Windows 10: Windows Recovery Environment

@Saltgrass

Both Winre.wim and Reagent.xml are under: C:\Windows\System32\Recovery
If contains all 0's. ReAgentc will search for the Recovery Partition identified by ID type (DE94BBA4-06D1-4D40-A16A-BFD50179D6AC) and move WinRe.wim there then update the xml file to contain the offset, its GUID and also set an entry in the BCD.

Code: <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?> <WindowsRE version="2.0"> <WinreBCD id="{b150d609-3dff-11e8-bb6b-002683327ad9}"/> <WinreLocation path="\Recovery\WindowsRE" id="0" offset="1048576" guid="{318b254a-67c2-4d2d-ab28-25562cbe3f69}"/> .....[/quote]

 

I've made a clean install of Windows 10 Professional, my partiton layout
Part1: Recovery
Part2: EFI
Part3: Microsoft Reserved
Part4: Windows_C
Unallocated
Part1 is actually NTFS contains \Recovery\WindowsRE\WinRE.wim supposedly to be loaded as Recovery environment. After some modifications. Now I want to back to Original Microsoft Windows RE.
I've successfully mounted Part1 as R:, now R:\Recovery\WndowsRE\WinRE.wim does exist and I WANT Recovery configuration point to this. I've also reset all ReAgentC.XML to 0 for the fileds id, guid, offset etc.
But when I run reagentc /enable /setimage /parth R:\Recovery\WindowsRE, it does not perform my command. It always return:
Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition4\Recovery\WindowsRE
I want it point to PARTITION1 not PARTITION4?
Is there any way to use Notepad or in worst case hexedit to get it done?
Thank you

:)

 

Windows Recovery Environment

Recently someone completely reset my laptop (currently running Windows 10) without my permission and had access to the Windows Recovery Environment from the Start screen. So, I was wondering if it was possible to add some sort of security measures onto the
WinRE if possible preventing anyone else from wiping my laptop. Any ideas?

***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***

 

windows recovery environment

Hi Sreenivas,

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Try disabling it first to unregister it from C:

reagentc /disable
reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE
reagentc /enable
reagentc /info

You also have a typo "/parth"

 

No changes
PS C:\Users\nguyenc> mountvol R: "\\?\Volume{cdddae3a-c085-4309-acda-0789503bdb45}"
PS C:\Users\nguyenc> reagentc /disable
REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

PS C:\Users\nguyenc> reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE
Directory set to: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition1\Recovery\WindowsRE

REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

PS C:\Users\nguyenc> reagentc /enable
REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

PS C:\Users\nguyenc> reagentc /info
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration
Information:

Windows RE status: Enabled
Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition4\Recovery\WindowsRE
Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: f554b0fa-4301-11e8-ae5d-80ac6b3e47c5
Recovery image location:
Recovery image index: 0
Custom image location:
Custom image index: 0

REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.

 

create a log file:

reagentc /disable
reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE
reagentc /enable /logpath c:\WinRE.log

I'm getting same issue as you: Code: PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /disable REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\WinRE.wim Directory set to: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition1\Recovery\WindowsRE REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /enable /logpath c:\WinRE.log REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /info Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration Information: Windows RE status: Enabled Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition4\Recovery\WindowsRE Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: 8ddcf088-4251-11e8-a432-f20650aa86e6 Recovery image location: Recovery image index: 0 Custom image location: Custom image index: 0 REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>[/quote]
It says my Recovery partition is too small - from c:\WinRE.log

