Windows 11 is getting some big upgrades to tackle dreaded boot failures and help novices set up their new PC

Date:
Tue, 03 Jun 2025 10:54:35 +0000

Description:
One of the nastiest tech problems of all is when your PC wont boot up and Windows 11 could soon help with that.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Windows 11 has a new preview build out for testers It introduces a useful feature for recovering from boot failures Theres also the start of work in testing on a
PC migration capability

Windows 11 has a new preview release which packs some important features including a new method of recovering a PC thats failing to boot up at all.

This is preview build 26200.5622 in the Dev channel, and it brings in an ability called Quick Machine Recovery (or QMR) which Microsoft has spoken about in the past (it was revealed back at Ignite 2024, in fact).

The idea is that you flick the switch to turn on QMR in the Settings app, and if your PC fails to boot in the future, Windows 11 will try to automatically fix the problem with device recovery solutions.

Itll do this via the Windows Recovery Environment (known as WinRE for short), from where the unbootable PC can hook up to the local network and Microsoft can analyze diagnostic data to determine the problem and (hopefully) pipe through a patch to resolve the bug.

The eventual aim is to enable this by default on all Windows 11 Home PCs, although itll work differently for business devices ( where IT admins will manage the functionality ).

Another major move with this build is the start of the rollout of a new PC-to-PC migration feature for Windows 11. This is just the initial cogs of the machinery being put in place, mind, and all youll see is a landing and pairing page in the Backup app for Windows 11 for now.

But this functionality is coming, and itll allow you to transfer all your files and settings from your current Windows 11 PC to a new one (during the setup process for that machine) with ease.

A fresh option for Phone Link users is the introduction of the ability to mirror your Android phones screen with a single click on an icon in the Start menu. That could prove a very useful shortcut for some folks.

Theres another change for the widgets board, too, where Microsoft has implemented a navigation bar on the left, allowing you to switch between a choice of dashboards. That includes a dedicated widgets board, or other choices such as a sports feed, or games, and so on.

Finally, for those with a Copilot+ PC, theres a new option for Click to Do , the bank of context-sensitive shortcuts to various AI-related abilities. This is Draft with Copilot in Word which can be invoked with any chosen piece of text, and gets Copilot to draft something lengthier on that selection. Analysis: Making life easier (Image credit: Getty Images)

This is a promising build in terms of making things easier for Windows 11 users who are at a more novice level with their computing skills.

While hardened PC enthusiasts may think nothing of setting up a new PC and applying all their preferred settings, along with installing their favorite apps, the less tech-savvy can struggle with getting their house in order in this respect. The PC-to-PC migration facility in the Backup apps sounds like it could be a great solution for these folks.

Similarly, a PC failing to boot is a nightmare for beginners, and indeed
scary for even more knowledgeable Windows 11 users. So QMR with its automated solution-finding analysis of boot issues should be a sizable step forward in troubleshooting PCs that are failing to even reach the desktop. Of course, it will live or die on the quality and accuracy of its troubleshooting skills, which remain to be seen.

The other catch is that its still early days for both these key features, but now theyre in testing officially, we know theyre inbound and I cant see Microsoft dropping them before release, these additions are just too important.

So, its just a matter of time before we see them arrive, perhaps even in Windows 11 25H2 later this year, despite hints that this might be a more modest annual update . You might also like... macOS Tahoe rumored to follow Sequoia here are 3 things to expect from Apples next desktop OS Cant upgrade to Windows 11? This Linux project wants to save your old PC from the
scrapheap when Windows 10 support ends Been hiding from Windows 11 24H2 due
to the fuss about all the bugs? Theres nowhere to run now as Microsofts made the update compulsory



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11-is-getting-some-big-upg rades-to-tackle-dreaded-boot-failures-and-help-novices-set-up-their-new-pc


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)