My PC will not reset even though i have a recovery media device installed

Anonymous
2024-07-17T15:29:27+00:00

When I try to reset my PC, it will not let me because it could not find a recover environment/media even though i have in installed.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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Ramesh Srinivasan 88,100 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2024-07-17T16:05:09+00:00

Hi Devin, This is Ramesh.

Resetting the PC requires access to the Windows Recovery Environment. You have two options.

  1. Fix Windows RE so that the Reset can work correctly.

(or)

  1. Backup the data to an external drive and then clean install Windows 11 using the USB setup disk.

To create a USB setup disk, you'll need a USB stick of 8GB or higher capacity. Note that the contents of the USB stick will be erased during the setup disk creation process.

Download Windows 11 Media Creation Tool (MCT) from this link:

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2156295

Run MCT and create a bootable USB disk.

After creating the USB setup disk, boot the computer using it. To do so, you may need to change the boot order in the BIOS/UEFI settings. Consult your system or motherboard manual to learn how to access the UEFI settings for your model.

Then, clean install Windows using the on-screen instructions. Also, here's an article that explains the process with screenshots.

https://pureinfotech.com/clean-install-windows-...

Standard Disclaimer: There is a link to a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to provide accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Note:

If you want to pursue option 1 (i.e., fixing WinRE), let me know so that I can post the required steps.

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  1. Ramesh Srinivasan 88,100 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-07-19T01:49:04+00:00

    Devin,

    The problem happens because BitLocker is enabled on the Recovery partition. It shouldn't be enabled on that partition.

    diskpart
select disk 0
select part 4
assign letter=S
list vol
exit

    Open Disk Management and maximize it. Post a screenshot.

    Open the BitLocker page in the classic Control Panel.

    Turn off BitLocker for the S drive.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-07-18T18:23:04+00:00

    ReAgent log

    setupact log

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  3. Ramesh Srinivasan 88,100 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2024-07-18T17:41:43+00:00

    The system is trying to move winre.wim to the OS partition (instead of the Recovery partition) and fails because the OS partition has BitLocker protection enabled.

    To find out why it's rejecting the recovery partition, please share the following logs:

    c:\windows\logs\ReAgent\ReAgent.log

    and the following, if available:

    c:\windows\logs\WinREAgent\setupact.log

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-07-18T17:28:01+00:00

    Here is the image.

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