Windows Preinstallation Environment

WinPE was originally intended to be used only as a pre-installation platform for deploying Microsoft Windows operating systems, specifically to replace MS-DOS in this respect.

Many customized WinPE boot CDs packaged with third-party applications for different uses are now available from volunteers via the Internet.

[23] A copy of Windows RE is included in the installation media of the aforementioned operating systems.

Windows Recovery Environment can also be installed to a hard drive partition by OEMs,[28] and customized with additional tools such as a separate system recovery tool for restoring the computer back to its original state.

[31] Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT), sold as a part of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, is yet another toolset based on Windows PE that performs diagnostic and recovery on an offline copy of Windows.

System Recovery Options in Windows 7
Windows 11 Recovery Environment, Advanced Options section screen, showing six of the seven available options (System image recovery is shown when the "See more recovery options" button is clicked.)