Help with "The Windows RE image was not found."

Hey guys,
This error comes after I copy my Windows installation to another drive. My PC couldn't boot from the newly copied drive so I had to follow some steps to get it to work. What I did IIRC was bcdedit and bootrec. I don't remember exactly.

I realized after trying to boot to safe mode that my recovery environment was non-existent and I don't know what to do. I tried enabling it but doesn't work.
gives :
The boot configuration data store could not be opened.
The requested system device cannot be found.
I tried various solutions from google such as sfc /scannow and dism methods. I also tried upgrading windows using the installation media but the setup cannot complete.
Apart from the Windows partition, I also have an EFI (Fat32) partition and another partition with around 700MB in size and both are hidden partitions.

EFI partition contains the following folders :
Microsoft > 1. Boot > various folders such as different locales, Resources etc.
2. Recovery > BCD (no file type)

The other hidden partition contains just one file named : "$WINRE_BACKUP_PARTITION.MARKER"

Please help me out as I am afraid to mess things more up by following different guides with the possibility of confliction.
I am not willing to lose my data so I cannot reset. Thanks

Firstly, you CAN NOT directly copy one drive to another. Special imaging/cloning software must be used. Before you do anything else, if your data is important to you I suggest you use another system, download one of the Live Linux distros such as Mint Cinnamon or Ubuntu, create a usb boot drive and boot from it. Once it boots, you can run the Linux distro directly from the usb without installing it. Use Linux to copy your personal files from your user account on the Windows partition to external media.

After your data is protected, you can attempt a system reset ,but since I do not know exactly what you've done, the current state of your system, or your level of experience, IMO it may well require a clean install to resolve it.

glasskuter said:

Firstly, you CAN NOT directly copy one drive to another. Special imaging/cloning software must be used. Before you do anything else, if your data is important to you I suggest you use another system, download one of the Live Linux distros such as Mint Cinnamon or Ubuntu, create a usb boot drive and boot from it. Once it boots, you can run the Linux distro directly from the usb without installing it. Use Linux to copy your personal files from your user account on the Windows partition to external media.

How to Create Ubuntu Live USB in Windows [Step-by-Step]

The tutorial shows how to create a bootable Ubuntu USB in Windows. Instructions are valid for all versions of Ubuntu Linux and Windows.

itsfoss.com

After your data is protected, you can attempt a system reset ,but since I do not know exactly what you've done, the current state of your system, or your level of experience, IMO it may well require a clean install to resolve it.

Click to expand...

No my files are intact and I can boot to windows just fine now. Just the Recovery Environment is not fine. I cannot boot to safe mode or put the computer to sleep/hibernate, otherwise it's working fine.

I actually used Easeus Partition Manager to copy windows partition to the new (but existing) drive. I initially tried to use the cloning OS feature but I could not due to the new drive being not formattable (It's my game drive, don't want to format it). So, I used "Copy partition" option instead.

Hachune said:

No my files are intact and I can boot to windows just fine now. Just the Recovery Environment is not fine. I cannot boot to safe mode or put the computer to sleep/hibernate, otherwise it's working fine.

Click to expand...

Then I still highly recommend you backup your personal data. If all functions of Windows are not working, all is not fine.
You can attempt a repair install.
Repair Install Windows 11 Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

glasskuter said:

Then I still highly recommend you backup your personal data. If all functions of Windows are not working, all is not fine.
You can attempt a repair install.
Repair Install Windows 11 Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

Click to expand...

For option 1, I do not have the "Fix problems using Windows Update" option.


For option 2, I can't complete the setup :


Any other ideas are appreciated.

It is very hard to give anything other than general answers due to the lack of information given.

Hachune said:

I do not have the "Fix problems using Windows Update" option.

Click to expand...

You will have to use Option 2. If you installed 11 on an incompatible machine in the first place, you will have to use the same methods you used then to bypass compatibility checks for an inplace upgrade. If your machine is 100% compatible, follow the tutorial as written.

Hachune said:

For option 1, I do not have the "Fix problems using Windows Update" option.

Click to expand...

You won't, not in your standard 22621.2283 build. As it says in the tutorial, that option is only available in the Windows Insider Canary build.

This option is only available starting with Windows 11 build 25905 (Canary).

Click to expand...

glasskuter said:

It is very hard to give anything other than general answers due to the lack of information given.

You will have to use Option 2. If you installed 11 on an incompatible machine in the first place, you will have to use the same methods you used then to bypass compatibility checks for an inplace upgrade. If your machine is 100% compatible, follow the tutorial as written.

Click to expand...

I am using i7 10700k with MSI Z490-A Pro, I believe it should be compatible.

