Windows Insider Build Lets You Repair System With Windows Update

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Certainly easier than a full reinstall.

Windows 11 settings with "Fix problems using Windows update" selected.
(Image credit: Microsoft)

When you're having a problem with your Windows PC, the nuclear option to fix it is often reinstalling the operating system entirely. Sure, this might do the job, but it also means you'll have to ensure you have a backup (which, to be fair, you should have) and spend time getting all your programs and files back in place.

But in a new Canary version (Build 25905) of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft is testing a solution — using Windows Update to repair problems, installing a "repair version" of Windows 11 without removing any of your files, settings or programs. Microsoft announced this feature yesterday in an update to the original launch of the build on July 12.

In theory, this should lead to a version of Windows with everything the way you had it, minus any software or OS glitches that showed up along the way. Windows Insider boss Amanda Langowski and senior program manager Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a blog post that "repair content is displayed on the Windows Update Settings page with the title appended with '(repair version).' This capability can be useful in many instances but is intended to be used for keeping the device secure and up to date."

Those on the Canary builds who want to test the new repair settings can go to Settings > System > Recovery. The option is labeled "Fix problems using Windows Update" and features a reinstall now button.

If it works, this will save frustrated Windows users from getting a bootable USB drive and replacing all their data with copies. But remember, the Canary builds are designed to be "hot off the presses" with limited documentation and may be unstable. So if you're on the primary machine you rely on for work, consider waiting for this to percolate to the beta build or eventually out to a release version.

Comparison between new and old Windows 11 emoji.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Other features in Build 25905 include emoji with a 3D appearance, adding the AI hub to the Microsoft Store, and, surprisingly, getting Zune drivers to install correctly on Windows 11.

Andrew E. Freedman
Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TechieTwo
    Microsoft has probably had so many irate corporate customers who have needed to reinstall everything because of constant Windows crashes that Microsoft decided to try and fix some of the basic Windows problems via a repair module.
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    This seems decades late.

    I understand that I have no understanding about the complexities and dependencies of an OS install. But how hard is it for the OS to check the current files against the "known good" install files and replace ones with corruptions ?
    Reply
  • drtweak
    if it something that needs nuking in my book its because i can't even boot up to get there. A lot of times mixing DISM and SFCSCAN or tossing in the latest ISO and doing an inplace reinstall usually fix all my issues that i come across.
    Reply
  • pug_s
    Windows 11 is so buggy. I've done a fresh install of windows 11 in my main rig 6 months ago and recently Microsoft photo viewer won't open anymore and I have no way to fix it. Maybe this "Repair System" can fix this issue.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    Now what's the difference between this, and the introduced-in-Windows-10 feature of "Repair My PC" and selecting the option to download the most recent, up to date source instead of using local media or original installation media?
    Reply
  • lemongrassgarlic
    pug_s said:
    Windows 11 is so buggy. I've done a fresh install of windows 11 in my main rig 6 months ago and recently Microsoft photo viewer won't open anymore and I have no way to fix it. Maybe this "Repair System" can fix this issue.
    Apps > installed apps > photos >> reset or repair button ?
    or try to install it again via MS store ?
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    Co BIY said:
    This seems decades late.

    I understand that I have no understanding about the complexities and dependencies of an OS install. But how hard is it for the OS to check the current files against the "known good" install files and replace ones with corruptions ?
    That depends on how much they change and don't document, and how they go about things, and Microsoft's way is really bad.

    Apple for example has had this for A LONG LONG TIME, where you can use both the repair partition to "fix" the install, and if that does not work, you can download an image from their servers and repair the install, leaving your software installed.

    Both have saved my behind a lot, though I still back up everything just in case.
    Reply
  • whatever_gong82
    I wonder did MS make sure that this new way to repair your system won't introduce any new bugs into the operating system.
    Reply
  • outsider2k21
    Ya right.. What if windows update is broken? I haven't be able to update my windows 11 due to 0x80070003 error and have tried every possible fix on M$ forum.
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Well, well. A good feature!
    Simpler than reinstall, when it works. Waiting to see results.
    Most times when I have had problems with any windows have been sneaky hardware related.

    First time it was CPU that was not properly installed. Everything worked fine, but after few hours… corrupted system.
    Ones it was m2 ssd that was working fine for intall and maybe couple of ours and after that did corrupt the system. And the last one was CPU that worked like a charm with 2 memory sticks. When I did add two more sticks… few days later corrupted system. Take extra memory chips of… everything works fine. Changed the second pair of memory chips. Everything worked fine. With all 4… system corrution. I did update the CPU many years later and did add the second pair of memory and vola. Everything worked fine. Has been workin ower a year without any problems…
    So hardware problems has been 99% of any windows system file corruption. Sigh… This does not prevent those situation, but can help sometimes. But to the readers… it is not allways the windows fault, it most likely is your hardware that works just fine in most tests and seems to be just fine… while it is not.
    Reply