Generally, Windows 10 PC users use the Reset this PC option when rest of the solutions fail to fix one or more issues. At times, however, the Reset PC operation itself fails to start with the “Could not find the recovery environment” error.
The “Could not find the recovery environment. Insert your Windows installation or recovery media, and restart your PC with the recovery media” error shows up when you launch the Reset this PC tool.
The error shows up when the Windows 10 Recover Environment (WinRE) is turned off, WinRE image is missing or corrupted. While turning on the WinRE is an easy job and fixes the error in most cases, repairing the WinRE is quite complicated.
If you are also getting the same error when you try to reset your Windows 10 computer, you can easily fix it by following the given below solutions in that order.
Check if Windows recovery environment is disabled
The Reset this PC tool requires the Windows recovery environment to reset your Windows 10 computer. If it’s not working or disabled, the tool displays the error above. To check its status:
Step 1: Open the Command Prompt as administrator. To do that, type CMD in the Start/taskbar search box, right-click on the Command Prompt entry and then click the Run as administrator option.
Click the Yes button when you get the UAC prompt to launch the Command Prompt with admin privileges.
Step 2: At the Command Prompt window, type the following command and then press the Enter key to run it.
Reagentc /info
If the Windows RE status is disabled, you need to enable the same by following the procedure given in the next solution.
Turn on the Windows Recovery Environment
Step 1: Start the Command Prompt as administrator.
Step 2: Here, copy and paste the following command into the Command Prompt and then hit the Enter key to turn on the Windows RE.
Reagentc /enable
You may exit the Command Prompt now.
Repair the Windows 10 installation
Although there is no option in Windows 10 Settings to perform a repair of Windows 10 installation, you can use the Windows 10 installation media or ISO to perform a repair installation of Windows 10 by keeping installed files and programs. This way you can reset Windows 10.
Refer to our how to repair Windows 10 installation without losing data and apps guide for step-by-step directions.
