Boot and use¶

Booting¶

Insert the RECON USB and power on the target PC.
Open the boot menu (commonly F12, F11, Esc, or F9 depending on the maker) and choose the USB drive.
At the Ventoy menu, pick the RECON image.
RECON starts its WinPE and brings up the desktop shell.

Networking in WinPE

WinPE has wired networking but no Wi-Fi. If a step needs the internet (for example DISM's online repair, or fetching a tool on demand), plug in an Ethernet cable.

First look¶

You'll land on the RECON desktop: brand lockup top-left, desktop icons, and the dock along the bottom. The dock shows the PC name and mode — this tells you whether you're in WinPE or Live mode (see PE vs Live).

From here:

This PC / Files → browse drives and recover data.
Repair Center → clean up, repair Windows, reset a local password, and more.
System → a hardware read-out for the ticket.
Start (dock) → the full tool list and power actions.

Using it on a running Windows (Live mode)¶

You can also run RECON's shell off the USB on a normally-booted Windows — handy when the machine boots fine but needs repair work. The shell detects this automatically and switches each job to the running system's own tools. See PE vs Live mode.

Finishing up¶

Use the dock's power button (or the Start menu) to restart or shut down from WinPE, or to close RECON on a booted Windows.
Remember the boundaries: encryption is never bypassed, and only local passwords can be reset.