Check that Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is actually enabled — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskNeeds adminWindows 11Windows 10

WinRE is the blue recovery menu used for Startup Repair, Reset this PC and System Restore at boot. Updates and disk changes sometimes leave it disabled without telling you. reagentc /info shows whether it is enabled and where it lives.

Takes effect right away

The easy way

Run the command in an elevated Command Prompt.
Look for Windows RE status: Enabled and a Windows RE location path.
If the status is Disabled, reagentc /enable turns it back on, provided the WinRE image is still present.

Command

Run in an administrator Command Prompt / Terminal window.

reagentc /info

Older guides mention reagentc /setosimage. Microsoft notes that option isn't used in Windows 10 or later.

Sources

REAgentC command-line options — by Microsoft Learn

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: 2026-11-02
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

Oddbyte.Me hasn't tried this on every Windows build, so keep the undo handy.

winrerecoveryreagentcreset this pcrepair

More in Setup & Install

See which Windows editions are inside an ISO or install.wim — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskAdmin

One ISO usually holds several editions (Home, Pro, Education and more), each stored as a numbered index in install.wim or install.esd. DISM lists them along with their version and size, so you know which index is which before you deploy or extract one.

Read the Windows product key stored in your PC's firmware — via Microsoft Learn

Commandlow riskAdmin

Most PCs that came with Windows have the key embedded in the UEFI firmware (OA3), and Windows activates from it automatically when you reinstall the same edition. One PowerShell line reads that key, for example to check which edition it belongs to.

Heads-up: the BypassNRO / ms-cxh local-account shortcuts are being removed — via Windows Insider Blog

MythAdmin

Typing OOBE\BypassNRO or start ms-cxh:localonly at the Shift+F10 prompt used to let you skip the Microsoft account during setup. Microsoft announced in October 2025 that it is removing these known mechanisms, so newer builds require internet and a Microsoft account to finish OOBE.