You can easily fix the error “Could not find the recovery environment” in Windows 10/11 with 3 proven methods. Sometimes, you may need to another path to access the recovery environment.
When you try to reset or refresh a Windows 10/11 PC, you may get an error saying"Could not find the recovery environment. Insert your Windows installation or recovery media, and restart your PC with the media".
However, even if you boot into recovery mode, you will find nothing under "Troubleshoot".
Normally, you should see "Reset your PC" or "Advanced Options" here. That is, you can't use any of the Windows 10/11 recovery options unless you insert a Windows recovery media or installation disc. So, what exactly causes such problems?
Get a clear answer in the next part.
There are many possible causes, but it is most likely because:
💻 Disabled Windows RE status |
You can only enter the Windows Recovery Environment when the Windows RE status shows “Enabled”. |
📑 Corrupted Winre.wim file |
If the Winre.wim file is corrupted, then the Windows Recovery Environment cannot load. |
⛔Broken installation disk |
If you use a broken Windows 10/11 installation disk, then you cannot enter WinRE. |
💾 Hardware or firmware issues |
Problems with the hard drive, motherboard, or BIOS/UEFI settings can prevent WinRE from loading. |
The first thing you should do is to check the Windows RE status. If the Windows RE location is missing, you need to locate the Winre.wim file or copy it from another location. You can also extract the Winre.wim file from the Windows installation file.
You can run the command “reagentc /info” in an alleviated command prompt to check the recovery status.
1. Type “CMD” in the Windows search box and press Enter. Locate the result Command Prompt, right-click on it, and select Run as administrator.
2. Type “reagentc /info” (without quotes) and press Enter.
3. If it is disabled, just type “reagentc /enable” to re-enable it.
If the Windows RE status is Enabled and you still cannot find the recovery environment, then you should check if the Windows RE location is valid. If this image file is corrupted or missing, you cannot use the Windows Recovery Options.
The Winre.wim file is usually located on the Windows hidden recovery partition. You cannot see it in Windows File Explorer unless you assign a drive letter to the recovery partition first.
In some cases, there is no recovery partition on your system disk. Well, the Winre.wim file is usually located on C: \Recovery, which is a hidden folder.
To locate the Winre.wim file, you can search the file on your computer.
1. From an elevated Command Prompt, type the following command to search for the Winre.wim file on C: drive:
dir /a /s c:\winre.wim
2. When you find the Winre.wim file and it is valid, you can type the command to specify its location: reagentc /setreimage /path [path of Winre.wim]
Here's my example: Reagentc /setreimage /path C:\Recovery\WindowsRE.
If you have a Windows 10/11 recovery disk or installation drive, then you can directly use it to reset Windows 10/11 or use any other recovery options. If not, you still can download MediaCreationTool and create a recovery disk from another computer using it.
Since Windows 10/11 recovery options sometimes do not work as they should, you may consider creating an alternative path to recover the operating system easily.
AOMEI Backupper Professional is a reliable backup and restore software for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. It provides complete features to backup OS regularly, and create a recovery environment (WinPE) for system recovery in case the computer crashes or even fails to boot.
(P.S. The free trial version can only be used within 30 days. To continuously protect data and recover system in a disaster, please upgrade to full version.)
This method will add an "AOMEI Backupper Recovery Environment" to the boot options menu and you will see it every time you start a computer. Thus, even when Windows 10/11 cannot find a recovery environment, you can enter WinPE and recover system from AOMEI Backupper.
1. Launch the software. Navigate to the Tools tab, and select Recovery Environment under Common Tools.
2. In the pop-up window, enable the boot option of the recovery environment. Then, select its standing time and click OK.
Unlike the recovery environment that works only on the current computer, you can create a bootable media to boot any computer running the same or lower version of Windows. It works the same as a recovery environment but requires you to prepare a USB or CD/DVD to store all the boot files.
1. Go to the Tools tab and select Create Bootable Media.
2. Choose the bootable disc type. Windows PE is recommended, and the created disc will be compatible with both legacy/MBR and UEFI/GPT.
3. Select the media you want to use. You can choose a USB drive, CD/DVD, or export ISO file directly. Click Next to start creating it.
Create automatic system backup in case of recovery needs:
Either way, when there is a problem with your computer, you can perform a system restore in the recovery environment. It requires system images when the computer is in a good status. So you may need to create a system backup in advance.
In daily use, you need to set this task automatically and worry-free:
The method to access the recovery environment varies depending on the operating system. Generally, you can access it by restarting your computer and pressing a specific key combination (such as F8 or Shift + F8) during the boot process.
The recovery environment typically includes tools like System Restore, Startup Repair, Command Prompt, and options to reset or reinstall your operating system, which can help you diagnose and fix issues related to system crashes, boot failures, corrupted system files, and more.
Resolving the error "Windows cannot find recovery environment" is not as difficult as you think and there are 3 proven methods above. Alternatively, utilize AOMEI Backupper to create a recovery environment or bootable media. For seamless restoration, you need to create a system or disk image in advance.
The best alternative to create Windows 10/11 recovery environment
What's more, it also offers users some advanced features, such as Universal Restore, which can restore images to a new computer with different hardware. You can also enjoy AOMEI Image Deploy, Create Portable Version(to package AOMEI Backupper to perform any supported operations without installing again), and more.