Solved WinRE SMB networking broken?

dabl · Jul 21, 2026

I'm running Windows 11 Pro 25H2 OS build 26200.8894 with WinRE 10.0.26100.8875

When I boot into WinRE, ipconfig shows my NIC. So far so good.

After running winpeinit, ipconfig shows my network and I can ping machines on it. So far so good.

After attempting to unsuccessfully map a drive or even dir via ip a known machine ip and share, looking futher I realize per below that Lanman Workstation isn't running and can't be started because one of the the dependencies, MRxSmb20 can't be started.

Grabbing a current media creation tool I make a bootable usb installer to use for testing a clean WinRE environment. At the time of this writing this builds Microsoft Windows 10.0.26100.1, WinRE 10.0.26100.8873

I get the same results.

Possibly it's related to my NIC?

I've tried with my Lenovo ThinkPad Universal Thunderbolt 4 Dock 40B00135U and a Lenovo USB-C to 2.5G Ethernet Adapter, both are idenitifed as a Realtek USB GbE Family Controller.

Just wondering if I'm the Lone Ranger and if anybody else might be able to confirm they are able to run WinRE (any version) with SMB networking functioning.

Windows 11 Pro 25H2 OS build 26200.8894, WinRE 10.0.26100.8875

C:\Windows\System32>sc query lanmanworkstation

SERVICE_NAME: lanmanworkstation
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
STATE : 1 STOPPED
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 1068 (0x42c)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc qc lanmanworkstation
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: lanmanworkstation
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
START_TYPE : 2 AUTO_START
ERROR_CONTROL : 1 NORMAL
BINARY_PATH_NAME : X:\windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -p
LOAD_ORDER_GROUP : NetworkProvider
TAG : 0
DISPLAY_NAME : Workstation
DEPENDENCIES : MRxSmb20
: NSI
: Bowser
SERVICE_START_NAME : NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService

C:\Windows\System32>sc query nsi

SERVICE_NAME: nsi
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
STATE : 4 RUNNING
(STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc query bowser

SERVICE_NAME: bowser
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
STATE : 4 RUNNING
(STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc query mrxsmb20

SERVICE_NAME: mrxsmb20
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
STATE : 1 STOPPED
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 127 (0x7f)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc qc mrxsmb20
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: mrxsmb20
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
START_TYPE : 3 DEMAND_START
ERROR_CONTROL : 1 NORMAL
BINARY_PATH_NAME : system32\DRIVERS\mrxsmb20.sys
LOAD_ORDER_GROUP : Network
TAG : 7
DISPLAY_NAME : SMB 2.0 MiniRedirector
DEPENDENCIES : mrxsmb
SERVICE_START_NAME :

C:\Windows\System32>sc query mrxsmb

SERVICE_NAME: mrxsmb
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
STATE : 4 RUNNING
(STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc start mrxsmb20
[SC] StartService FAILED 127:

The specified procedure could not be found.

Windows Install USB, WinRE

C:\Windows\System32>ver

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.1]

C:\Windows\System32>sc query lanmanworkstation

SERVICE_NAME: lanmanworkstation
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
STATE : 1 STOPPED
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 1068 (0x42c)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc qc lanmanworkstation
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: lanmanworkstation
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
START_TYPE : 2 AUTO_START
ERROR_CONTROL : 1 NORMAL
BINARY_PATH_NAME : X:\windows\System32\svchost.exe -k NetworkService -p
LOAD_ORDER_GROUP : NetworkProvider
TAG : 0
DISPLAY_NAME : Workstation
DEPENDENCIES : MRxSmb20
: NSI
: Bowser
SERVICE_START_NAME : NT AUTHORITY\NetworkService

C:\Windows\System32>sc query mrxsmb20

SERVICE_NAME: mrxsmb20
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
STATE : 1 STOPPED
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 127 (0x7f)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc qc mrxsmb20
[SC] QueryServiceConfig SUCCESS

SERVICE_NAME: mrxsmb20
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
START_TYPE : 3 DEMAND_START
ERROR_CONTROL : 1 NORMAL
BINARY_PATH_NAME : system32\DRIVERS\mrxsmb20.sys
LOAD_ORDER_GROUP : Network
TAG : 7
DISPLAY_NAME : SMB 2.0 MiniRedirector
DEPENDENCIES : mrxsmb
SERVICE_START_NAME :

C:\Windows\System32>sc query mrxsmb

SERVICE_NAME: mrxsmb
TYPE : 2 FILE_SYSTEM_DRIVER
STATE : 4 RUNNING
(STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0

C:\Windows\System32>sc start lanmanworkstation
[SC] StartService FAILED 1068:

The dependency service or group failed to start.

