- Windows 11 has a new preview build out for testers
- It introduces a useful feature for recovering from boot failures
- There’s 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 that’s 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.”
It’ll 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 it’ll 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 you’ll see is a landing and pairing page in the Backup app for Windows 11 for now.
But this functionality is coming, and it’ll 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 phone’s screen with a single click on an icon in the Start menu. That could prove a very useful shortcut for some folks.
There’s 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, there’s 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
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 it’s still early days for both these key features, but now they’re in testing officially, we know they’re inbound – and I can’t see Microsoft dropping them before release, these additions are just too important.
So, it’s 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.
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