A Windows 11 preview update adds a menu to customize right-clicks and a way to reinstall Windows from the internet, but the reinstall erases your apps and files.
Microsoft is testing a Windows 11 update that lets you rebuild the right-click menu to suit you. It also adds Cloud Rebuild, a way to reinstall Windows over the internet when a PC will not start. The catch: Cloud Rebuild does not keep your apps or files.
The update adds a "customize menu" button. For years, people complained that Windows 11 hid familiar commands behind a row of icons or under "Show more options." Many used custom scripts and add-on tools to fix it. Now the fix is built in.
Cloud Rebuild can reinstall Windows 11 even when the current copy will not boot. It pulls the Windows image and the system drivers it needs from Windows Update. You do not need a custom recovery image or external media, such as a USB drive.
Microsoft calls it a recovery option, but it acts more like a fresh install than a repair. Existing apps and files are not included. People worried about data security can choose to sanitize the entire system drive before reinstalling.
The preview update is called KB5127936. It covers Windows 11 versions 26H2 and 25H2. It will roll out gradually first, then reach all Windows 11 devices once it reaches general availability. The material does not give a date for that.
Microsoft's latest quarterly report showed weaker Windows numbers. Windows OEM revenue, the money Microsoft earns from Windows sold to PC makers, fell 27%. CFO Amy Hood pointed to several causes: strong demand in the prior year because Windows 10 support was ending, PC makers and resellers working down their stock, and weaker PC demand.
The wider Windows OEM and devices category, which includes Surface, fell 22%. Hood said Microsoft expects these trends to continue through the rest of the fiscal year. New hardware such as the Surface Laptop Ultra and the RTX Spark platform arrived too late in the quarter to count.
Other parts of the business did well. Azure grew 48%, and Microsoft Cloud revenue rose 30%. Cloud now makes up roughly 70% of the company's $92.3 billion quarterly revenue.
Nothing is needed right now, since this is a preview. Still, Cloud Rebuild is a reminder to keep backups of the files and settings you care about. If a PC ever needs this option, the reinstall will not bring them back.
Back up your important files now, because Windows 11's new Cloud Rebuild can get a broken PC running but will not bring back your apps or files.
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