To be clear about the problem: If I boot into recovery I can access the blue pages 1-4, giving access to and progressing through Page 1. TroubleShoot: Page 2. Advanced Options: Page 3. Start up Settings: Page 4. Startup Settings [Restart]: When I press restart I am not taken to the Options page. I am left with a black screen and the need for a hard reboot. In desperation I have tried multiple tests and repairs including: From Windows 11 Terminal(Admin) sfc /Scannow result OK --- Failed dism /online clean-image /restore health result OK --- Failed Shutdown /r /o /f /t 0 (forced shutdown; same as above ) --- Failed From Within Windows Shift + Restart --- Failed Settings / system / Recovery /advanced start[Restart Now] --- Failed (Checked that Recovery was enabled) - YES System / troubleshoot / Other trouble shooters (None appropriate to problem.) --- Failed GPedit.msc [remove and prevent access to shutdown~] This is Not Configured - so OK Failed Regedit . HKey_Local_Machine ~ policies\system (no power or recovery options) So OK Failed SecPol.msc checked "allow system to shut down without logon --- enabled So OK Failed Reboot to system recovery from MS Creator/repair USB as above.Failed Did an upgrade repair installation of Windows 11 Same problem persists. --- Failed Prior to the upgrade repair install I replaced the winre.wim and ReAgent.XML files in the system32/recovery Folder. Failed The new Windows /system32 / Recovery folder contains only one file ReAgent (an HTML file), I compared this with another machine which contained ReAgent XML file and Reagent_Merged XML1 Why should they differ? I have tried every thing I can think of to resolve this issue short of a total format of my OS SSD and a complete fresh install of Windows which would entail purchasing a new copy of Windows 11. I Wish I had stayed with Windows 10. Even Linux looks attractive right now. I don't have another Windows 11 PC from Which I can copy the Recovery partition. Any Suggestion as to other options I can try would be Welcome and greatly appreciated. Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question. Anonymous 2025-06-19T17:50:07+00:00 The Hardware is ALL new; motherboard, NVMe SSD, Date Drive SSD and everything else including the CPU and OS, and All tested and stress tested on completion of the build with Occbase/occt and a separate drive tester. . All passed the tests. On initial Start MSI mobo installed Windows 11 in English but the Recovery partition was in French !!! and the problem above was evident then. I re-installed Windows using creator to the same drive using the don't save data option. It installed but was NOT activated. Sorted that out with Microsoft Call-back. But the problem remained. After the hassle I had sorting out the activation problem, I prefer not to go through that again. I am 73, I started computing about 1980 on a Nascom running Windows NT and have built in excess of 30 computers during the intervening years; have progressed through Win3, 95, 98, ME, XP, 7 and 10. This is my first venture into 11, So I am sure I will become "friendly" with Windows 11. I am 99.5% certain that the problem is not hardware based, so prefer to follow Tin's advice first, before replacing the NVMe. PaulF 0 comments No comments The Hardware is ALL new; motherboard, NVMe SSD, Date Drive SSD and everything else including the CPU and OS, and All tested and stress tested on completion of the build with Occbase/occt and a separate drive tester. . All passed the tests. On initial Start MSI mobo installed Windows 11 in English but the Recovery partition was in French !!! and the problem above was evident then. I re-installed Windows using creator to the same drive using the don't save data option. It installed but was NOT activated. Sorted that out with Microsoft Call-back. But the problem remained. After the hassle I had sorting out the activation problem, I prefer not to go through that again. I am 73, I started computing about 1980 on a Nascom running Windows NT and have built in excess of 30 computers during the intervening years; have progressed through Win3, 95, 98, ME, XP, 7 and 10. This is my first venture into 11, So I am sure I will become "friendly" with Windows 11. I am 99.5% certain that the problem is not hardware based, so prefer to follow Tin's advice first, before replacing the NVMe. Anonymous 2025-06-19T19:18:27+00:00 While Tin's advice is very good for repairing the WinRe partition, I doubt that following Tin's advice will resolve your issue. > I am 99.5% certain that the problem is not hardware based, so prefer to follow Tin's advice first, before replacing the NVMe. That is your choice, but you do state that the NVMe is "brand new", and thus can be replaced at no out-of-pocket cost to you, via a warranty claim. So, if you think that the NVMe is the problem, then first start at the retail store where you purchased the RAM. If necessary, contact the manufacturer. Given the number of "fails" that you have reported, I agree with your suggestion: I have tried every thing I