C:\Recovery folder on Windows 10

[abtal]

Hello,

I'm running Windows 10 on a virtual machine for testing purposes, and I see that there's a "C:\Recovery" folder. It is currently empty. What is this folder used for, and what data is normally stored in it?

 

[Regedit32]

Hi abtal,

Welcome to the Forum.

The Recovery directory you mentioned is not an empty directory. It contains a sub-directory WinRE which contains the files necessary to run the Windows Recovery Environment when things go wrong with the operating system, in particular the Windows Recovery image file.

These files are protected by the System, hence not appearing at first glance.

Below is an image of what you'd typically expect to find inside this directory:

You can delete the Recovery Directory if you feel the need to save space, however, doing so would result in you being unable to run the Windows Recovery Environment to attempt to repair Windows in the event of file corruption.

 

[abtal]

Thanks for the response. The C:\Recovery folder on my system is indeed empty, which I'm now concerned about. I've attached screen shots of the File Explorer window at C:\Recovery, and another with the folder properties dialog for C:\Recovery. The File Explorer option for showing hidden and system files is turned on.

Does this mean that the Windows Recovery Environment on my system is turned off, or perhaps not configured properly? Or maybe there's another setting that is keeping these system files hidden? How should I correct this?

 

[Norton]

I see the attributes is checked as hidden. Personally, I would just ignore it. Windows created It for a reason, it's not taking up any space.

 

[bassfisher6522]

I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the VM versus a standard installation.

 

[abtal]

Good point. This Windows 10 Pro installation is running in a VMware virtual machine.