PBTech Refurbished Windows 11 machines missing recovery Envionment?

Forums › Microsoft Windows › PBTech Refurbished Windows 11 machines missing recovery Envionment?

Ramjet99

85 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 11

#310765 20-Nov-2023 11:43

If anyone has recently purchased a laptop/computer from PBTech with Windows 11 Pro installed as a refurbed model, is your recovery environment installed?

Admin cmd prompt:

reagentc /info

If it shows disabled, can you

reagentc /enable

to get it working?

I buy a few for work but all the latest ones are failing this test so you can't reset the device back to factory (HP and Lenovo laptops and PCs tested). Just checking it's not something stupid I'm doing.

CYaBro

4708 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1182

ID Verified

Trusted

#3161518 20-Nov-2023 12:24

Can't remember the last time I used the recovery environment to factory reset a machine.
Just get Windows 10/11 on a USB stick and use that for a clean install of Windows without the bloatware that the computer manufacturers like to include.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3161523 20-Nov-2023 12:34

Probably find they replaced the drives, thats why and just did basic Windows install.

I avoid the factory restoration options, they just install bloatware and take 3x longer than a fresh install does.

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

Andib

1395 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 974

ID Verified

Trusted

#3161528 20-Nov-2023 12:48

HP publish all their recovery media online but like others I often prefer using a fresh/vanilla windows media and just downloading drivers as needed as once a machine goes end of sale HP don't typically continue to update the recovery media.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/CloudRecovery/crsupportedplatform.html

<#
.DISCLAIMER
Anything I post is my own and not the views of my past/present/future employer.
#>

1101

3141 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1143

#3161743 20-Nov-2023 19:40

Are you stuck in 1998 .
In 2013, we dont need recovery environment , recovery partitions, recovery disks.

Win10 , Win11 have very good built in recovery tools .
As mentioned above , HP, Dell, Lenovo recovery will leave the system full of bloatware :-)

The very best recovery tool is the Win10/11 install USB . Wipe & reload
:-)

Oblivian

7345 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2117

ID Verified

#3161747 20-Nov-2023 20:03

Wait till you're in remote Intune world where life changes that simplicity a bit

Just gone through fixing default partition layout settings here n there needed to allow remote world support that doesn't end in The built in winRE environment looping with no way out but a courier ticket.

Ruphus

469 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 181

#3161748 20-Nov-2023 20:04

Pft, who uses media in 2023? Remote resets using an MDM like Intune will require WinRE to be enabled. This command will enable WinRE

Lenovo

Shop now for Lenovo laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

lxsw20

3689 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2174

Subscriber

#3161750 20-Nov-2023 20:15

Oblivian: Wait till you're in remote Intune world where life changes that simplicity a bit

And makes it even simpler with Auto Pilot?

Oblivian

7345 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2117

ID Verified

#3161752 20-Nov-2023 20:24

lxsw20:
And makes it even simpler with Auto Pilot?

As I say, as long as the base stamp is healthy to start with and can respond to it as intended :)

gehenna

8667 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3883

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3161754 20-Nov-2023 20:42

It's not unheard of even now for OEMs to have recovery partitions. It's a reasonable question from @Op.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3161808 21-Nov-2023 07:20

gehenna: It's not unheard of even now for OEMs to have recovery partitions. It's a reasonable question from @Op.

Yes, and HP still does them, however the OP mentioned they are refurbished systems from PBTech.

I'd say they're ex-lease/repaired units and to avoid any privacy/data leak issues, they just swap out the drives for new ones.

Don't see PB wasting time on setting up recovery partitions....... :)

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

trig42

5889 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2094

ID Verified

#3161819 21-Nov-2023 08:26

We use SCCM to image new PCS - first thing it does is remove all partitions.

Probably what has happened to these ones.

All our PCs have a Win license attached to their BIOS (though we use an enterprise license) meaning that if needed/wanted after they've been deprecated we could install an OEM version of Windows using a USB stick and it will activate.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Ramjet99

85 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 11

#3162442 22-Nov-2023 15:16

As noted the purpose of the recovery partition is to enable the ability to remote wipe and auto-pilot reset machines without ever having to touch them - if setup correctly I can drop ship and with minimal fuss have a good system ready for the user. I buy from several vendors and it just seems to be PBTech missing the recovery partition meaning I have to get each system sent to me first so I can manually reload each system with (IMHO) the correct partitioning.

I have been unable to find a way to create the recovery partition remotely but am open to suggestions on that.

cddt

1964 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1903

#3162459 22-Nov-2023 16:18

I guess it is a case of getting what you pay for... a specific configuration in a secondhand machine would require more effort than they are prepared to put in at the price point the devices are offered at.

Oblivian

7345 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2117

ID Verified

#3162460 22-Nov-2023 16:20

I think the only out is some scripted partition shrinking, change ID and kick off the recovery installer

And reagentc /enable