If you’ve been using Windows for a long time, I’m sure you know about Advanced Recovery Mode. The blue color screen which offers options to troubleshoot, recover, restore, command line option etc. This is the screen that Microsoft calls Windows RE Where Windows Recovery Environment. In this guide, we will share more about Windows RE and how to boot into Windows Recovery Environment.
What is Windows RE
Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is a companion operating system installed with Windows 11/10, in a separate partition. It can help us in troubleshooting, recovery or booting from external media, such as a USB stick. Windows RE can repair common issues that result in an operating system that won’t boot. Microsoft has also allowed the IT admin to customize it. They can add additional drivers, languages, diagnostic tools and can also include parts of Windows PE (Windows Preinstallation Environment). It is available on all Windows 10 and Windows Server installations.
Windows RE comes pre-installed on the operating system, so you don’t need to create a bootable USB or ISO while troubleshooting.
Since Windows RE is preinstalled in Windows 11/10, you can boot into it. There are several ways to do this.
- If you’re stuck on the login screen, click the Shut Down button, then choose to restart while holding down the Shift key.
- In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > under Advanced Startup, click Restart now.
- You can use recovery media to boot into Windows RE.
- Run
reagentc /boottorein an elevated command prompt and reboot the device to boot into WinRE. - Run
shutdown /r /oin an elevated command prompt and reboot the device to boot into WinRE instead of Windows 10.
Some OEMs offer a hard recovery button or combination to boot directly into Windows RE. This is useful when you face a BSOD and don’t have recovery media.
After following one of these steps, you will have two options in the boot menu. The first is to boot into Windows RE, and the second is to boot normally into the Windows OS.
In Windows 10, the local copy of Windows RE receives an update as part of operating system updates. Typically, a newer version of the Windows RE image replaces the existing one.
Read: Unable to find Recovery Environment in Windows 10.
Windows RE can launch in an emergency:
There are specific scenarios in which the boot process can identify a problem. When it does, it will boot the computer directly into Windows RE. They are:
- Two consecutive unsuccessful attempts to start Windows.
- When the computer suddenly shuts down more than twice and within two minutes of the boot process.
- Secure boot error.
- BitLocker error on touch devices only.
These tips should help you get started in the Windows Recovery Environment.
What can Windows RE do?
- Automatic repair and general troubleshooting.
- Troubleshoot Startup or Startup Problems
- Windows 10 full reset for desktop editions
- System Image Recovery for Windows Server 2016, Server 2012 R2 and Server 2012 only.
- And more!
Here you will see options like:
- System Restore: Useful if you want to restore your Windows 10 PC.
- System Image Recovery: This allows you to recover your Windows using a system image file.
- Startup Repair: fixes startup problems
- Command Prompt: Using CMD, you can access more advanced built-in Windows tools like SFC, DISM, ChkDsk, Regedit. Gpedit, etc.
- Startup Settings: It allows you to change Windows startup options
- Uninstall Updates: This allows you to uninstall problematic updates
- UEFI Firmware Settings
- Go back to the previous version.
Can I delete the Windows RE tools partition?
If you open the Disk Management tool, you may see a Windows RE tools partition. This is the Windows Recovery Environment and you should not remove it because you never know when you will need it.
See this article if Windows RE is not working as expected and you receive the message Cannot find recovery environment in Windows 11/10.
A report: How to Access and Use Advanced Startup Options in Windows.
