Boot Windows Server 2016 into Recovery Environment

There are many reasons you may want to start Windows Server 2016 Recovery Mode such as:

1. Fix boot errors
2. Uninstall problematic Windows updates
3. Restore the server to the previous restore point
4. Access the Safe Mode boot option

Whatever reason you need to start Windows Server 2016 Recovery Mode, this guide will provide two options for doing this.

1. Boot into Windows Server 2016 Recovery Mode without installation media 

If you do not have access to the Windows Server 2016 installation media (DVD or USB), you can still boot into Recovery Mode.

Here are the steps to take:

Press the power button to start the server. When the white circles start showing, press the power button to turn off the server power.

Press the power button to start the server

Note : The image in the example shows Hyper-V because the article author is running this demo with the VM. Your server will display the manufacturer name. All you need to keep in mind is when the circles appear. Then turn off the server power.

Turn the power back to the server. Then turn it off when the boot circle appears.

When you start the server a third time, it will start Preparing Automatic Repair . This process can take 2 to 5 minutes (depending on your server). Please wait patiently.

When you start the server a third time, it will start Preparing Automatic Repair

Then it will boot into Recovery Mode! To display the Recovery Mode options, click Troubleshoot.

To display the Recovery Mode options, click Troubleshoot

When you click Troubleshoot , the Advanced options screen below is displayed.

The Advanced options screen appears

The options are explained below:

- System Image Recovery : Click this option if you have previously enabled the system recovery feature and have available restore points available.

- Command Prompt : This option will load a Command Prompt. You can then run the cmd commands. A very useful command to fix most problems is DISM.exe / Online / Cleanup-Image / Restorehealth .

- UEFI Firmware Settings : When you click this option, the server will boot into UEFI BIOS.

- Startup Settings : This is a 'hidden gem'! Startup Settings gives you Safe Boot boot options.

2. Boot into Windows Server 2016 Recovery Mode from the installation media

To boot into Recovery Mode with a DVD or USB containing Server 2016, do the following:

Insert media into server (USB or DVD).

Then modify the boot sequence to boot from the above media.

Power on the server. Carefully pay attention to this screen to confirm booting from CD or DVD. Then press any key to continue.

At Windows Boot Manager , select Windows Setup [EMS Enabled] . Then press Enteron the keyboard.

Select Windows Setup [EMS Enabled]

At the Windows Server 2016 installation screen, click Next.

Windows Server 2016 installation screen

Then click on Repair your computer .

After about a minute, Recovery Mode will be displayed. This is the same page booting into Recovery Mode as the first method.

As in the first method, to display the Recovery Mode option, click on Troubleshoot. But, as you can see, this provides fewer repair options. It only provides the first 3 options and does not include Startup Repair.

There are only 3 options, excluding Startup Repair