Quick fix: From Terminal (Admin), use diskpart: diskpart → list volume → identify Recovery partition (~500 MB, FAT32) → select volume N → assign letter=R. Recovery partition is now accessible at R: in File Explorer. Browse contents, but don’t modify Microsoft-owned files. After inspection: remove letter=R.

You want to inspect the hidden Recovery partition — check its WinRE.wim, see what’s there, or copy specific files. Windows hides the partition from File Explorer by design. Mounting it temporarily makes it accessible without permanent change.

Symptom: Need to access the hidden Recovery partition for inspection or repair.
Affects: Windows 11 (and Windows 10).
Fix time: ~5 minutes.

What causes this

Windows 11 (and 10) reserves a small partition (300–500 MB) for the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). It contains Winre.wim — a self-contained Windows-PE environment used for recovery, reset, and boot repair. Microsoft hides it from File Explorer to prevent accidental modification. Diskpart can mount it for inspection.

Method 1: Assign drive letter via diskpart

The standard route.

Open Terminal (Admin).
Start diskpart:
```
diskpart
```
List volumes:
```
list volume
```
The Recovery partition appears as:
- Size: typically 300–500 MB.
- Filesystem: NTFS (Windows 11) or FAT32 (older).
- Type: Partition.
- Status: Healthy.
- Info: Hidden.
- No drive letter assigned.
Select the partition:
```
select volume N
```
Replace N with the volume number from list.
Assign a temporary letter:
```
assign letter=R
```
Pick any unused letter.
Exit diskpart: exit. The partition is now accessible at R: in File Explorer.
Browse R:. Typical structure:
- R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim — the WinRE image.
- R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\ReAgent.xml — configuration.
- R:\Boot — boot configuration files.
- R:\EFI — if dual ESP/Recovery partition (rare).
To unmount: diskpart → select volume N → remove letter=R → exit. Partition returns to hidden state.

This is the standard inspection path.

Method 2: Mount via mountvol

For one-line scripting.

From Terminal (Admin): list current mount points and Volume GUIDs:
```
mountvol
```
Output includes Volume GUIDs like \\?\Volume{12345-...}. The Recovery partition appears without a drive letter.
Mount it:
```
mountvol R: \\?\Volume{12345-678-...}\
```
Replace with actual GUID. Note trailing backslash.
Access at R:.
Unmount: mountvol R: /D.
For scripted use: capture the GUID from mountvol output programmatically.

mountvol is GUID-based; diskpart is volume-number-based. Both achieve the same result.

Method 3: Use Disk Management (GUI alternative)

For users who prefer GUI over command line.

Press Win + X → Disk Management.
Identify the Recovery partition: small (300–500 MB) partition typically at the end of the system disk, labeled Recovery, marked as Healthy (OEM Partition).
Right-click the Recovery partition. Change Drive Letter and Paths is greyed out in modern Disk Management for protected partitions.
To enable: right-click partition → Change Drive Letter and Paths may show. If not (greyed out): use diskpart (Method 1). Disk Management blocks letter assignment for OEM-protected partitions; diskpart bypasses this restriction.
For PCs where Disk Management does allow it: click Add → pick letter. Mount.
To unmount: right-click → Change Drive Letter and Paths → Remove.

This is the right path if your Disk Management permits letter changes on Recovery partition (rare).

How to verify the fix worked

Open File Explorer. The Recovery partition appears at the assigned letter (R: in examples above).
Navigate to R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\. Winre.wim should be present (~300–500 MB).
Run reagentc /info in Terminal. Output shows the Recovery image location matches what you see.

If none of these work

If you can’t assign a letter to the Recovery partition: Protected partition flag: GPT partitions can have the BasicData attribute hidden+no-default-driveletter. Force-remove via diskpart:

select volume N
attributes volume clear hidden
attributes volume clear nodefaultdriveletter
assign letter=R

Re-set after inspection: attributes volume set hidden. For OEM partitions: HP, Dell, Lenovo recovery partitions may be locked at the firmware level. Sometimes only the OEM’s recovery tool can access them. For partitions on encrypted disks: BitLocker may encrypt the Recovery partition. Unlock with recovery key first via manage-bde -unlock. For modifying Winre.wim: don’t modify in-place. Mount the WIM offline via DISM: DISM /Mount-Image /ImageFile:R:\Recovery\WindowsRE\Winre.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\WIM-mount. Modify, then unmount: DISM /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\WIM-mount /Commit.

Bottom line: Diskpart → select Recovery volume → assign letter=R. Inspect R: contents. Unmount with remove letter=R when done. Don’t modify Microsoft-owned files.