Bree said:

You won't, not in your standard 22621.2283 build. As it says in the tutorial, that option is only available in the Windows Insider Canary build.

Click to expand...

Okay got it.

Update :
Fixed the Recovery Environment issue by getting a WinRE.wim file from installation media and copy that to my C: drive.

Now I can get into recovery and see all the options there, my PC can sleep/hibernate, and I can update using the Windows iso file as well.

One issue however remains and that is Safe Mode doesn't work. When trying to boot to safe mode, it goes into automatic repair and cannot fix the issue. I tried various fixes in google and they hardly helped. Any idea is appreciated.

Finish the Automatic Startup Repair.
If this still fails, boot into your computer normally.
Start a Command Prompt as Admin
Here copy and paste or type this Bold command exactly then press Enter.

DISM /Online /CLEANUP-IMAGE /RestoreHealth After that completes type this Bold command and press Enter
SFC /scannow
this will replace any missing system files.

Spunk said:

Start a Command Prompt as Admin
Here copy and paste or type this Bold command exactly then press Enter.

DISM /Online /CLEANUP-IMAGE /RestoreHealth After that completes type this Bold command and press Enter
SFC /scannow

Click to expand...

Thank you, but as i have said in my original post, I have already tried those basic troubleshooting steps. I must have done them at least 10 times . They don't seem to work for my issues.

Hachune said:

I tried various solutions from google such as sfc /scannow and dism methods.

Click to expand...

Hachune said:

They don't seem to work for my issues.

Click to expand...

If you want to fix all your issues a repair install as suggested in post #4 should do it.

glasskuter said:

If you want to fix all your issues a repair install as suggested in post #4 should do it.

Click to expand...

Option 2 was one of the first thing I did after repairing Recovery Environment, it was successful as mentioned but safe mode still doesn't work.

Hachune said:

Now I can get into recovery and see all the options there, my PC can sleep/hibernate, and I can update using the Windows iso file as well.

Click to expand...

Are you attempting to enter safe mode using a keyboard key or through msconfig? (search msconfig. Select "System Configuration" from search results)
What happens. Any error messages or popups.

glasskuter said:

Are you attempting to enter safe mode using a keyboard key or through msconfig? (search msconfig. Select "System Configuration" from search results)
What happens. Any error messages or popups.

Click to expand...

I have tried by pressing shift+restart and also using msconfig. Neither method worked, when done using msconfig, it bootloops and i had to turn off safe mode using CMD from recovery.

The safe mode itself seems to be corrupted somehow if I understand correctly.

I wish I had better advice to give but there are some things that no amount of troubleshooting will fix and a clean install is your only option. It is for difficult cases like this where having a backup image is indispensable to avoid having to do a clean install. Restoring an image allows you to get back in business in about 15 minutes.

If you go that route, be sure to remove all drives except the one where Windows will be installed. Make sure ALL partitions are deleted during the process(step 11), and install Windows on unallocated space.
Clean Install Windows 11 Clean Install Windows 11 Tutorial

@glasskuter It's honestly not an easy fix as I transferred my windows installation in a non-recommended way. If I find any fix, I will report back. Thanks for trying to help, appreciate it.

Hachune said:

No my files are intact and I can boot to windows just fine now. Just the Recovery Environment is not fine. I cannot boot to safe mode or put the computer to sleep/hibernate, otherwise it's working fine.

I actually used Easeus Partition Manager to copy windows partition to the new (but existing) drive. I initially tried to use the cloning OS feature but I could not due to the new drive being not formattable (It's my game drive, don't want to format it). So, I used "Copy partition" option instead.

Click to expand...

Can you troubleshoot Windows > then use backup imaging to create a new image > restore only Windows partition onto a Windows 11 clean install disk drive (new system, reserved, and recovery partitions)?

Was the first Windows 11 installation a supported or unsupported installation?

zbook said:

Can you troubleshoot Windows > then use backup imaging to create a new image > restore only Windows partition onto a Windows 11 clean install disk drive (new system, reserved, and recovery partitions)?

Was the first Windows 11 installation a supported or unsupported installation?

Click to expand...

First installation was a long time ago, since the first version came out. I don't really remember if I have been updating the first installation I did or I have reinstalled it, probably the latter but not sure.

That's a great idea, I would try but I don't really have a free drive that can be formatted, which was why I have this trouble in the first place

I wonder if there's a manual way to recreate the recovery partition. By the way, I have two hidden partitions, one is EFI and the other one I am not sure (not labelled). Is a broken safe mode caused by either one of these partitions?

Consider a flash drive option:


And consider using Ventoy as needed:



A recovery partition is not required as long as you have a bootable Windows 11 MCT or iso.