How to Create a Recovery Partition in Windows 10 and Windows 11

What Is a Windows Recovery Partition?

A Windows recovery partition is a small hidden partition that stores the Windows Recovery Environment, also called Windows RE or WinRE. Windows uses it to start repair tools when the normal operating system cannot boot.

When the recovery partition is configured correctly, you can use features such as Advanced startup, Startup Repair, System Restore, Command Prompt, Uninstall Updates, and Reset this PC.

Before You Create a Recovery Partition in Windows 10 or Windows 11

Creating a recovery partition requires changing the disk layout. The commands are not difficult, but selecting the wrong disk or partition can make Windows unbootable or delete data. Prepare before you touch DiskPart.

• Create a full backup or at least copy important files to another drive.
• Disconnect external drives that are not needed, so you do not select the wrong disk.
• Use an administrator account and open Command Prompt or Windows Terminal as administrator.
• If BitLocker is enabled, save the recovery key and suspend BitLocker protection before resizing partitions.
• Use the commands for your disk type: GPT for most modern UEFI systems, or MBR for older Legacy BIOS systems.

Suspend BitLocker before partition work

On BitLocker-protected systems, suspend protection temporarily before resizing or recreating recovery partitions. Re-enable it after you verify that WinRE works.

Command Prompt as administratormanage-bde -protectors -disable C: -RebootCount 2

After the recovery partition is configured and tested, turn BitLocker protection back on:

Command Prompt as administratormanage-bde -protectors -enable C:

Check Windows RE Status and Disk Type Before Creating the Partition

First, check whether Windows RE is already enabled. In many cases you do not need to create a new partition; you only need to repair the WinRE configuration or increase the free space in the existing recovery partition.

Command Prompt as administratorreagentc /info

Look for these lines in the result:

Check whether your system disk is GPT or MBR

Most Windows 11 PCs and many Windows 10 PCs use UEFI + GPT. Older upgraded systems may still use Legacy BIOS + MBR. Check it before creating the recovery partition.

DiskPartdiskpart
list disk
exit

If there is an asterisk under the Gpt column for the Windows disk, use the GPT instructions. If the Gpt column is blank, use the MBR instructions.

Recommended Recovery Partition Size and Location

The recovery partition should be large enough for winre.wim plus extra free space for future WinRE updates. A practical size for most Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems is 1 GB. If you use many language packs, OEM tools, or custom WinRE drivers, use 1.2 GB to 1.5 GB.

Where should the recovery partition be placed?

Ideally, place the recovery partition immediately after the Windows partition. This layout allows Windows to resize or recreate the recovery partition more easily when future updates require more space.

Create a Recovery Partition on UEFI / GPT Systems

Use this method on most modern Windows 10 and Windows 11 computers. It creates a new NTFS partition, stores WinRE files in R:\Recovery\WindowsRE, marks the partition as a Microsoft recovery partition, and hides the drive letter.

Step 1: Disable Windows RE temporarily

Command Prompt as administratorreagentc /disable

Step 2: Shrink C: and create a 1 GB recovery partition

This creates a new partition from 1024 MB of space taken from the end of C:. If you want a larger recovery partition, change 1024 to 1200 or 1500.

DiskPart for GPT / UEFIdiskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list volume
select volume C
shrink desired=1024 minimum=1024
create partition primary size=1024
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows RE tools"
assign letter=R
exit

Step 3: Create the WinRE folder and copy winre.wim

Windows RE normally uses the file winre.wim. The default source location is C:\Windows\System32\Recovery. If this file is missing, see the troubleshooting section below.

Command Prompt as administratormkdir R:\Recovery\WindowsRE
copy C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\Winre.wim R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\

Step 4: Register the WinRE image

Command Prompt as administratorreagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE /target C:\Windows
reagentc /enable
reagentc /info

Step 5: Mark the partition as a GPT recovery partition and hide it

Run DiskPart again, find the new recovery partition number, select it, set the Microsoft recovery partition type, assign the required GPT attributes, and remove the temporary R: drive letter.

DiskPart for GPT / UEFIdiskpart
select disk 0
list partition
select partition YOUR_RECOVERY_PARTITION_NUMBER
set id=de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac
gpt attributes=0x8000000000000001
list volume
select volume R
remove letter=R
exit

Create a Recovery Partition on Legacy BIOS / MBR Systems

Use this method only if list disk shows no asterisk in the Gpt column for the Windows disk. MBR systems use a different recovery partition ID.

