Insert your Windows installation or recovery media error Windows 10 – Fixed

In this article, we will discuss how to fix the ‘Insert your Windows installation or recovery media error Windows 10‘ while you in the process to reset your PC. First, let us understand why do we need to reset our PC. Once you have used Windows for a long time you may have noticed it slows down. This happens due to the piling up of internal registries, numerous applications installed overtime, and other data that has piled up over the years.

The best way to get rid of all these problems is simply to rest or clean the Windows to get the performance you need. Once you do this you will notice how much your Windows PC has improved once you reset or clean your PC. But resetting the PC is not so easy as it sounds for everyone. If you have not done it in the past you may face certain errors like “Could not find the recovery environment Insert your windows installation or recovery media error”. Which we will discuss in the article.

Reasons why you see this Error:

• There can be numerous possibilities that are causing you to see this error. Some errors appear due to some glitch in the backend and some appear due to action taken by the user.
• The Windows recovery image has been corrupted which is stored on a partition.
• You can also see this error if the Windows Recovery Environment is disabled in the settings. This may happen if you have used any third party troubleshooting services.
• This may also happen if you have accidentally deleted the recovery image that was kept to reset the Windows PC.

Don’t worry there are numerous ways by which you can fix this error message that says ” Insert your Windows installation or recovery media error” on your Windows 10 PC. If you are facing this error while resetting your PC then just follow the different methods we have given below to easily fix this issue.

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Method1: Run SFC(System File Checker)

The Reset feature comes in built-in Windows 10, so you won’t need any external device or any other application to perform the reset. But if your PC has been exposed to any virus or Malware in the past. It may have damaged or deleted essential files that your PC needs to run it properly. This may cause you to see the “Insert your Windows installation or recovery media” error.

So you will need to run an SFC scan to fix the corrupted Windows core files which will prevent this error. You need to have admin access to run SFC scans that are done through the Command Prompt.

Steps to run the SFC (System File Checker)

• First, you need to right-click on the start button.
• Then find and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
• Then you need to type the following command in Command Prompt and press enter:
  SFC/scannow

Once the scan is complete you will need to run a DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) scan too next. We have explained the details below.

Wait for the scan to complete. You may also need to run a DISM scan, explained below.

Method 2: Run DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management)

DISM also only runs with admin access as it is a major command-line utility. It is used to fix or mount Windows images or modify Windows installation media easily without using any external application. You just need to follow the steps given below to run the DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) command.

• First, you need to right-click on the start button.
• Then find and click on the “Command Prompt (Admin)” option.
• Then you need to type the following command in the Command Prompt and press enter. Make sure you enter the command as it is shown below. Do not give any extra spaces in between the commands.

DISM /online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The process may take up some time.
Even after following Method 1 and 2, if you are still seeing the error message then follow the next method given below.

Method 3: Use bootable media as a source

If still, you are facing the same issue then you can also try this alternative. During the reset procedure if the PC is unable to take resources from the system, then it may take it from external media. First, you will need to create an external bootable drive. You can easily create bootable media using the official Windows USB/DVD tool, you can find the instructions here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-installation-media-for-windows-99a58364-8c02-206f-aa6f-40c3b507420d.

Once the bootable drive is ready you just need to follow the steps given below to reset your Windows PC.

• First, you need to connect or enter the USB drive or disc to the PC, whichever you have used to create the bootable drive.
• Then open the media drive in Windows Explorer.
• Then click on Setup.exe to open it.
• Follow the instructions to reset your Windows PC.

Method 4: Use the Advanced Recovery menu to reset this PC

To reset your PC you need to launch the Advanced Recovery Menu.

To launch Windows’ Advanced Recovery menu, you need to follow the steps given below:

• First, shut down your PC and reboot it. Then while the PC is still rebooting, you need to force it to shut down again by pressing and holding the power button. (repeat this until you see the Recovery menu)
• Then you need to Click on Troubleshoot >>> Reset this PC, and then just complete the reset process.

Method 5: Clean Windows Installation

If you’ve tried all the methods given above and still seeing the error then installing Clean Windows will solve the issue for you. Just make sure you have taken the backup of essential data that you cannot lose. Or you can also shift the data from the partition.

To perform the clean Windows installation you will need a bootable Windows DVD/USB media drive. You can also use the original Windows drive to install a clean Windows.