#windows-11-servicing

#windows-11-servicing

There are a couple of conditions to keep in mind. Using Recovery Drive resets Windows back to its initial factory state. Specifically, the recovery stores all built-in Windows files, any updates installed when you set up the drive, and any customizations from the PC maker. Your customizations, personal files, and any apps you've installed are not included, so you'll want to make sure you have separate backups of those items.

Microsoft PC Manager, which first appeared in beta form in 2022, and is now available for free to anyone who wants to give it a try. Microsoft promises it "effortlessly enhances PC performance with just one click," and will "keep your PC running smoothly." In other words, it's intended to clean up some of the clutter and baggage that your PC may have accumulated over the years.

Releasing a new version of Windows that just covers new Arm PCs is another signal of Microsoft's commitment to Arm processors and the Arm version of Windows, after decades of near-exclusive focus on the x86 version of the OS that ran on Intel and AMD's chips. Microsoft offered multiple versions of both Windows 10 and Windows 11 in both x86 and Arm editions, but the 24H2 update was a major milestone for Arm PCs.

I don't think any organization wants to pay for ESU licenses. Many organizations will migrate, but a non-trivial subset will rely on ESU as a safety net because their constraints are less about 'deciding to upgrade' and more about validating dependencies and coordinating operational downtime.

But are things getting worse? According to Register readers, and the company's own release health dashboard, the answer has to be yes. It isn't just you. The frequency of emergency out-of-band releases for the company's operating systems has been rapidly increasing to the point where, for every Patch Tuesday update, there'll likely be at least one out-of-band patch to fix whatever got broken.