Microsoft is working on a Windows 11 repair tool. Integrated into Windows Update, this new function will allow you to completely and easily reinstall the system, retaining all files, settings and applications.
To maintain a good level of performance on your computer or to restore it to working order, it is sometimes necessary to completely reinstall the operating system. If Windows 11 has gained a lot in stability compared to its predecessors and has made this operation less recurring thanks to its integrated repair tools, it may still happen that a total reinstallation of the system is the only solution to certain problems.
Microsoft’s system already offers several options for carrying out a complete overhaul and starting from scratch, but this process can be long and (a little) complex for less experienced users. In addition, it can lead to the loss of certain data, in particular installed applications and settings made. Laptops sometimes offer factory reset solutions, with options to retain some or all personal data, but these are manufacturer-dependent and vary from PC to PC.
Fortunately, Microsoft seems to be working on a new Windows 11 full reinstallation feature, which will be integrated directly into the Windows Update tool. This information, spotted by the site Windows Latestcomes from a note dated July 12, 2023 on the Windows Insider blog, in which Microsoft announced the appearance of a new recovery option. We must believe that the publisher has made good progress on the project since then, since this function is currently being tested within the beta versions of the Canary Channel of the Windows Insider program.
System Recovery: a new section in Windows Update
This new function will appear in the menu Settings > System > Recoveryjust below the option Fix problems without resetting your personal computer and would adopt the ambiguous name of Fix problems via Windows Update (Fix problems using Windows Update in English).
As the short description below the feature name states, this process should “reinstall your current version of Windows” while preserving all of your apps, files, and settings. This tool works a priori by downloading, directly from Windows Update, a “clean” copy of the version of Windows 11 currently installed on the computer, and reinstalling everything transparently for the user.
Currently, performing a complete reinstallation of the operating system under Windows 11 without losing your personal data is only possible in two ways: either by using Media Creation Tool, a Microsoft tool allowing you to create an installation file on a storage medium such as a USB key, which can be time-consuming and not accessible to everyone; either with a factory reset utility provided with the computer by the manufacturer, but which will often reinstall all the pre-installed (and sometimes unwanted) applications on the computer, which is often called bloatware.
The new method proposed by Microsoft will therefore have the advantage of being simpler to use than existing ones, of being the same for all computers with Windows 11 and of allowing a complete, safe and clean reinstallation of the system. , that is to say without loss of applications, files or settings. It remains to be seen how the process will unfold and whether options will be present to choose more precisely the data to be kept, in order, for example, to exclude certain programs pre-installed by the computer manufacturer.
If Microsoft has not announced any official date for the deployment of this function, it is expected to be delivered during the months of February or March 2024, as part of the Moment 5 update of Windows 11.