Step 1: Disable Windows RE temporarily

Command Prompt as administratorreagentc /disable

Step 2: Create a 1 GB recovery partition

DiskPart for MBR / Legacy BIOSdiskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list volume
select volume C
shrink desired=1024 minimum=1024
create partition primary size=1024
format quick fs=ntfs label="Windows RE tools"
assign letter=R
exit

Step 3: Copy WinRE and register it

Command Prompt as administratormkdir R:\Recovery\WindowsRE
copy C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\Winre.wim R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\
reagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE /target C:\Windows
reagentc /enable
reagentc /info

Step 4: Mark the partition as MBR recovery and hide it

DiskPart for MBR / Legacy BIOSdiskpart
select disk 0
list partition
select partition YOUR_RECOVERY_PARTITION_NUMBER
set id=27 override
list volume
select volume R
remove letter=R
exit

Register WinRE with REAgentC After Creating the Partition

REAgentC.exe is the built-in Windows tool for configuring the Windows Recovery Environment. Creating a partition is only half of the task. You must also tell Windows where the recovery image is located.

Minimum command set

Command Prompt as administratorreagentc /setreimage /path R:\Recovery\WindowsRE /target C:\Windows
reagentc /enable
reagentc /info

If reagentc /info still shows Disabled, do not continue deleting or recreating partitions. First confirm that R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\winre.wim exists and that you selected the correct Windows installation path.

Verify and Test the New Windows Recovery Partition

After you create the partition and enable WinRE, verify the configuration before you rely on it.

1. Run reagentc /info and confirm that Windows RE status is Enabled.
2. Open Disk Management and check that the recovery partition exists and has no drive letter.
3. Restart into Advanced startup from Windows Settings.
4. Open Troubleshoot → Advanced options and confirm that repair tools are available.

Start Windows RE once for testing

This command tells Windows to boot into the recovery environment on the next restart:

Command Prompt as administratorreagentc /boottore
shutdown /r /t 0

Troubleshooting Common Recovery Partition Problems

winre.wim is missing

If C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\Winre.wim does not exist, you need to restore it from another healthy Windows installation, from the old recovery partition, from an OEM recovery source, or from matching Windows installation media.

Check whether winre.wim existsdir C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\Winre.wim /a

If you mounted a Windows ISO and it contains install.wim, you can mount an image index and copy winre.wim. Replace E: with the mounted ISO drive and choose the correct image index for your edition.

Advanced recovery image extractionmkdir C:\WinRE_Mount
dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:E:\sources\install.wim
dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:E:\sources\install.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\WinRE_Mount /ReadOnly
copy C:\WinRE_Mount\Windows\System32\Recovery\Winre.wim C:\Windows\System32\Recovery\
dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\WinRE_Mount /Discard

reagentc /enable says operation successful, but WinRE is still disabled

This usually means Windows accepted the command but could not actually use the recovery image location. Check the file path, the partition type, the XML configuration, and whether the partition was hidden before the image was registered.

• Confirm that R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\winre.wim exists before removing the R: letter.
• Run reagentc /disable, then run reagentc /setreimage again.
• Make sure you used the GPT recovery GUID on GPT disks or id=27 on MBR disks.
• Check that the recovery partition is formatted as NTFS.

DiskPart cannot shrink C:

DiskPart may fail to shrink the Windows partition if unmovable files are near the end of the volume. Try these fixes before using third-party partition software:

1. Temporarily disable hibernation with powercfg /h off.
2. Temporarily disable System Protection for C: or reduce its disk usage.
3. Run defrag C: /X on HDDs. On SSDs, Windows will optimize safely according to the drive type.
4. Restart Windows and try shrink desired=1024 minimum=1024 again.

The recovery partition appears in File Explorer

If the partition is visible as R: or another drive letter, hide it after verifying WinRE:

DiskPartdiskpart
list volume
select volume R
remove letter=R
exit

Windows Update fails because the recovery partition is too small

If an existing recovery partition is too small, it may be better to resize or recreate it with more free space instead of creating a second recovery partition. A 1 GB recovery partition usually avoids many servicing problems on current Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems.

FAQ: Creating a Recovery Partition in Windows 10 and Windows 11