Windows 10: Creator's upgrade appeared ok, but Advanced Recovery functions fail

Thanks, I'll try that. (I have previously tried rebuilding the BCD but clearly that's not enough).

Also found that, having run the reagentc command to reassociate the recovery partition, reagentc /info shows it's disabled.
Attempting to enable it - reagentc /enable - in normal mode from an admin prompt says
C:\WINDOWS\system32>reagentc /enable
REAGENTC.EXE: Unable to update Boot Configuration Data.

- and reagentc isn't recognised as a command at a command prompt when booted via the Windows installation disk.

 

So the result: I can still boot ok.




But




EFI partition:

 

At this point, I guess, if you really want the advanced boot menu, I would say the only alternative is to backup your current Windows partition with Macrium Reflect. Do a clean install of Windows 10 (delete every partition in front of your D: partition and install to the unallocated space). Then boot into Kyhi's Recovery Tools or Macrium Rescue and replace only the OS partition. You might have to run Macrium's utility to fix booting. Then try /setreimage to the recovery partition.

I don't sweat the recovery menu too much. Everything on it can be executed from a Windows 10 bootable USB drive anyway.

 

Thanks, actually I already did that... one of the things I did before posting here...
#2

The advanced recovery menu worked after the clean install.. not after replacing the "C:" partition.

However, I did have to run Macrium Fixboot (rather than Startup Repair which I tried first and had expected to work) to get that to boot.

And as noted above, Fixboot seems to remove the link to the Recovery partition.

Hmm. Maybe there's another way to get the system to boot after replacing the Windows partition... for example, repair the EFI partition?

But as you say, maybe I just live with it. We've another upgrade coming...

 

For unrelated reasons, I just did a clean install. Here's my BCD, I think the issue has something to do with the recovery enabled setting:

Code: C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit Windows Boot Manager -------------------- identifier {bootmgr} device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2 path \EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI description Windows Boot Manager locale en-us inherit {globalsettings} default {default} resumeobject {faed968a-8fe5-11e7-b49b-d8cb8a71f683} displayorder {default} {current} toolsdisplayorder {memdiag} timeout 3 Windows Boot Loader ------------------- identifier {default} device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume5 path \Windows\system32\winload.efi description Windows 10 locale en-us inherit {bootloadersettings} isolatedcontext Yes allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075 osdevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume5 systemroot \Windows resumeobject {faed968a-8fe5-11e7-b49b-d8cb8a71f683} nx OptIn bootmenupolicy Standard Windows Boot Loader ------------------- identifier {current} device partition=C: path \Windows\system32\winload.efi description Windows 10 Office locale en-US inherit {bootloadersettings} recoverysequence {faed9688-8fe5-11e7-b49b-d8cb8a71f683} displaymessageoverride Recovery recoveryenabled Yes isolatedcontext Yes allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075 osdevice partition=C: systemroot \Windows resumeobject {faed9685-8fe5-11e7-b49b-d8cb8a71f683} nx OptIn bootmenupolicy Standard C:\Windows\system32>[/quote]

 

So, interesting develop. Before I did the clean install, my recovery environment was broken too. So, I wiped my SSD with the exception of my old OS partition which was at the very end of the SSD (called Windows 10 in the BCD above). I then did a complete new install to the unallocated space, and named it Windows 10 Office in the above BCD.

I got a brand new EFI System Partition and Recovery Partition. So then I added the Windows 10 entry to the BCD using the BCDBOOT command. My recovery environment works just fine in the new Windows 10 Office installation, but it is still completely broke in the Windows 10 previous installation. I think it has something to do with the extra entries you see above in the Windows 10 Office section of the BCD that are not present in the Windows 10 section of the BCD.

I'm not that proficient with the workings of the BCD to fix it at this point :-(

 

What you're seeing is not dissimilar to my experience - when I clean installed recovery options were fine- overwriting C: partition and running Fixboot (to get the system to boot) => them not being present at all. Reselecting the Recovery partition gave the list of options, but non-functional.

