Hold the Shift Key When Restarting to Access the Recovery
This is the easiest method to launch WinRE and should be your go-to method when inside Windows.
In the Start Menu, click on the Power button and click on Restart while holding the Shift key. That’s it, the PC will restart and automatically open WinRE.
Note: this method also works from the Windows login screen. If you can access the login screen but can’t log in, then use the Power button there.
Access Windows Recovery Environment from Recovery Settings
The holding Shift key method may sometimes fail if the key doesn’t register or the Restart option isn’t available due to incorrect settings. This is the most reliable method as you just need to be able to access the Windows Settings to make it work.
In Windows Settings, go to System -> Recovery and click on the Restart now button next to Advanced startup.
A prompt will appear to ensure you have saved your data, click on Restart now here to restart the PC into Windows Recovery Environment.
Open WinRE via Command Prompt
There can be many situations where you may be able to open Command Prompt but can’t interact with Windows UI, like Windows Explorer crashing. You can run a Command Prompt command to launch WinRE.
To open the Command Prompt, the typical method is to search “cmd” in Windows Search, right-click on Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator. If the File Explorer isn’t working, you can also press Win + R keys and type cmd in the Run dialog to open it.
Run the following command to restart the PC and open WinRE:
shutdown /r /o /f /t 0
Your PC will immediately restart, so make sure you save the data before pressing Enter.
Use the Dedicated Shortcut Key for Recovery Options
Most PC manufacturers provide a dedicated key to access the Windows Recovery Environment during startup. This key varies between brands. For example, Dell computers typically use F12 when the Dell logo appears.
Common options include F2, F8, F9, F10, F11, and F12. In rare cases, Del or Esc might work as well. You can easily find the correct key for your specific PC brand by searching online.
Once you find the correct key for your PC, start pressing it when the PC starts and WinRE will launch.
Trigger Recovery Environment by Repeated Boot Failures
This is quite an extreme method, but can work in drastic situations. Windows is configured to launch WinRE if it fails to boot 3 times straight. You can artificially prevent Windows from booting 3 times and it will launch WinRE on the next start.
Note: forcefully canceling the boot process can cause errors or system corruption. Make sure you have backed up your important data before trying this method.
When the PC starts and reaches the Windows logo screen, press and hold the Power button on your PC to turn it off. Repeat this three times and your PC will enter Windows Recovery Environment.
If your PC is too fast and the Windows logo doesn’t even appear, you can try this on the manufacturer logo screen or login screen as well.
Access WinRE Using Windows Installation Media or Recovery Drive
If none of the above methods are working, then maybe WinRE got corrupted, or it was intentionally not installed during Windows installation using custom install methods. In that case, you can use a recovery drive or a bootable USB with Windows installation media.
You can use any PC to create a bootable USB or a recovery drive. Start your PC with the USB inserted to launch from it. Select the Repair your computer option and it will launch WinRE.
The above methods should be enough to access the Windows Recovery Environment. If you are unable to troubleshoot the problem even with WinRE, you might want to use a third-party Windows PE drive tool.