KB5034236: Compatibility update for installing and recovering Windows 11, version 21H2: January 9, 2024

Run the following PowerShell script "GetWinReVersion.ps1" with Administrator credentials. After you run the script, you should receive the installed WinRE version as in the following example:

GetWinReVersion.ps1 PowerShell script

################################################################################################

#

# Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation.

# Licensed under the MIT License.

#

# THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED *AS IS*, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

# IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,

# FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE

# AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER

# LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,

# OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE

# SOFTWARE.

#

################################################################################################

# Function to get WinRE path

function GetWinREPath {

    $WinRELocation = (reagentc /info | Select-String "Windows RE location")

    if ($WinRELocation) {

        return $WinRELocation.ToString().Split(':')[-1].Trim()

    } else {

        Write-Host "Failed to find WinRE path" -ForegroundColor Red

        exit 1

    }

}

 
# Creates and needs to be return the mount directory
function GetMountDir {
    # systemdirve\mnt
    $MountDir = "$env:SystemDrive\mnt"
    if (-not (Test-Path $MountDir)) {
        New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $MountDir -Force | Out-Null
    }
    return $MountDir
}  

# Function to get WinRE version
function GetWinREVersion {

    $mountedPath = GetMountDir
    $filePath = "$mountedPath\Windows\System32\winpeshl.exe"

    $WinREVersion = (Get-Item $filePath).VersionInfo.FileVersionRaw.Revision

    return [int]$WinREVersion

}

# Main Execution

$WinREPath = GetWinREPath

# Make dir C:\mnt if not exists

$TempDir = GetMountDir

# Get the read write permission for this directory

if (-not (Test-Path $TempDir)) {

    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $TempDir -Force | Out-Null

}

# Mount WinRE image

dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:"$WinREPath\winre.wim" /Index:1 /MountDir:"$TempDir"

$WinREVersion = GetWinREVersion

Write-Host "WinRE Version: $WinREVersion" -ForegroundColor Cyan

dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:"$TempDir" /Discard

Remove-Item -Path $TempDir -Force -Recurse

WinREAgent logs events related to the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), primarily recording details about the creation, modification, and usage of the recovery image. In this case, we are looking for Event ID: 4501 Servicing succeeded events. These events are generated when WinRE is updated through Windows Update. If you service WinRE by using DISM commands to apply a Safe OS Dynamic Update (DU) package, or if WinREAgent servicing events are unavailable due to space limitations in your environment, we recommend using the DISM command to confirm the installed WinRE version.

1. Open the Windows Search bar. To do this, right-click Start and then click Search.

2. In the Search bar, type Event Viewer and then click Event Viewer.

3. Expand Windows Logs and then click System.

4. In the right-side navigation pane, under Actions, click Find.

5. In the Find what: box, type WinREAgent and then click Find Next.

6. Click Cancel to close the Find dialog box. The WinREAgent servicing event should be shown in the bottom middle pane and you should see a message similar to the followng on the General tab:

   Note

   Servicing succeeded. The Windows Recovery Environment version is now: 10.0.22621.4742

   The WinRE version in this example is 10.0.22621.4742.

7. To view the Event Properties pane for the WinREAgent servicing event, right-click the WinREAgent entry in the System pane (top middle pane) and then click Event Properties.

   

1. Open an elevated Windows command prompt. To do this, press the Windows key, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.

2. At the command prompt, type reagentc /info and then press Enter.

   

3. Note the path of the Windows RE location. For this example, the location is \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition5\Recovery\WindowsRE. This path may vary based on your Windows installation.

4. At the command prompt, use the DISM command to retrieve the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) information. For this example, enter the following command and then press Enter:

   Note

   Dism /Get-ImageInfo /ImageFile:\\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition5\Recovery\WindowsRE\winre.wim /index:1

   Note The default name for the WinRE image file is winre.wim. In your environment, the name of the WinRE image file might be different. Also, the Index number of the default winre.wim file is 1. In your environment, the Index number might be different.

5. The WinRE image file information is returned as illustrated in the following example:

   

   The WinRE version in this example is 10.0.22621.4742.