Windows 11 adds auto-recovery, kills offline setup loophole

Windows Insiders will soon get their hands on Microsoft's attempt to ward off another CrowdStrike incident, and the company is also closing a loophole for users who don't want a Microsoft account.

Quick Machine Recovery (QMR) is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Beta channel as part of build 26120.3653. It is aimed at saving administrators from the task of dealing with PCs left unbootable by, for example, a problematic update released by a security vendor.

The feature, which is enabled by default for home users, sends a device into the Windows Recovery Environment (RE) if a critical failure prevents normal booting. Windows RE then connects to the network to communicate with Microsoft's recovery services. Microsoft can then pinpoint the root cause and deploy targeted remediation.

IT administrators can choose to turn the feature on or off and configure the scanning interval to check for ...