
  • A cracked screen, a dead backlight, or no picture at all
  • Liquid damage
  • A failed power supply or charging port
  • Overheating that shuts the machine down after a few minutes
  • No lights, no fans, no beeps — no signs of life

A local repair shop or the manufacturer's warranty is the right call. We'd rather say so now than take your money.

Macs, Chromebooks, tablets and phones
  • Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4 and newer, so 2020 onward) cannot boot a Windows-based USB drive at all. Apple's restriction; no workaround exists.
  • Intel Macs (roughly 2019 and earlier) usually can — hold Option at startup. Details here.
  • Chromebooks are locked to ChromeOS recovery media.
  • iPads, iPhones and Android devices aren't computers in the relevant sense — these drives are for Windows PCs.

Not sure which kind of Mac you have? Click the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, and message us what it says under Chip or Processor — we'll tell you straight away.

Work and school computers

Managed computers are deliberately configured to resist exactly this kind of tool:

  • Booting from USB is usually disabled and locked with a BIOS password
  • Accounts are validated against a company server, not the computer
  • Full-disk encryption is standard

Your IT department is the only route. If you've bought a used ex-corporate machine, the original manufacturer can sometimes help with proof of purchase.

Recovering files you've already deleted

These drives don't include file recovery. Unlock Pro gets you back into an account; the repair toolkit can copy files that still exist off a computer that won't start. Neither undoes a deletion. Note that Disk Wiper Pro does the opposite — it makes deleted files permanently unrecoverable, on purpose.

Ransomware, viruses and locked files

A ransom demand on screen means your files have been encrypted by criminals, and no tool here can decrypt them. What you can do is boot the drive, copy your still-readable files to an external drive, then wipe and reinstall Windows. Never pay the ransom — report it to your local authorities instead.

Other common questions

My drive looks different from the product photo

Expected. We use whichever flash drive body our supplier has in stock, so the shape and colour vary between batches. Capacity, speed and contents are identical.

Two different Repairo USB drive body styles shown side by side, both labelled with the Repairo logo, with ticks confirming same reliability, same capacity, same speed and same content.
Can I use the drive again, or on another computer?

Yes, as many times as you like, on as many computers as you like. There's no licence limit, no activation and no expiry. Plenty of customers keep theirs in a drawer for the next emergency, or lend it to family.

Can I store my own files on it?

Please don't. The drive is set up in a particular way so that computers will start from it, and adding, moving or deleting files can break that. Treat it as a tool, not a storage stick. If you reformat it, it stops working — and that's not covered.

Will using this delete my files or void my warranty?
  • Unlock Pro — changes one stored password. Your files are untouched.
  • 4-in-1 Toolkit — repair and rescue tools change nothing. Installing Windows does erase the drive, and warns you first.
  • 21-in-1 Linux — trying a system changes nothing. Installing one can erase the drive, and warns you first.
  • Disk Wiper Pro — erases permanently. That's the product.

None of this affects a manufacturer's warranty. You aren't opening the computer or modifying hardware, and booting from USB is a standard, supported feature of every PC.

Do I need to be online to use it?

No. Everything runs from the drive itself. An internet connection only matters if you're reinstalling Windows and want updates and drivers, or resetting a Microsoft account password.

Is any of this legal?

On a computer you own, or one you have the owner's permission to work on, yes — entirely. These are standard tools used by repair shops and IT departments every day. Using them on someone else's computer without permission is not something we support, and depending on where you are, it may well be illegal.

Question not answered here?

Message us. There's no such thing as a question too basic — most of our customers aren't computer people, and that's exactly who we built these for. Get in touch →