Windows 11 opens folder C:\Windows\System32\Recovery on every login

I did a System Restore to try to get Sleep to function. The Restore failed to restore Sleep, so I undid it. Now, with every login, Windows opens the C:\Windows\System32\Recovery folder, and I can't figure out why or how to restore the normal behavior of opening the last set of open folders and nothing else. I've looked in Autoruns, Task Manager, Task Scheduler, the Startup folder. Not there. I do want to be able to open the last set of open folders, so I don't want to turn off that feature.

Any ideas on why this new behavior might be occurring and how to fix it? Because a System Restore created this problem (and several others), I don't want to try it again.

Most of us here have some kind of backup solution in place and do not rely on system restore. It is not a dependable method of recovery.
If you do not have an image to restore, I suggest doing a repair install to see if it will straighten your system out. Know though, that a repair install will not fix anything in your user account or applications. It repairs only system files.

glasskuter said:

Most of us here have some kind of backup solution in place and do not rely on system restore. It is not a dependable method of recovery.
If you do not have an image to restore, I suggest doing a repair install to see if it will straighten your system out. Know though, that a repair install will not fix anything in your user account or applications. It repairs only system files.

Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade

This tutorial will show you how to do a repair install of Windows 11 by performing an in-place upgrade without losing anything. If you need to repair or create a new recovery partition or having problems with the Windows 11 operating system on your PC, and the usual solutions will not fix it...

www.elevenforum.com

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I do use Macrium every week, but this is a small enough issue that it didn't seem worth wasting a disk write; hoped I could figure out where it was coming from. It seems to be account related, as it doesn't happen on another account on the computer.

dbookbinder said:

I do use Macrium every week, but this is a small enough issue that it didn't seem worth wasting a disk write; hoped I could figure out where it was coming from. It seems to be account related, as it doesn't happen on another account on the computer.

Click to expand...

Take glasskutters advice, do the repair in-place upgrade. It’s worth a shot and usually effective, but not, as mentioned, for user account issues.
Or, create another account to replace the one that is having problems, then remove the problematic account.

I just noticed that apparently you can now do a repair-in-place from the setup menu. Any differences between that and downloading the Windows ISO? I will try this, because I also have a new Sleep problem I haven't been able to fix in a more granular way (did the Restore to try to fix the Sleep issue, since Sleep worked fine the day before).

dbookbinder said:

It doesn't happen on another account on the computer.

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That's a horse of a different color. I am assuming you mean you've tested and can log into another account after a restart or cold boot. If it only happens in your account by testing in that manner, then it is related to your account. Therefore a repair install won't help.

For goodness sake, you have sleep issues. (I read your thread) Restore an image made before your sleep issues started. That's what images are for.

dbookbinder said:

I just noticed that apparently you can now do a repair-in-place from the setup menu. Any differences between that and downloading the Windows ISO? I will try this, because I also have a new Sleep problem I haven't been able to fix in a more granular way (did the Restore to try to fix the Sleep issue, since Sleep worked fine the day before).

Click to expand...

Do the in-place using the downloaded ISO so you know that your system is up to date, at least to when since the latest ISO was made available. Also, please note: “Option Two” is the option that you need to follow in that tutorial “Option One” is for insider builds only.

dbookbinder said:

I just noticed that apparently you can now do a repair-in-place from the setup menu

Click to expand...

Where are you seeing that? Screenshot?

Never mind. I see Brink has amended the tutorial and Step One now describes doing an in-place upgrade from within Windows.

But if you take that road, do what is recommended by Brink

Regarding the ISO download:

Brink said:

When you perform a repair install (in-place upgrade), the previous version of Windows in the Windows.old folder (up to 10 days after upgrade) will automatically get replaced by the current Windows. It is recommended to create a system image first if you would like to be able to go back to current previous Windows before it gets replaced.

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And from the Microsoft site

Brink said:

I would always recommend having an updated Windows 11 installation USB handy in case you may need to boot from it or clean install Windows 11.

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antspants said:

Do the in-place using the downloaded ISO so you know that your system is up to date, at least to when since the latest ISO was made available. Also, please note: “Option Two” is the option that you need to follow in that tutorial “Option One” is for insider builds only.

Click to expand...

I've done the repair install on several computers using the downloaded ISO. What I'm asking is if the "Fix problems using Windows update" menu choice under "Reset this PC" is functionally identical. The description is exactly the same as an ISO repair install, so I'm figuring it is. I don't know when they added this choice, but it apparently downloads the ISO or equivalent via Windows Update and then does a repair install. I fixed the problem I posted about above by toggling on and off every setting I could find that related to saving or restoring folders and documents, and the bogus Explorer windows is gone, but the computer is still unable to Sleep except by closing the lid. Even assigning Sleep to the Power button fails, and I'd prefer to try the repair install before I resort to the more encompassing step of restoring from a Macrium backup, as I've occasionally had this go wrong.

Brink discusses the difference (in brief) in the tutorial.

Nobody can tell you if it will fix the sleep problem or if it wont. What is shouldn’t so is create more problems so it’s woth trying. It isn’t a complicated process as you would know.