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Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You have two hard disks that are different sizes.

  • You install Windows 8.1 on one of them, and then you create an image of it.

  • You duplicate the image to the other hard disk drive by using disk duplication software or disk imaging software.

In this scenario, the push-button reset features in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) don't work on the new hard disk because the offset that's listed in the Reagent.xml file is incorrect.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, apply the following hotfix to the computer that's running Windows 8.1. This hotfix must also be applied to your Windows Recovery images. To learn how to update Windows Recovery images, see the "More Information" section.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft Support. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing the problem described in this article. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, go to the following Microsoft website:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=supportNote The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

To apply this hotfix, you must have Windows 8.1 installed.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any previously released hotfix.

The English (United States) version of this hotfix installs files that have the attributes that are listed in the following tables. The dates and the times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The dates and the times for these files on your local computer are displayed in your local time together with your current daylight saving time (DST) bias. Additionally, the dates and the times may change when you perform certain operations on the files.

Windows 8.1 file information and notesImportant Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, only "Windows 8.1" is listed on the Hotfix Request page. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows 8.1" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

  • The files that apply to a specific product, milestone (RTM, SPn), and service branch (LDR, GDR) can be identified by examining the file version numbers as shown in the following table.

    Version

    Product

    Milestone

    Service branch

    6.3.960 0.16 xxx

    Windows 8.1

    RTM

    GDR

  • The MANIFEST files (.manifest) and the MUM files (.mum) that are installed for each environment are listed separately in the "Additional file information for Windows 8.1" section. MUM and MANIFEST files, and the associated security catalog (.cat) files, are extremely important to maintain the state of the updated components. The security catalog files, for which the attributes are not listed, are signed with a Microsoft digital signature.

For all supported x86-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name

File version

File size

Date

Time

Platform

Reagent.dll

6.3.9600.16523

770,560

31-Jan-2014

09:51

x86

For all supported x64-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name

File version

File size

Date

Time

Platform

Reagent.dll

6.3.9600.16523

770,560

31-Jan-2014

09:51

x86

For all supported ARM-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name

File version

File size

Date

Time

Platform

Reagent.dll

6.3.9600.16523

716,136

31-Jan-2014

11:43

Not Applicable

Additional file information

Additional file information for Windows 8.1

Additional files for all supported x86-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name

X86_1bde6b34d4495127215cb6156cd499cf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_41637eeaa4fede8a.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

707

Date (UTC)

31-Jan-2014

Time (UTC)

22:38

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

File name

X86_microsoft-windows-winre-recoveryagent_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_4fac45758b4d4897.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

5,436

Date (UTC)

31-Jan-2014

Time (UTC)

14:24

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

Additional files for all supported x64-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name

Amd64_1bde6b34d4495127215cb6156cd499cf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_9d821a6e5d5c4fc0.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

709

Date (UTC)

01-Feb-2014

Time (UTC)

01:18

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

File name

Amd64_8d0904a3f51b4e764efb62e4b62bdf06_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_26f94d8559424a53.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

711

Date (UTC)

01-Feb-2014

Time (UTC)

01:18

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

File name

Amd64_microsoft-windows-winre-recoveryagent_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_abcae0f943aab9cd.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

5,440

Date (UTC)

31-Jan-2014

Time (UTC)

16:48

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

File name

X86_microsoft-windows-winre-recoveryagent_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_4fac45758b4d4897.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

5,436

Date (UTC)

31-Jan-2014

Time (UTC)

14:24

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

Additional files for all supported ARM-based versions of Windows 8.1

File name

Arm_cd382daf795b14873a5ec1d00d834431_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_090135fcb4587f1f.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

707

Date (UTC)

31-Jan-2014

Time (UTC)

22:53

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

File name

Arm_microsoft-windows-winre-recoveryagent_31bf3856ad364e35_6.3.9600.16523_none_4faeb7cd8b4a675d.manifest

File version

Not Applicable

File size

5,436

Date (UTC)

31-Jan-2014

Time (UTC)

11:57

SHA-1 hash

Not Applicable

MD5 hash

Not Applicable

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

More Information

Information about how to update Windows Recovery imagesWarning This section contains steps that should be performed only by a qualified technical person who is familiar with the Windows recovery mechanism. Serious problems might occur if you perform the steps incorrectly. Incorrect steps can leave the Windows recovery mechanism in an unrecoverable state. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, perform a complete system backup before you continue. Also, be aware that you may need the Windows installation media that was originally used to install the operating system.

