Windows 8.1 OEM: couldn't Refresh/Reset after messing with partitions? Here are some suggestions.

I decided to post this since I couldn't find anything in the web about the same problems I was encountering, let alone the specific scenarios in which I were in (no separate recovery media etc). To the mods, feel free to lock/delete this if this has been covered already. Do point the others to the relevant thread, though.

Here are some resources I used:
CAUTION: You May Lose Reset/Refresh if You Upgrade to Windows 8.1 - Microsoft (Windows) Discussion & Support - Neowin Forums
Unable to Refresh Windows 8.1 in Recovery setings - Microsoft Community

Note: These tips might work ONLY when you have done the same things as I have. This is only for PCs/notebooks that came with a manufacturer-installed Win 8.1. It may not work on some OEM brands though, because of the differences in partition cofigurations.
Disclaimer: I am in no way to be held responsible if you end up with your rig kaput. I cannot guarantee that this will work on your system. This is simply a guide I provided based on my experience.

Around a month ago, I ordered a budget gaming laptop (a Clevo). And as I was on a tight budget, I opted for the cheapest available HDD: a WD 500GB 5400rpm drive. I couldn't order it without an OS, and at that time I was curious about Win 8.1, so I went with that. Laptop arrived, did the initial set-up and was surprised to find out that there were no partitioning options given to me during the process. I ended up with a 450GB C:\ partition after set-up, and the OC (no, not overclock) in me was itching to shrink the C: partition to somewhere around 60GB (because I feel that the OS boots up quicker, with a platter drive at least, when the OS partition is smaller; not sure if this is just a placebo effect). Anyway, the Windows Disk Management could only shrink it to half the size, apparently because there was an unmovable file in the middle of the partition. I resorted to Partition Wizard (free partitioning software by MiniTools), which did the job after one restart.

Jump to 3 weeks later, and I decided to reset the Win8.1 installation, partly as preparation for my SSD upgrade. But I couldn't. The Refresh and Reset options were telling me the same thing: Could not find the recovery environment. After some research and some kind of risky trial and error methodology, the following steps are what fixed my problem.

1. Restore your partitions to the stock configuration after your first set-up. I used Disk Management to delete my D: partition, and then extend the C: to its former 450GB glory. DO NOT mess with the other partitions, as these are where your recovery and windows RE images are. If at this point you apparently have messed with these partitions, the following steps will be of no use.

2. Run command prompt as administrator, and then input

reagentc /info​

This will tell you the state of your recovery agent. Mine was disabled, and both the WinRE directory and Recovery Image directory were blank.

3. Open Partition Wizard. You will have to look for a partition (other than your C partition) that is at least ~3.5GB in size. This is where your recovery image is stored. Right-click on the volume, assign a letter (if this option is grayed-out, you must first un-hide the volume) to it. And then click Apply at the upper left-hand corner. Wait for the process to finish.

4. In a separate cmd instance, go to the directory of the recovery partition. In my case, it was R:.

C:\Windows\system32>R:​

R:\>dir​

...and then look for the folder containing Install.wim. Mine was in R:\RecoveryImage\

R:\>cd RecoveryImage​

R:\RecoveryImage>dir​

You should see the Install.wim file.

5. Going back to the administrator-enabled command prompt instance, input the following:

reagentc /setosimage [path of folder containing Install.wim] /path C:\\Windows\ /Index1​

(My scenario was: reagentc /setosimage /path R:\\RecoveryImage\ /target C:\\Windows\ /Index1)
If successful, it should output the following:

Directory set to: \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\hardisk0\partition5\RecoveryImage​

REAGENTIC.EXE: Operation Successful.​

C:\Windows\system32>​

(The partition# part will depend on the location of the recovery image. In the first link I posted, the user reported that his recovery image was on partition2.)

6. Run reagentc /info again. It should still be disabled, and the WinRE directory still blank. But the Recovery Image directory should now be set to the address stated above (step 5). At this point, enter

reagentc /enable​

It might take a while, but wait for the OPERATION SUCCESSFUL message. If successful, check for the status by running reagentc /info again. This time, it should be enabled, and the WinRE directory automagically set-up. In my case, the WinRE directory was set to a hidden partition around 300MB in size.
*If the WinRE directory wasn't set-up, refer to the 2nd link I posted. You will have to find a winre.wim file in your directories/partitions.

7. Open Partition Wizard, and then hide the recovery partition we assigned a letter to earlier. Click Apply and wait for the process to finish. After it finishes, unhide the drive again, but this time, you don't have to assign a letter. Click Apply, and wait for the process to finish.

8. You should be able to perform Refresh or Reset now.

Other notes:
- To reiterate, my problem was not that I was missing the recovery partitions. They were still intact, what was missing were simply the pointers to their locations. The missing recovery partitions problem was prominent with people who upgraded their windows 8 to windows 8.1. This is not it.
- Apparently the Refresh/Reset operations need at least two files in the proper locations to work: winre.wim and install.wim. In my case, both were located in separate partitions.
- I tried these steps without doing step 1, and it was a no go. The message 'Could not find recovery environment' did not appear, but after a restart to initialize the reset process, I ended up with a bright, blue screen displaying a ramdisk error. It might work with others, though.
- I have tried Step 3, assigning a letter to the recovery volume, using DISKPART, but I always end up with the error 'Object not found' when trying to retain the said volume. Without the retain command, the reagentc cannot access the volume.
- The same 'Could not find recovery environment' message appears when you try to create a recovery drive with your partitions messed up.
- If, by chance, you deleted your recovery partitions and do not want to go through the hassle of sending your system back to your OEM just to enable Refresh/Reset, you may want to look at the first link I posted. You most probably will end up with a bare windows installation, without the specific drivers your system originally came with.
- Related to the previous point, if your OS is OEM-installed, the only way of getting hold of an install.wim file legally and without having to go through your OEM is through the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Evaluation ISO. The "proper" way of downloading a Win 8.1 ISO won't work ( Get the ISO you need to create your own Windows 8.1 DVD - TechRepublic ) since you will need a windows 8.1 retail key. Even if you uncover your key with Belarc Advisor or Produkey, it won't work since it is an OEM key, not retail.

Post questions and/or corrections if you have some. I am no expert in this field, I am simply sharing something what I think others can benefit from. And again, this is in no way a perfect workaround. There may be some kinks I haven't noticed.