can think of to resolve this issue, short of a total format of my SSD, and a complete fresh install of Windows. Since the motherboard, processor, RAM, and NVMe have passed all the tests, it seems that your hardware is 100% fine, which means that your current installation of Windows is just plain FUBAR . :-( 0 comments No comments While Tin's advice is very good for repairing the WinRe partition, I doubt that following Tin's advice will resolve your issue. > I am 99.5% certain that the problem is not hardware based, so prefer to follow Tin's advice first, before replacing the NVMe. That is your choice, but you do state that the NVMe is "brand new", and thus can be replaced at no out-of-pocket cost to you, via a warranty claim. So, if you think that the NVMe is the problem, then first start at the retail store where you purchased the RAM. If necessary, contact the manufacturer. Given the number of "fails" that you have reported, I agree with your suggestion: I have tried every thing I can think of to resolve this issue, short of a total format of my SSD, and a complete fresh install of Windows. Since the motherboard, processor, RAM, and NVMe have passed all the tests, it seems that your hardware is 100% fine, which means that your current installation of Windows is just plain FUBAR . :-( Anonymous 2025-06-19T15:18:45+00:00 > tried everything I can think of to resolve this issue short of a total format of my OS SSD Do you have a "spare" disk-drive onto which you can try to install Windows? If it does install, then your hardware (other than the temporarily-removed disk-drive) is OK. > a complete fresh install of Windows which would entail purchasing a new copy of Windows 11. Incorrect. Your license to use Windows 11 includes the option to reinstall the same version of Windows onto the same hardware at no cost. When you activated your copy of Windows, it "called-home" to send your product-key to Microsoft. When you reinstall, with an active Internet connection, it will "call-home" to retrieve the product-key that you used. > I Wish I had stayed with Windows 10. After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will not support Windows 10, unless you pay them $30 to get one more year of support, including security updates. So, try to become "friendly" with Windows 11. Have you run some app that checks the "health" of your disk-drive? [Crystal Disk Info and/or the free version of Speccy] Any problems with reading/writing may cause the symptoms you are reporting. 0 comments No comments > tried everything I can think of to resolve this issue short of a total format of my OS SSD Do you have a "spare" disk-drive onto which you can try to install Windows? If it does install, then your hardware (other than the temporarily-removed disk-drive) is OK. > a complete fresh install of Windows which would entail purchasing a new copy of Windows 11. Incorrect. Your license to use Windows 11 includes the option to reinstall the same version of Windows onto the same hardware at no cost. When you activated your copy of Windows, it "called-home" to send your product-key to Microsoft. When you reinstall, with an active Internet connection, it will "call-home" to retrieve the product-key that you used. > I Wish I had stayed with Windows 10. After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will not support Windows 10, unless you pay them $30 to get one more year of support, including security updates. So, try to become "friendly" with Windows 11. Have you run some app that checks the "health" of your disk-drive? [Crystal Disk Info and/or the free version of Speccy] Any problems with reading/writing may cause the symptoms you are reporting. Anonymous 2025-06-19T14:13:45+00:00 Thank you for your assistance Tin. Unfortunately fell at 1st hurdle (well actually the 3rd.) From an admin CMD prompt. 1) PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /info Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration Information: Windows RE status: Enabled Windows RE location: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk1\partition4\Recovery\WindowsRE Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: a034abad-4b7f-11f0-863d-d19b05050580 Recovery image location: Recovery image index: 0 Custom image location: Custom image index: 0 REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful. Not Required C:\Windows\System32>dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:"E:\sources\install.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"C:\mount" Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 10.0.26100.1150 Error: 0xc1510111 You do not have permissions to mount and modify this image. Verify that you have Read/Write permissions or mount the image using the /ReadOnly option. Note that you cannot commit changes to an image with read-only permissions. The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.log C:\Windows\System32> Your dism command :- But should this be C:\Windows\System32\Recovery>~ ? 0 comments No comments Thank you for your assistance Tin.