For more information about the procedures and terminology that are used in this article, see the following Microsoft websites:

The following procedures should be performed by an administrative user at an administrative command prompt. These procedures contain guidance only for a generic installation. This guidance may differ for your installation.

Locate and copy an installed version of WinRE.wimIf WinRE.wim is already configured on the system, follow these steps:

  1. Type the following command to find the location of the installed Windows RE image file (Winre.wim):

    reagentc /info

    Notes

    • The WinRE.wim file may have the SYSTEM and HIDDEN file attributes set. Use the Attrib command to remove these attributes.

    • WinRE.wim may be in a hidden directory or a hidden partition. Use the DIR /A command to find hidden folders and files. If necessary, use the Diskpart utility to unhide the partition.

  2. Note the location of the WinRE.wim—for example, <WinREdrive>\WindowsRE\<GUIID>.

  3. Copy the currently installed WinRE.wim file to a local folder such as C:\WinRE. The local folder must differ from the installation location. Make sure that you keep a backup of C:\WinRE\WinRE.wim.

Locate and copy WinRE.wim from the installation mediaIf WinRE.wim is not configured on the system, follow these steps:

  1. Locate the WinRE.wim file on the Windows installation media that was used to install the operating system.

  2. Create the following local folders:

    • C:\OS_Image

    • C:\OS_Image\Mount

    • C:\Winre

  3. Copy the Install.wim file from Windows installation media to C:\OS_Image. If the installation media is on drive D, the Install.wim file will be located in the D:\sources folder.

  4. Type the following DISM command to mount the Install.wim file:

    DISM /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\OS_Image\Install.wim /index:1 /MountDir:C:\OS_Image\mount

  5. Type the following command to copy the Windows RE image (Winre.wim) file from the mounted Windows image to C:\WinRE:


    Copy C:\OS_image\mount\windows\system32\recovery\WinRE.wim C:\winre\

  6. Type the following command to unmount the mounted Windows image:


    DISM /unmount-wim /MountDir:C:\OS_Image\mount /discard

  7. Delete the C:\OS_Image and C:\OS_Image\Mount folders together with the Install.wim file that was copied to them.

Insert the KB2930296 hotfix package into WinRE.wim

  1. Copy the KB2930296 hotfix package to the C:\WindowsUpdate folder.

  2. Create the following local folder:

    • C:\WinRE\Mount

  3. Type the following command to mount the Winre.wim file:


    DISM /mount-wim /wimfile:C:\winre\WinRE.wim /index:1 /MountDir:C:\winre\mount

  4. Type the following command to insert the security package into the mounted Winre.wim file:


    DISM /image:C:\Winre\mount /Add-Package /Packagepath:C:\WindowsUpdate

  5. Type the following command to verify that the security package was integrated successfully:

    DISM /image:C:\winre\mount /Get-Packages

  6. Type the following command to commit the changes to the Winre.wim file:


    DISM /unmount-wim /MountDir:C:\Winre\mount /commit

Deploy or copy a modified WinRE.wimIf WinRE.wim is already installed and configured, follow these steps:

  1. Move C:\WinRE\WinRE.wim to the folder where WinRE.wim was located earlier. For example, you might have to move it to <WinREdrive>\WindowsRE\<GUIID>. Overwrite the existing WinRE.wim if you are prompted about this.

  2. Use the Attrib command to restore the SYSTEM and HIDDEN file attributes to the previous settings.

  3. If <WinREdrive> was previously hidden, use the Diskpart utility to hide the partition again.

  4. Deploy and configure the customized Windows RE image if it was not located on the installation media.

  5. The C:\WinRe and C:\WinRE\Mount folders can now be removed.

Validate and roll back if necessary

  1. Verify that you can start in the modified WINRE environment and that you can perform previously configured recovery functions.

  2. If validation fails, make sure that you revert the changes that were made. To do this, follow these steps:

    1. Unconfigure and delete the WinRE.wim file if it was copied from installation media.

    2. Replace the modified WinRE.wim with the backup copy if you modified an already configured WinRE.wim file.

References

Learn about the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.

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