Code: 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Partition details: {Offset: 1048576, Free space: 40579072, Total space: 471855104} 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements WinRE WIM size: 416713175 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Required free space: 52428800 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Warning [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Not enough free space req = 52428800 avail = 40579072 offset = 1048576 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] --Install on target OS step 4: check if we can put winre.wim in other partitions or create one if needed. 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] CanPutWinREOnOtherPartitions WinRE is not staged. Searching for a suitable partition for WinRE. 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Entering FindTargetPartition 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] RegLoadKey $OFFLINE$SYSTEM failed. Error: 0x522. 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Not allowed to repartition the disk 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Start looping through each partition and initialize os partition, recovery partition and system partition for MBR 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Checking partition at offset 472907776, partition number: 2 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] skip GPT Partition which type is not PARTITION_MSFT_RECOVERY_GUID 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Checking partition at offset 114889326592, partition number: 5 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] skip GPT Partition which type is not PARTITION_MSFT_RECOVERY_GUID 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Checking partition at offset 594542592, partition number: 4 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] find OS partition 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Checking partition at offset 1048576, partition number: 1 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Partition details: {Offset: 1048576, Free space: 40579072, Total space: 471855104} 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements WinRE WIM size: 416713175 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Required free space: 52428800 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Warning [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Not enough free space req = 52428800 avail = 40579072 offset = 1048576 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] skip partition because it does not meet WinRE requirements 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Complete looping through each partition 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] ----Search target partition option #1: try existing WinRE partition 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] ----Search target partition option #2: try first recovery partition 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] ----Search target partition option #3: try system partition for MBR 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] ----Search target partition option #4: try new recovery partition if allowed 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] ----Search target partition option #5: try target OS partition 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Partition details: {Offset: 594542592, Free space: 18595831808, Total space: 114294779904} 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements WinRE WIM size: 416713175 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] MeetPartitionRequirements Required free space: 469141975 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Found target partition: use target OS partition, offset: 594542592 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Exit FindTargetPartition returns with status code: 0x0 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] --Install on target OS step 5: set WinRE settings and restore system to a good state when hitting any errors 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Enter SetWinRESettings 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] RegLoadKey $OFFLINE$SYSTEM failed. Error: 0x522. 2018-04-21 09:35:43, Info [ReAgentc.exe] Copying WinRE from \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition1\Recovery\WindowsRE to staging location on \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition4[/quote] My WinRE partition is 500MB - looks like it decides there is not enough free space so as it can't repartition it copies WinRE.wim to C and registers it there.

These are the rules:

UEFI/GPT-based hard drive partitions | Microsoft Docs

I tried deleting my recovery partition and recreating it 499MB: Code: DISKPART> select disk 0 Disk 0 is now the selected disk. DISKPART> list partition Partition ### Type Size Offset ------------- ---------------- ------- ------- Partition 1 Recovery 449 MB 1024 KB Partition 2 System 100 MB 451 MB Partition 3 Reserved 16 MB 551 MB Partition 4 Primary 106 GB 567 MB Partition 5 Primary 6144 MB 106 GB DISKPART> list volume Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info ---------- --- ----------- ----- ---------- ------- --------- -------- Volume 0 R Recovery NTFS Partition 449 MB Healthy Volume 1 C MacBook NTFS Partition 106 GB Healthy Boot Volume 2 D ReFS Partition 6144 MB Healthy Volume 3 FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy System DISKPART>[/quote] That didn't work either - same issue - so the free space check in reagentc seems to be bugged (I tried on both 16299 BIOS and 117134.1 UEFI). At least the way it works doesn't conform to documentation as my WinRE.wim is 397MB which leaves more than 50MB of free space it claims is required.

If you have the same cause in your log file then it looks like we both need to shuffle our partitions around and make a bigger recovery.

MS recommend putting recovery after C these days (see here).

Personally I'm going to wait until Spring update and do clean install with recovery 1GB after C. It definitely didn't do this when I clean installed last year - it worked fine.

 

Thanks for the hints,

I just shrinked WinRE partition from 499M down to 449M before moving to SSD. I am upgrading to Windows Insider Preview 17650 RS5 now. Will expand it to 499M and report back.

Thank you

 

Just upgraded to Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview 17650 RS5. The upgrade delete old recovery files in Part1, shrinked Part4 Windows_C and allocate a new Part5 as Recovery of 720MB
Code: PS R:\Recovery\WindowsRE> cmd /c dir /a Volume in drive R has no label. Volume Serial Number is 28B7-860A Directory of R:\Recovery\WindowsRE 04/21/2018 06:12 PM <DIR> . 04/21/2018 06:12 PM <DIR> .. 04/15/2018 07:17 PM 3,170,304 boot.sdi 04/21/2018 06:12 PM 1,115 ReAgent.xml 04/21/2018 05:03 PM 441,799,058 Winre.wim 3 File(s) 444,970,477 bytes 2 Dir(s) 369,410,048 bytes free[/quote] .
Now I am reorganizing partitions on my disk and move Recovery back to Part1 and experiment how big it needs for new recovery.
Thanks

 

First set Folder option to show all hidden file.