Your Boot manager has two entries in Displayorder - corresponding to two OS 10's presumably. Fine.
My default is just {current}, presumably as you'd expect.
So nothing to note under Boot manager (I think).

Your 2nd Boot loader (.... Office) is the one with a working recovery environment, and has 3 extra entries as you noted (16 total).
Mine has 15... different again. The one missing is displaymessageoverride

I also now can't successfully set the recovery partition - the command completes, but the field is blank. (reagentc /info)

reagentc /enable
REAGENTC.EXE: Unable to update Boot Configuration Data.

My Windows Boot loader shows recoveryenabled = yes but reagentc shows RE status as disabled.

Quite a mess... I'm wondering about checking the id fields - the long strings.

 

Some progress- and some things learnt.
reagentc /enable wouldn't work at all as shown above. I have succeeded in getting that to work.

Recall my 'build' was a clean install (when all worked) with 'C:' replaced with my current system partition. Having done that, I had no Advanced recovery options.

Having 'fixed' reagentc /enable, I now have those back.

reagentc /info now gives what it should:
C:\windows\system32>reagentc /info
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration
Information:

Windows RE status: Enabled
Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition1\Recovery\WindowsRE
Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: ea28bca3-a098-11e7-8bcb-a434d962e85a
Recovery image location:
Recovery image index: 0
Custom image location:
Custom image index: 0

REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

How? Two things.
To get reagentc /enable to work:

• Copy winre.wim to C:\Recovery\WindowsRE
• Following

[SOLVED] How Do I Prepare Windows Recovery Environment on Windows 10. Taking Backup Measures on Your Windows Using ReagentC Tool and PowerShell


zero entries in
C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\reagent.xml

It may be necessary to create winre.wim using the appropriate Win 10 install iso; if the iso contains install.esd, this needs to be converted to install.wim using the appropriate DISM command.

Then run
reagentc /enable


Alas - I'm now back in the same state I was in quite some time back, where attempting to use the boot to Safe Mode option => just a PC logo, nothing more, and booting to a command prompt takes me to a PC logo with Please Wait at the bottom of the screen.

I.e. I have all the Advanced Recovery Options - but they don't work.

 

Solved! by an unexpected means...

Recall I had upgraded from the AU to the CU and could not boot e.g. to Safe Mode - on restarting to try to do so just the PC logo, no activity.

This time I started by wiping all Windows partitions, then clean installing the CU, intending should all be well to restore my system partition from my Macrium partition image.

I noted that trying to boot to Safe Mode via SHIFT + left click restart -> error 0xc0000454 - The boot configuration data for your PC is missing or contains errors. Shock, horror, jaw drops etc...

Curiously, selecting Safe mode via msconfig worked.

I tried again, and noticed this time when deleting partitions using the Win 10 installation sequence, that the disk numbers for my two disks (SSD, SSHD) were reversed compared to when shown by the partition manager. Thus now the SSD was shown as Disk 1. I deleted the partitions. During the installation process I also noted on the restarts there were a couple of short lines briefly shown on a black screen indicating no boot source had been found (not the exact text- it was brief and obscure).

Now I hadn't been used to seeing that.

Restart to safe mode again => 0xc0000454.

======================================
Time to reinstall 1607 - the AU- which had worked.

This time the disk numbers were 0 for the SSD, 1 for the SSHD.
I deleted the Windows partitions on Disk 0, reinstalled. During the reinstallation process there was no message on restarting during the process.

I tested restart to Safe Mode- fine.

I then restored the image of the CU Windows partition and rebooted. All is now well.

Now, that begs at least the following questions.
a. Had I upgraded to the CU with only my SSD in, or clean installed it thus, would all have been well.
b. What is the significance of the disk number reversal between the AU and the CU?
c. Given I now have my recovery, system, EFI partitions created from the 1607 build and my Windows partition from the CU build, and all seems well- is there any discrepancy that is likely to catch me out?

(Note: when I first rebooted this concoction, it (unsurprisingly) did an automatic repair- which succeeded).

Has anyone else noted their system disk not being designated as Disk 0 by a CU build on installation?