Boot stuck at Windows Recovery Environment

[Shivaay1]

Yesterday, I turned on my computer and it directly took me to Windows Recovery Environment which means that Windows 11 didn't load normally. I turned off the computer and tried to restart but came to the same place, Win RE. Then I moved forward with the options I had. Options were: Use a Device, Troubleshoot, and Turn off your PC. I clicked on Use a device and it gave me only one option which was EFI USB Device. I clicked on it, and it gave me an error after a few seconds of some process going in the background: The selected boot device failed. Press <Enter> to Continue. Then, I press enter and come back to the same WinRE place where it started.

Then I choose the Troubleshoot option and I get 6 more options: Startup repair, Command Prompt, Uninstall Updates, UEFI Firmware Settings, System Restore, and System Image Recovery. I click on Startup Repair, and it asks me for some Bitlocker key. I go to the website shown on screen and find the recovery key and enter it and continue. Then startup repair starts and then gives me an error that it couldn't repair the pc and go back to the advanced options. I know that this problem isn't because of an update because the last update I made was Preview Build 22631.2262 on August 24th, and it made no sense to uninstall the update because it had some great fixes to some problems. I couldn't do anything with system restore or system image recovery because I had nothing for that. I know nothing related to CMD in WinRE, but I did notice one thing that the path showing started with "X:" drive rather than "C:" drive. It is strange because I have not created any kind of X: in my laptop with the partition stuff. And there is nothing I could do with UEFI because this a brand-new laptop (5 months old) and I have never touched the UEFI stuff. I did try to do some system diagnostics and system component tests, but everything was good to go and gave me no errors.

This problem cannot allow me to boot normally into Windows 11 and it doesn't let me use my computer. This really is a high priority issue that I have got for the first time in the lifetime of using Windows OSs. There are no logs or kind of data that I can attach since I am using another laptop for submitting this question or feedback.

[Raj_05]

Hi @Shivaay1,

Welcome to HP Support Community.  

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

If your HP Spectre x360 16-inch laptop is stuck at the Windows Recovery Environment screen, it's likely that your operating system is encountering some issues. Here are some steps you can take to try and resolve the problem.

Restart Your Computer: Sometimes, a simple restart can fix minor issues. Try restarting your laptop and see if it boots normally.

Safe Mode: If a normal restart doesn't work, try booting into Safe Mode. This will load a minimal set of drivers and may allow you to access your system to troubleshoot further. To boot into Safe Mode, follow these steps:

• When you see the Windows Recovery Environment screen, select "Troubleshoot."
• Then, select "Advanced options."
• Choose "Startup Settings" and click "Restart."
• When your laptop restarts, you'll see a list of options. Press the number corresponding to "Enable Safe Mode with Networking."

System Restore: If you can access Safe Mode, try performing a system restore to a point in time when your computer was working correctly. This can often resolve software-related issues. To do this:

• Go to "Control Panel" > "Recovery."
• Click on "Open System Restore" and follow the on-screen instructions.

Startup Repair: If the problem persists, you can try the built-in Startup Repair tool within the Windows Recovery Environment:

• Select "Troubleshoot" > "Advanced options."
• Choose "Startup Repair" and follow the prompts.

Check for Disk Errors: Your hard drive may have developed errors. In the Windows Recovery Environment, select "Command Prompt" and run the following command:

chkdsk /f

This will check and attempt to repair disk errors.

Check for Malware: Malware infections can cause boot issues. While in Safe Mode, run a full system scan using your preferred antivirus software.

Windows Repair or Reinstall: If none of the above steps work, you might need to repair or reinstall Windows. You can do this from the Windows Recovery Environment, but it's a more advanced step. Make sure you have backup copies of your important data before attempting this.

I hope this helps. 
 

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Alden4
HP Support 

[Shivaay1]

Hello @Alden4

Thank you for the reply!

So far, we have tried everything from the basics like a normal restart or safe mode boot or system restore or system image recovery or startup repair, but everything was in vain. Nothing worked. I try to restart normally, and it still come to the same WinRE Environment. Yes, that is correct, and you read it right. Once the BIOS has done its processing, the Windows 11 OS will directly take me to the WinRE Environment. It won't even give me any option to boot normally or boot into any kind of safe mode. Just straight to the WinRE Environment. In WinRE, I can access command prompt with very minimal scope, and it isn't the normal command prompt or something like it has very few features than the normal WinRE command prompt. We tried bcdedit and bootrec /rebuild, but it always gave us errors of some kind. We tried sfc /scannow, dism.exe commands, chkdsk /f, and much more but it did nothing. It looked like something was blocking all those commands. It was like something above the administrator was blocking it which could be the system code itself or maybe something else. Every time when pc turns on and take me straight to WinRE, it would ask for a keyboard layout and then give me 3 options (troubleshoot, turn off pc, and choose a device {for boot load I guess}). Within the choose a device option, there is nothing. Empty. So, we go back to main menu and then troubleshoot. Troubleshoot has 6 options: startup repair, command prompt, uninstall updates, uefi firmware settings, system restore, and system image recovery.

We tried using Startup Repair, and it couldn't repair anything. I had no previous system images or restore points, so we couldn't move forward from those two options. They gave us the error that no restore points or images were found. We cannot even uninstall updates for some reason. That would also give us an error. And we tried multiple commands in CMD like I mentioned before but nothing worked. We cannot even do a normal restart. All we can do is shut down and then turn on again as a restart which is totally different from a normal restart.

I tried to just copy one file from the drive to a USB drive using WinRE Command Prompt that Windows will always take me into, but for some reason that file cannot be seen on the USB drive. So, I am not even sure if we can copy the data from the drive.

In short, the following are answers to your points: Normal restart doesn't work. Computer doesn't boot into safe mode of any kind (minimal or alternative shell or network). Nothing inside System restore. Startup repair gives error that it couldn't diagnose and fix anything. chkdsk /f doesn't repair anything too.

There is a thread ongoing with Microsoft by me as well for the same issue here. You can check that as well first for those images of commands and the discussion.

Best,

Shivaay1

[Shivaay1]

Here is the link to that Microsoft thread I have issued: Windows 11 boot stuck at Windows Recovery Environment - Microsoft Community

[Raj_05]

Hi @Shivaay1,

Thank you for your response, 

Due to limited support, I would request you contact our HP Support and our Support Engineers should be able to sort this out. HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link.

https://www.hp.com/contacthp/

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance.

Have a great day!

Alden4
HP Support