C:\Windows\System32>sc start mrxsmb20
[SC] StartService FAILED 127:

The specified procedure could not be found.

FreeBooter · Jul 22, 2026

By default, networking is disabled in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) for security. To initialize and use a wired network connection inside WinRE (such as for running repair tools or accessing network shares), you must manually start the network stack using the command prompt.

From Command Prompt from Windows Recovery Environment.

Type wpeinit and press Enter to load the networking stack and initialize network adapters.

Wait a few moments for the command to finish processing and start DHCP services.

Test connection: Type ping [IP address] to check local network communication.

Note: Wi-Fi drivers are frequently unavailable or unsupported within the standard WinRE minimalist environment, meaning a physical Ethernet cable connection is usually required.

dabl · Jul 22, 2026

FreeBooter said:
By default, networking is disabled in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) for security. To initialize and use a wired network connection inside WinRE (such as for running repair tools or accessing network shares), you must manually start the network stack using the command prompt.

From Command Prompt from Windows Recovery Environment.

Type wpeinit and press Enter to load the networking stack and initialize network adapters.

Wait a few moments for the command to finish processing and start DHCP services.

Test connection: Type ping [IP address] to check local network communication.

Note: Wi-Fi drivers are frequently unavailable or unsupported within the standard WinRE minimalist environment, meaning a physical Ethernet cable connection is usually required.

Thanks, as I mentioned in my post I did all that. I'm familiar with the boiler plate blurb on networking in WinRE.

That test of course only covers IP network communication.

If anyone has actually tested what I described to get SMB support in WinRE I'd welcome input.

dabl · Jul 23, 2026

The more I investigate the more I'm convinced this is some WinRE regression since the last refresh 5 days ago with KB5101650 and KB5099414

Obviously anybody that cared could simply boot to their WinRE environment, run winpeinit and examine/copy the winpeinit.log which will likely contain Error Service LanmanWorkstation start: 0x0000042c. They could also run net start and copy the output which may not contain Workstation as it should.

I am not surprised that few to no people implement SMB networking in out of the box Windows 11 WinRE or care about this issue.

If you happily don't see this issue, please post your Windows 11 build and WinRE version. See reagentc /info in a command prompt to get the WinRE version

dabl · Jul 23, 2026

This can also be reproduced by creating an .iso in Reflect X 10.0.8843 and choosing Win RE as the base WIM, then booting that in Windows Hyper-V

winpeinit.log should be wpeinit.log

dabl · Jul 24, 2026

Proved with an earlier 24H2 WinRE 26100.8737 which works fine.

Microsoft's current WinRE 10.0.26100.8875 has broken SMB functionality

garlin · Jul 24, 2026

Other users have also noticed SMB stopped working:
Veeam Agent 13.0.3 Recovery Media (Windows 11 25H2 WinRE) - SMB access and local restore issue - Support Case: #08164986

dabl · Jul 24, 2026

Thanks for that garlin, I'll forward to Macrium support in case they continue to question whether this issue is real.

SIW2 · Jul 27, 2026

WinRE 10.0.26100.8875...Lanman Workstation isn't running and can't be started because one of the the dependencies, MRxSmb20 can't be started

It is running in the winpe thing I cobbled up. Using the 8875 iso from uup dump. It might be different from what you have.

Code:

Information for Image 1
-----------------------
Index:                  1
Name:                   Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment (amd64)
Description:            Microsoft Windows Recover Environment (amd64)
Directory Count:        4650
File Count:             21179
Total Bytes:            3189698044
Hard Link Bytes:        1329124018
Creation Time:          Mon Apr 01 07:51:35 2024 UTC
Last Modification Time: Fri Jul 24 05:44:15 2026 UTC
Architecture:           x86_64
Product Name:           Microsoft« Windows« Operating System
Edition ID:             WindowsPE
Installation Type:      WindowsPE
Product Type:           WinNT
Languages:              en-US
Default Language:       en-US
System Root:            WINDOWS
Major Version:          10
Minor Version:          0
Build:                  26100
Service Pack Build:     8875
Service Pack Level:     0
WIMBoot compatible:     no

unfortunately getting Service LanmanWorkstation start: 0x0000042c using just the virgin winre.wim

dabl · Jul 27, 2026

Yes WinPE does not have the problem with networking not starting just the current WinRE.

garlin · Jul 27, 2026

This is ironic. "Repair My PC" is broken in WinPE, but not WinRE. SMB is broken in WinRE, but not WinPE.

It's like MS stopped testing these features...

dabl · Aug 14, 2026

It looks like Microsoft updated WinRE three days ago on August 11.

I imagine this update will fix this issue but will follow up if it doesn't.

Solved WinRE SMB networking broken?

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