Windows 11 is getting a secret weapon for boot failures - how it works

Have you ever run into trouble trying to boot up your Windows PC? Boot-up errors are among the most challenging to troubleshoot and fix. Now, Microsoft is launching a new tool that will step in when your computer refuses to boot properly.

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Known as Quick Machine Recovery, or QMR, this feature is ready for testing in the latest Windows 11 Insider build. Though Microsoft touts it as a tool for IT administrators, it is also available for home use, where it is turned on by default.

How it works

The Windows Recovery Environment, or WinRE, is a dedicated recovery partition on your computer that attempts to repair boot-up problems. Normally, you might have to trigger WinRE manually, but with QMR, the process is designed to be more automatic.

When a critical boot-up ...