Here's how ReAgentc works:
With ReAgentc /disable:

• WinRe.wim is moved to C:\Windows\System32\Recovery
• Also a copy of ReAgent.xml is created and the first few lines contains all 0's
• <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?><WindowsRE version="2.0"> <WinreBCD id="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"/> <WinreLocation path="" id="0" offset="0" guid="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"/> <ImageLocation path="" id="0" offset="0" guid="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"/>
• WindowsRe folder is removed from the Recovery partition as shown:
  
  
  

With Reagentc /Enable:

• WindowsRE folder is re-created and contains 3 files: WinRe.wim is moved back into this folder, boot.sdi and a new ReAgent.xml is created and the first few lines contains:
  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?><WindowsRE version="2.0"> <WinreBCD id="{2234e4d9-43fd-11e8-ae15-d43d7e93ddbf}"/> <WinreLocation path="\Recovery\WindowsRE" id="0" offset="1048576" guid="{50d1d77f-76ba-4d30-a47f-e8a6967616ab}"/> <ImageLocation path="" id="0" offset="0" guid="{00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}"/> <PBRImageLocation path="" id="0" offset="0" guid="{00000000-0000-0000-0000000000000000}" index="0"/>
  NOTE: The new ReAgent.xml is also saved in: C:\Windows\System32\Recovery
  
  
  

You need not to mount/assign any letter to the Recovery partition. If for some reason it's broken. Make sure you have WinRe.wim and Reagent.xml (containing all 0's) under: C:\Windows\System32\Recovery
then type: reagentc /enable

FYI, WinRE.wim is ~350MB so if the Recovery partition is 450MB, it's plenty of room. Starting with version 1709 and later the Recovery partition size is: 500MB.

 

Hi there,

With MiniTool Partition Manager I was playing around with all partition on my SDD, which is relative small 128GB so all relocations finish in 10 mins include 3-4 reboot cycles. I made Partitions Copies with Macrium Reflect for just in case backups. I've put My REcovery Partition as part1 of 790MB Size as it initially set after upgrading to 17650.

I've test recovery boot with reagentc /boottore and reboot. All recovery works.

Actually I've never used Reset or Recovery windows before, I found clean install with properly backup restore tool is much faster than recovery a troubled OS.

Thank you

 

I don't keep recovery partitions on my computers. Everything available in the recovery partition is also available by booting from a Windows 10 installation USB flash drive. And...like you say...if my system gets messed up enough to actually require the recovery partition, I'm going to restore a backup image or do a clean install anyway.

 

WinRE of 17650 Insider Preview is 441M, and clean install set default recovery partition 500MB as part1 followed by 100M EFI, 16MB Microsoft Reserved then C_DRIVE system partitions.
Code: PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> cmd /c dir /a R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\ Volume in drive R is Windows RE Volume Serial Number is CED4-0B20 Directory of R:\Recovery\WindowsRE 04/22/2018 07:24 PM <DIR> . 04/22/2018 07:24 PM <DIR> .. 04/15/2018 07:17 PM 3,170,304 boot.sdi 04/22/2018 07:24 PM 1,135 ReAgent.xml 04/21/2018 05:03 PM 441,799,058 Winre.wim 3 File(s) 444,970,497 bytes 2 Dir(s) 63,209,472 bytes free[/quote]

 

Strongly agree and highly recommended. Just create a recovery USB after fresh install or major upgrades and put it on cloud drive.
I don't like Plug-and-Play style of Windows 10 installation, it keeps administrators away from control and customization. Why M$ can't make it simple and clear like anaconda or calamares installers in some Linux distros?!

 

This is particularly true on a 32GB tablet where 0.5GB is significant by comparison.