How to Fix “Could not find recovery environment” error on Windows 10

If you were planning or refreshing your PC because it is slow or because you are trying to fix another error, you will be able to complete the solutions below in the order that they appear. However, if you don’t have access to Windows, you will have to jump to solution three and create a Windows media installation disk using another PC.

1. Activate “Windows Recovery Environment” Using Command Prompt

The primary step you should take if you have access to your PC. is to find out if the Windows Recovery Environment is indeed active or not. If it is disabled, then this is the reason you are getting the “could not find the recovery environment” error. To check the status of your Windows Recovery Environment, Follow the below-listed steps.

1. In your PC’s start menu, search for Command Prompt. 
   
   
2. Right-click the CMD app in the best results section.
3. Select Run the program as an administrator.
4. When prompted to run with admin privileges, select yes. 
5. In the CMD, type “Reagentc /info.”
   
   
6. Press Enter.

Now search for the Windows RE status line under the information section. If it says that the status is disabled, you must enable it.

To do this:

1. Exit out the CMD and re-run it as an administrator.
2. In the CMD window, type “Reagentc /enable.”
   
   
3. Hit Enter.

Once the operation is successful, you can exit the CMD and carry about resetting your computer. 

2. Check If Windows Recovery Environment is Lost or Corrupted

If your Windows Recovery Environment is turned on and you are still getting the error, “could not find the recovery environment,” you must check to see if the WinRE is lost or corrupted completely. For this, you have to figure out if the WinRE location is a valid one. You also have to know what directory your WinRE should be on and use a CMD.

1. Find out CMD in your start menu. 
2. Right-click the CMD in the results section.
3. Select Run the program as an administrator.
   
   
4. When prompted to run with admin privileges, select yes.
5. In the CMD, type “dir /a /s c:\winre.wim”.
   
   
6. Press Enter.
7. If the location is valid, run “reagentc /setreimage /path C:\Recovery\WindowsRE” to identify the recovery environment location. 
   
   

You will have to change the path of the recovery file location if your WinRe.wim file is stored on some other drive. For example, if your file is stored on the D drive, then you will have to use the following commands: “dir /a /s d:\winre.wim” [Enter] and then: “reagentc /setreimage /path D:\Recovery\WindowsRE” [Enter].

If your Winre.wim file is lost, you will have to copy the Winre.wim file from another PC using the same Windows as yours. Then set the reimage pathway using the second command listed in the steps above. 

If you are practical enough and do not mind searching around, the Windows install.esd file can be extracted to get your Winre.wim file. 

3. Create a Windows 10 Media Creation Tool

If you are still getting the “could not find the recovery environment” error and your Windows media installation disk is corrupted, lost or broken, you can resolve the error by creating a new one and running the creation tool.

1. Get an empty USB drive with at least 8GB of space. 
2. Insert the USB drive into a working PC.
3. Head to the Download Media Creation Tool here.
4. Tick the Download tool now under Windows 10 installation media. 
5. Save the file to your PC instead of running it.
6. Head to the downloads section of your PC and right-tick the newly-downloaded file.
7. Run it as an administrator and follow the on-screen instruction to set it up on your USB drive.
8. Reboot your PC and navigate to your BIOS.
9. Change the “boot order” to the USB.
10. Exit your BIOS and enable the PC to boot up.
11. In the BootUp Window, select to repair your PC.
12. Select to keep your file or remove them for a new installation. 
13. Run a new installation and follow the on-screen popups. 

While running a new installation, the Windows Recovery Environment will be fixed, and you will no longer find the “could not find the recovery environment” error. 

4. Use System Restore

If you find out that the Windows Recovery Environment was working on the previous Windows update and you created a restore point from that era, you can use the restore point to go around the “could not find Window Recovery Environment” error. 

Windows automatically creates restore points before essential updates, so it is worth looking at the available restore point choices. 

1. Type Control panel in the Start Menu.
   
   
2. Open the Control Panel.
3. In the control panel, search for recovery. 
4. Select Recovery from the list.
   
   
5. Tick on Open System Restore and click Next.
   
   
   
6. Choose the “Show more restore points” option at the bottom.
   
   
7. From the list, select which restore point you would like to use.
8. Click Next, then finish.
9. Once the restore has finished, head to your PC settings by right-clicking on the Windows Button in your Taskbar. 
   
   
10. Navigate to Update and Security in the settings, then Recovery and tick Reset this computer. 
    
    
    

By doing so, you will restore your Windows Recovery Environment by refreshing your computer.