Windows 10 update will soon enable cloud reinstalls

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Users looking to reinstall Windows 10 will soon be able to do so just by going online, Microsoft has revealed

The latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build includes a new option when resetting your PC that will tie to a cloud download of Windows. 

Until now, anyone looking to reinstall Windows would have needed to use an external copy of the software, or choose to utilise a local copy, which is often already stored on a PC and therefore at risk of corruption or other faults.

Reset

The new option is included as part of the "Reset this PC" menu in the Recovery section of Windows Settings, and will reinstall the same build, version, and edition of Windows that was installed on the device. Previously, Reset this PC used local files to build a new Windows installation from exisiting files.

This new cloud download option is available to all Windows 10 devices and is different from the “Recover from the cloud” feature available on some earlier Windows 10 devices. Microsoft says the new addition was inspired by users saying they would prefer to use their high-speed internet connection to speed up the re-install process by just downloading Windows.

The company adds that doing so will remove any apps installed on the device - and that if the "Remove everything" option is selected, then user data will be deleted as well.

Microsoft will be hoping that the new release helps encourage even more uptake of the latest versions of Windows 10. 

Recent figures from the company show that its Windows 10 May 2019 Update rollout has accelerated speedily, with the upgrade now on 33 percent of Windows 10 machines – that figure having tripled since the previous month.

Via Engadget

Mike Moore
Deputy Editor, TechRadar Pro

Mike Moore is Deputy Editor at TechRadar Pro. He has worked as a B2B and B2C tech journalist for nearly a decade, including at one of the UK's leading national newspapers and fellow Future title ITProPortal, and when he's not keeping track of all the latest enterprise and workplace trends, can most likely be found watching, following or taking part in some kind of sport.