Microsoft is launching Cloud Rebuild, a Windows 11 recovery feature that bypasses USB
Forget the USB drive.
Image by Huzaifa115511 | Shutterstock
- Microsoft is testing Cloud Rebuild, a Windows 11 recovery feature that reinstalls the operating system without USB media.
- The tool downloads Windows and device drivers from Windows Update, even when the installed operating system will not boot.
- Cloud Rebuild is currently available to Windows Insider Program, with a wider rollout possible in the coming months.
- The feature arrives as Microsoft faces resistance from Windows 10 users over upgrade costs, privacy, AI features, and bugs.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
The feature can reinstall the operating system and download the device's drivers directly from the cloud.
Microsoft has introduced a new recovery feature for Windows PC users.
The new reboot option lets users reinstall their OS in the cloud. The company calls this reboot option Cloud Rebuild, which can restore a device to a “clean, known-good state by performing a full OS reinstall.”
Microsoft noted that the new recovery option works “even when Windows won't boot.”
The new feature “downloads both the target Windows image and the device's drivers from Windows Update, so the device comes back fully functional without USB media, without a custom image, and without depending on the health of the currently installed OS,” reported Microsoft.
While “Reset your PC” also includes a cloud download option, it's useless when the OS is unbootable. This is when Cloud Rebuilt comes into play.
For now, the feature has only been available in preview for Windows Insiders, users who are a part of the Windows Insider program, created to test and preview new features in Windows 11 Preview Builds.
Nevertheless, the feature may be rolled out to all Windows users in the coming months, Windows Central noted.
A useful alternative?
The new feature revealed that users have different opinions on the matter.
“This is just netboot,” wrote one user, referring to the process of starting a computer from a network rather than a local drive.
“A useful feature that should've made it into Windows much sooner. Mac OS introduced its internet recovery with OS X 10.7 "Lion" 15 years ago in July 2011,” added another Redditor.
“Good, more options are always better,” shared a netizen.
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However, some users noted a possible flaw with one user sharing:
“Macs have had this option for years, but the ‘estimated time’ is a total mess. And to be fair, it was a total mess even before it was a connected option (even if you install from DVD or USB is still a mess). It says 26 minutes remaining and it lasts 2.6 hours,” noted the user.
Windows 11 will soon be able to reinstall itself and your drivers without a USB drive via new 'Cloud Rebuild' recovery method
by u/Special-Midnight-152 in pcmasterrace
Windows 11 vs Windows 10
While Microsoft is adding new features, it’s not enough to convince some users, especially those who still use Windows 10, to make the switch.
The situation has already reached the point where the company was forced to prolong the Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) program by another year.
The decision came after some users decided not to upgrade their OS to Windows 11, stating that in this case, they would need to buy a new PC or expressing concern over their privacy, the push for AI features, and buggy Windows 11.
Strong password generator
User dissatisfaction even led the company to tone down its AI features.
It’s been recently reported that a Windows 11 bug affected users' storage space.
It’s the CapabilityAccessManager.db-wal file, which is used for Windows privacy and access logging of features like camera, microphone, location, and screen capture, should only take a few megabytes of storage. Instead, in some devices it took several hundred gigabytes.
