If you have used Windows long enough, you have probably come into contact with Startup Repair at one point. The feature aims to resolve issues that prevent the operating system from starting up. It is a hit and miss kind of feature for many users though, as it relies solely on local files. All in all, it is not overly reliable.
Quick Machine Recovery extends the functionality to the cloud and Windows Update. The main idea is to improve recovery of Windows systems when boot issues are encountered. Designed primarily for administrators who manage multiple devices, Quick Machine Recovery adds cloud files and data to the recovery process.
The new feature uses a Windows Recovery Environment to “scan Windows Update for remediation options” according to Microsoft. The company says that this “allows devices to be recovered without requiring manual intervention”.
Quick Machine Recovery supports two recovery options:
- Cloud remediation.
- Auto remediation.
Cloud remediation
The feature uses Windows Update to fix issues experienced on the device. It requires an Internet connection and may download data from Windows Update to correct issues. If the feature is not enabled, Windows will use the local-only Startup Repair feature instead to attempt to fix the problem.
Auto remediation
This automates the problem solving. Windows will connect to Windows Update automatically to try and fix the issue. It will retry to correct the issue several times automatically.
The Quick Machine Recovery process
Five steps make up the remediation process:
- Device crashes or fails to boot.
- Boot into recovery to start the Quick Machine Recovery process.
- Establish a network connection to scan Windows Update for fixes.
- Remediation, which attempts to apply fixes found by downloading data from Windows Update.
- Reboot to either boot into Windows, if a fix was applied successfully, or to restart the process from step 2.
Default configuration
The default configuration depends on the Windows edition:
- Windows Home: cloud remediation is enabled by default, auto remediation is disabled by default.
- Windows Pro, Enterprise: both remediations are disabled by default.
Administrators find instructions on Microsoft’s Learn website that explain how to enable or disable the feature.
Closing Words
Tests will show how well the cloud-based recovery feature will perform. For now, it is only available in test versions of Windows 11.
Now You: what is your take on this new recovery feature? Do you think it will work better than the local-only Startup Repair?
A needed tool in the arena of Windows 11, implicitly admitting that the OS is a mess and that its updates — often, very often, too often — bring extra mess after having fixed previous mess. Microsoft brings the ambulance right into the crime zone, because the company knows as we all do that Windows 11 is bound to initiate one problem after another. When the OS will have been definitely fixed (if ever) it’ll be time to upgrade to the next version… and the nightmare will reset.
Microsoft, a 21st century technical odyssey and advertisement/tracking pain dome. I shall never switch to Microsoft’s latest OS eccentricities, never.
“What is your take on this new recovery feature? Do you think it will work better than the local-only Startup Repair?”
I can’t see where it would help unless MS deployed an update that screwed up the boot process for millions. It sounds like MS is covering for its own incompetence when deploying updates.
[Startup Repair has never fixed a boot issue for me. How many issues are still unresolved with 24H2?]
Major boot issues usually mean crucial files are corrupted, most likely from user error. I’m thinking the feature could work like an in-place repair without the need to actually boot into the system.
Genie Timeline or the old BackInTime programs? System Restore should be enough.
I’m thankful that the files/programs on my computer don’t change that often; I can image the computer twice a month. If something happens, I can go back to the image. Yes, I will lose some files, but . . . .
Is it any wonder that there are so many backup programs available? Since MS hasn’t provided an option for full-scale recovery, other than the Reset, third parties come to the rescue.
MS seems to operate under a ‘Hegelian-Dialectic’ type philosophy.
FYI: Glad I finally found y’all again…Thanks for all you do.
Definitely not for me since I’ve limited Windows 11 to 22h2 and want to keep it that way.
In the event that the system won’t boot, I’ll first of all try booting to the previous System Restore point I created, but failing that I’ll use one of the system images I regularly create which are located on an external drive.
Once again, I don’t need new features, I need an OS that works.