How to enable Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) on Windows 11 and 10

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You can manage the state of the Windows Recovery Environment, and in this guide, I'll show you steps to perform these tasks on Windows 11 and 10.

WinRE settings
WinRE settings (Image credit: Mauro Huculak)
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On Windows 11 and 10, the "Windows Recovery Environment" (WinRE) is an experience that houses features like automatic repair, factory reset, system image recovery, and other troubleshooting tools to resolve issues when your computer doesn't start correctly.

Although it's an essential tool to bring Windows 11 and 10 to their working condition, if you work in a network environment and want to prevent users from accessing the feature, you can disable the WinRE through Command Prompt. In the same way, if you need to troubleshoot a problem (for example, startup, performance, network, drivers, and updates) and can't access the feature, it's likely because it might have been turned off. You can re-enable it using a simple command.

In this how-to guide, I'll walk you through the steps to turn WinRE on and off your computer.

How to enable Windows Recovery Environment

The feature comes enabled by default on the Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions, but if it was previously disabled for some reason, you can use Command Prompt to re-enable it.

To enable the Windows Recovery Environment on Windows 11 (or 10), use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  3. Type the following command to confirm the WinRE is disabled and press Enter: reagentc /info

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)
  1. Type the following command to enable the recovery environment and press Enter: reagentc /enable

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)
  1. (Optional) Type the following command to confirm the WinRE has been enabled and press Enter: reagentc /info

Once you complete the steps, the Windows Recovery Environment will be enabled on your device, and you'll be able to access the "Reset this PC" and "Advanced options" to troubleshoot and fix problems with Windows 10.

How to disable Windows Recovery Environment

To disable WinRE on Windows 10, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.
  2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
  3. Type the following command to confirm WinRE is enabled, and press Enter: reagentc /info

(Image credit: Mauro Huculak)
  1. Type the following command to enable the recovery environment and press Enter: reagentc /disable

(Image credit: Future)
  1. (Optional) Type the following command to confirm WinRE has been disabled, and press Enter: reagentc /info

After completing these steps, you will be able to access the startup settings. However, the recovery options, such as "System Restore," "Command Prompt," "System Image Recovery," and "Uninstall Updates," won't be available until you re-enable the feature.

More resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources: 

Mauro Huculak
Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.