Unfortunately fell at 1st hurdle (well actually the 3rd.) From an admin CMD prompt. PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> reagentc /info Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful. C:\Windows\System32>dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:"E:\sources\install.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"C:\mount" Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool Version: 10.0.26100.1150 Error: 0xc1510111 You do not have permissions to mount and modify this image. Verify that you have Read/Write permissions or mount the image using the /ReadOnly option. Note that you cannot commit changes to an image with read-only permissions. The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.log C:\Windows\System32> Your dism command :- But should this be C:\Windows\System32\Recovery>~ ? Anonymous 2025-06-18T20:14:10+00:00 Hi Paul! Thanks for writing. I am Tin, and I am an independent advisor. I am so happy to offer you any needed assistance today. A messed up or corrupted Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is blocking Startup Settings, including Safe Mode functionality. You've already tested and fixed a lot of things. Here is a focused path forward, beginning with verifying and rebuilding the WinRE environment, without the need for a complete wipeout, or by buying a new license. STEP 1: Confirm WinRE Status and Location Open Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell as Admin and run: powershell reagentc /info Check: Is the Windows RE status: Enabled? Is the WinRE location pointing to valid recovery partition or image? STEP 2: If reagentc /info shows Disabled, try enabling. powershell reagentc /enable Should this raise an error such as "RE image not found," or point to a nonexistent or wrong place, please continue to Step 3. STEP 3: Manually Rebuild WinRE Permissions or path issues may have stood in the way of any of your previous efforts to replace winre.wim and ReAgent.xml. Let's do this clean. Find or extract a working winre.wim: Use a Windows 11 ISO of the same version and language. Mount the ISO, then open Command Prompt as Admin: cmd dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:"X:\sources\install.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"C:\mount" (Change X: to your ISO drive letter.) Locate winre.wim: cmd copy C:\mount\Windows\System32\Recovery\winre.wim C:\Recovery\ And unmount it: cmd dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:"C:\mount" /discard Register the new WinRE image: powershell reagentc /disable reagentc /setreimage /path C:\Recovery /target C:\Windows reagentc /enable Now check reagentc /info again. WinRE should be enabled and pointing to the new winre.wim. STEP 4: Test Advanced Startup Again Try any of these things : shutdown /r /o /f /t 0 Settings → System → Recovery → Advanced Startup → Restart Now Boot from ISO and select “Repair your computer” Try going through Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart again. OPTIONAL: Rebuild Recovery Partition (if it's damaged) In case there is not even a recovery partition presently on your system, you might need to create a recovery partition and place in it the winre.wim. It is a bit tricky, however, it can be done-give me a shout if your recovery partition is not there and I'll take you through that too. Why Your System32\Recovery Folder Only Has ReAgent.html This is a problem. You should have: winre.wim (which is the actual recovery image) ReAgent.xml (WinRE configuration file) These either miss, misconfigure, or place under wrong directory. After rebuilding as discussed earlier, the right files should show up in C:\Windows\System32\Recovery. Could you please try out these steps and let me know if it works out? And, in case that any other error arises, I would love to have more information it. Best regards, Tin 0 comments No comments Hi Paul! Thanks for writing. I am Tin, and I am an independent advisor. I am so happy to offer you any needed assistance today. A messed up or corrupted Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) is blocking Startup Settings, including Safe Mode functionality. You've already tested and fixed a lot of things. Here is a focused path forward, beginning with verifying and rebuilding the WinRE environment, without the need for a complete wipeout, or by buying a new license. STEP 1: Confirm WinRE Status and Location Open Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell as Admin and run: Is the Windows RE status: Enabled? Is the WinRE location pointing to valid recovery partition or image? STEP 2: If reagentc /info shows Disabled, try enabling. reagentc /enable Should this raise an error such as "RE image not found," or point to a nonexistent or wrong place, please continue to Step 3. STEP 3: Manually Rebuild WinRE Permissions or path issues may have stood in the way of any of your previous efforts to replace winre.wim and ReAgent.xml. Let's do this clean. Find or extract a working winre.wim: Use a Windows 11 ISO of the same version and language. Mount the ISO, then open Command Prompt as Admin: dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:"X:\sources\install.wim" /index:1 /MountDir:"C:\mount" (Change X: to your ISO drive letter.) Locate winre.wim: copy C:\mount\Windows\System32\Recovery\winre.wim C:\Recovery\ And unmount it: dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:"C:\mount" /discard Register the new WinRE image: reagentc /disable reagentc /setreimage /path C:\Recovery /target C:\Windows reagentc /enable Now check reagentc /info again. WinRE should be enabled and pointing to the new winre.wim. STEP 4: Test Advanced Startup Again Try any of these things : shutdown /r /o /f /t 0 Settings → System → Recovery → Advanced Startup → Restart Now Boot from ISO and select “Repair your computer” Try going through Troubleshoot → Advanced Options → Startup Settings → Restart again. OPTIONAL: Rebuild Recovery Partition (if it's damaged) In case there is not even a recovery partition presently on your system, you might need to create a recovery partition and place in it the winre.wim. It is a bit tricky, however, it can be done-give me a shout if your recovery partition is not there and I'll take you through that too. Why Your System32\Recovery Folder Only Has ReAgent.html This is a problem. You should have: winre.wim (which is the actual recovery image) ReAgent.xml (WinRE configuration file) These either miss, misconfigure, or place under wrong directory. After rebuilding as discussed earlier, the right files should show up in C:\Windows\System32\Recovery. Could you please try out these steps and let me know if it works out? And, in case that any other error arises, I would love to have more information it.