Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) is an extensible recovery platform based on Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE). When the computer fails to start, Windows automatically fails over into this environment, and the Startup Repair tool in Windows RE automates the diagnosis and repair of an unbootable Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 installation.
Windows RE provides two main functionalities:
1. Automatic diagnosis and repair of boot problems using a tool called Startup Repair.
2. A centralized platform for advanced recovery tools.
Windows RE provides the following benefits:
The Startup Repair will try to repair computers that are unbootable because of the following reasons:
Startup Repair will not repair unbootable systems caused by the following issues:
The following table describes possible repair actions:
Repair Action | Description |
BCDMD | Repairs the MBR, partition table, or boot sector. |
ChkDsk | Runs ChkDsk in repair mode. |
File Repair | Replaces the corrupt system file with a backup copy. |
BootCfg | Reconstructs the BCD |
System Restore | Rolls back the system state by using System Restore. |
ACLs fix | Sets the ACLs of the specified file with a backup copy. |
Change Crash on Audit Failure setting | Disables Windows auditing. Only an administrator can log on to Windows. |
Memory Diagnostics | Runs the Windows Memory Diagnostics tool. |
For example, if a user installs a bad drivers that causes the computer to crash and an error message appears on a blue screen because of the driver. The computer then automatically restarts. The user gets a message telling him or her that the computer failed to start and that Windows will attempt to repair it. Once in Windows RE, the Startup Repair wizard will automatically diagnoses the problem. The user can then choose to repair the driver, and the computer restarts after the repair.
Windows RE Notes : Creating Window RE Using Windows AIK
http://blogs.msdn.com/winre/archive/2006/12/12/creating-winre-using-waik.aspx
Please note that when working with Windows RE:
Furthermore, since any user can burn a DVD with the Windows Vista/7/2008 installation media, and since any user can reboot their computer either by using the “Restart” option or by simply pressing the power button on their computer, this means that any user can in fact boot their computer to the OS installation media, and gain access to the file system and operating system files by choosing the “Repair” option. When doing so, the user is NOT prompted to enter any credentials!
If that is a concern, make sure you protect the computer’s BIOS and prevent users from being able to change the computer’s boot order. Also, in public computers, make sure you physically protect the computer from the user’s access by locking it in a closed compartment, and leaving just the keyboard, mouse and screen outside.
You can access Windows RE by pressing F8 while the computer is booting and select the Recovery Environment entry, which boots the computer into Windows RE. However, if the boot partition/files or configuration was somehow messed up, you could use the operating system’s bootable DVD media to launch it.
After a few moments, you will be prompted to select the language of your choice.
When using locally, you will be prompted to enter your user name and password.
If you enter wrong credentials, you will not be able to move on.
If properly authenticated, you will get to the Windows RE tools.
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