Moving the WinRE Recovery partition to a different disk

Hi Brendan,

Hope you're doing well.

Moving the WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) partition to a different disk can be a bit tricky, and it seems there might be an issue with the boot configuration. Here are steps you can follow to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the issue:

1. Use Diskpart:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as an Administrator.

(2) Type diskpart and press Enter.

(3) Use list disk and list partition to ensure the partition on Disk 1 is active and correctly formatted.

2. Reconfigure Boot Configuration:

Use BCDBOOT:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as Administrator.

(2) Run the following command to recreate the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) on Disk 1:

bcdboot D:\Windows /s C:

(Replace "D:" with the drive letter where Windows is installed on Disk 1, and "C:" with the drive letter of the active partition on Disk 1.)

3. Check BCD Store:

Use BCDEDIT:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as Administrator.

(2) Run "bcdedit" to check the boot configuration.

(3) Make sure that the entries point to the correct device and partition.

4. Update Boot Order:

Use BCDEDIT:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as Administrator.

(2) Run the following command to set the boot order:

bcdedit /displayorder {current} /addfirst {recovery}

(Replace "{recovery}" with the identifier of your WinRE entry.)

5. Repair Windows Image:

Use DISM:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as Administrator.

(2) Run the following commands to repair the Windows image:

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth

sfc /scannow

6. Check Disk for Errors:

Use CHKDSK:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as an Administrator.

(2) Run "chkdsk /f" on both Disk 0 and Disk 1 to check for and fix any disk errors.

7. Check BIOS/UEFI Settings:

Ensure BIOS/UEFI Settings: Check the BIOS/UEFI settings to make sure that the correct disk is set as the primary boot device.

8. Verify Hardware Connections:

Check Hardware Connections: Ensure that Disk 1 is properly connected and recognized by the system.

9. Use Windows Installation Media:

Repair from Installation Media:

(1) Boot from the Windows installation media.

(2) Choose "Repair your computer" > "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced options" > "Command Prompt."

(3) Repeat the steps mentioned above to recreate the BCD and verify the disk/partition structure.

After performing these steps, try rebooting and see if the issue is resolved. If the problem persists, you may need to review the steps and double-check the configuration to ensure accuracy.

I hope this helps!

Best Regards

1. Use Diskpart:

2. Reconfigure Boot Configuration:

Use BCDBOOT:

(1) Open a Command Prompt as Administrator.

(2) Run the following command to recreate the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) on Disk 1:

bcdboot D:\Windows /s C:

(Replace "D:" with the drive letter where Windows is installed on Disk 1, and "C:" with the drive letter of the active partition on Disk 1.)

This is not possible since the recovery partition does not have a drive letter assigned. (See above pic) I could assign a letter to it but that was not instructed.

3. Check BCD Store:

4. Update Boot Order:

5. Repair Windows Image:

6. Check Disk for Errors:

Use CHKDSK:

(2) Run "chkdsk /f" on both Disk 0 and Disk 1 to check for and fix any disk errors.

According to the chkdsk instructions I've found, you can only do chkdsk on drive letters. Since the recovery partition does not have a drive letter, this step is pointless

7. Check BIOS/UEFI Settings:

Ensure BIOS/UEFI Settings: Check the BIOS/UEFI settings to make sure that the correct disk is set as the primary boot device.

Well, the system boots up just fine into windows. Is that not evidence enough that this is configured correctly?

8. Verify Hardware Connections:

Check Hardware Connections: Ensure that Disk 1 is properly connected and recognized by the system.

Not applicable, Virtual environment.

9. Use Windows Installation Media:

Repair from Installation Media:

(1) Boot from the Windows installation media.

(2) Choose "Repair your computer" > "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced options" > "Command Prompt."

(3) Repeat the steps mentioned above to recreate the BCD and verify the disk/partition structure.

This would defeat the end result I'm looking for. Wouldn't this just set things up the way they were as far as having the Recovery Partition back on Disk 0?

Hi Brendan,

Thanks for the update.

If we want to recreate the recovery partition, please follow the following steps:

The following examples are for your reference:

To remove the drive letter G and mark the partition as a recovery partition by using DiskPart, run the following commands:

For UEFI systems:

diskpart

list disk

select disk 0

list partition

select partition 1     (Please note: you should replace the partition number with the one of your Drive G:)

remove

set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac

gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001

exit

Best regards

Thanks for the response but I'm confused by it. The partition is already setup correctly.

Hi Brendan,

Hope you're doing well.

Thanks for your update and share us the latest news.

I found some reasons for recovery partition reconstruction for your reference. The recovery partition (Recovery Partition) of the disk may be automatically rebuilt under certain circumstances. Some common reasons include:

1. When the operating system undergoes major updates, upgrades or repairs, the recovery partition may need to be re-created to adapt to the new system configuration. For example, cumulative updates or feature updates to the Windows operating system may cause changes to the recovery partition.
2. If the recovery partition itself is damaged, it may trigger the system to try to recreate the partition to ensure the availability of the system recovery function. This can happen due to disk corruption, file system corruption, or other issues.
3. When performing a system restore operation, the system may need to re-create the recovery partition to ensure the smooth progress of the restore process. System Restore may restore the operating system, drivers, and system configuration, which may include recovery partition information.
4. If structural changes are made to the disk, such as repartitioning or reformatting, the system may re-create the recovery partition to adapt to the new disk structure.
5. When cloning a disk to a new hard drive or performing a disk copy, the system may attempt to recreate the recovery partition on the new hard drive to ensure that the copied disk contains the same recovery features as the original system.
6. The user may choose to recreate the recovery partition in the system recovery options. This is usually a fix when the system encounters a problem.

Best Regards