Windows 10: How does Windows boot to advanced recovery option e.g. command prompt?

Yep- have also rebuilt the EFI partition in this thread - it didn't help.

I think the message that the bcd data couldn't be updated was misleading or a consequence of sthg else. But it seems it's not set correctly as I said by selecting on of the advanced options, yet it can be written with bcdedit.

My guess is that somewhere there's a partition id number discrepancy, but I've no idea where..

Your post is a very good record of actions taken.

 

I have questions for you:

• if you open admin command, copy and paste: reagentc /boottore&shutdown /r /f /t 00
  Does it boot into recovery ?
• Is the disk layout still look like the screen you posted in the other thread with 2 recovery partitions (450MB and 480MB)?
  
  
  
  According to suggestions from the thread, you changed from partitiion 5 to partition 1 with reagentc, which in my opinion is not correct. When you upgrade, windows creates an extra 450MB after C: and put a new Winre.wim there and set it to partition 5 (counting from left to right)

 

I had occasion to sort out booting to my recovery partition a while back. The GUID involved is the one shown by bcdedit as 'recoverysequence' for {current}. This should match the 'Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier' shown by reagentc /info

Somehow I'd managed to change mine and it was booting to a quite different recovery environment. I used reagentc to find the correct GUID and bcdedit to set it to boot correctly. This was back in Anniversary update, in case of further problems I kept a record of the information back then, and the updated information after the upgrade to Creators Update.

I've attached my records in case they are of help.

Interestingly, I've since discovered how my other system manages to boot to the recovery environment despite having no recovery partition (apparently the free upgrade to 10 was unable to find anywhere to put one, being an MBR which already had four partitions). The Windows RE location is shown by reagentc as:
\\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition3\Recovery\WindowsRE

But partition 3 is my C: drive. The files that would normally be found in the recovery partition are instead in the hidden and inaccessible C:\Recovery folder, along with a 0 byte hidden file at the root of C: called $WINRE_BACKUP_PARTITION.MARKER

 

Thanks- looks very promising- will investigate tomorrow.
However, what has persuaded me to discount the 480Mb recovery partition to date is its apparent lack of content:




Here's the other one:




(I'm guessing the two oddly named folders were added by Cryptoprevent when I allocated a drive letter when trying to fix things).

 

If the content is missing, why not do a clean install to a spare HDD then copy the files from the recovery partition it creates? Then put back your proper drive(s) and put the files into the empty recovery partition.

 

.. it's a laptop... with an M2 SSD. Not something I wish to fiddle with, although it's very mch designed for people to take the back off and fiddle.

Note that earlier I did a clean install, which was fine in this respect, then restored the system partition. Why do you see two recovery partitions? 'Cos I also did an in-place upgrade repair install.

 

What alerted me to my problem was that making a system image had stopped including the recovery partition in the images (that and the unfamiliar RE I was booting to). It appears that the reagentc and bcdedit info has to be correct for the system to know where to find (or in your case upgrade) the WinRE. I suspect yours was incorrect before the upgrade to Creators hence the lack of files being put into what you'd expect to be the recovery partition to be used.

I corrected mine before the upgrade to Creators, which did successfully upgrade my recovery partition. You can recognise a 1703 Advanced Start up by the white box around the selected option, 1607 and before didn't have that.

 

Reagentc command is moving things in and out from the Recovery folder to C:\Windows\System32\Recovery
NOTE: You need to set folder option to show protected operating system files to see them.
reagentc /enable =====> moves Winre.wim to Recovery folder
reagentc /disable =====> moves Winre.win to C:\Windows\System32\Recovery

Apparently, when you run reagentc /setimage... The new Winre.wim might be deleted and shows empty in partition 5.

 

I'll try selecting the second recovery partition and enabling that tomorrow, thanks. I have the wim file, which I generated specifically. I found it not present in C:\Windows\System32\Recovery; it now is, so I can see what happens quite easily when I run reagentc /enable

 

Disable it first. Then set the location, then enable.

I'm not sure why you didn't to as @LCDR suggested though on your other thread. It would get rid of all your pointless partitions and make sure all others were up to date.

It is easy - backup C, delete all partitions and clean install, restore C.

 

That's exactly what I did do. It's shown in the other thread and mentioned again.

All my pointless partitions? How many do you think there are?

There's one as far as I know, created when I subsequently did an in-place upgrade repair install.

So what didn't I do that @NavyLCDR suggested?

 

Interesting thread dalchina...

One question: did you try to fix boot problems with Macrium. I know it's one of the most reliable programs (in that area too), just don't know if it diggs into repair section of boot.

 

Yes in the first thread... it didn't help.

This is a learning curve- which I could have done without really- all from when a smooth upgrade to the Creator's build led to the Advanced Startup options being unavailable.

I have an entirely speculative idea- perhaps it was caused by my Anniversary build having an extra recovery partition remaining from an in-place upgrade repair many months before...

Later on I'll try @topgundcp 's idea...

 

Have to read through your other thread (why did you separate them?).

When topgun (or was it Navy..) suggested you to clean install and restore just C: partition, you said you did. But you didn't clean install, just did in-place upgrade. I could misunderstood, of course.

 

Hi, @topgundcp

- that gives me a 454 'Unexpected error'

Yes

The command to set the recovery partition to partition 5 fails, as WINDOWSRE does not exist under RECOVERY