Windows 11's cloud-based recovery tool gets new features on the Experimental branch

Published Sep 18, 2026, 1:45 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary Cloud Rebuild can now sanitize drives before reinstalling Windows, preventing leftover data access. Admins can remotely trigger Cloud Rebuild via Recovery CSP, letting IT reimage PCs over the internet. Experimental branch adds accessibility tweaks (cursor animation, Magnifier contrast) before wider rollout. Right now, Microsoft is developing Cloud rebuild, a way to reinstall Windows 11 and all your drivers over the internet without USB media. While it's already pretty impressive as-is, the company is still adding new features before it deems it ready for prime time. The newest update to the Experimental branch now Windows 11's Experimental branch now lets Cloud rebuild sanitize drives before reinstalling It's a pretty important step for security Credit: Microsoft Over on Windows Blogs, Microsoft reveals what people on the Experimental branch can expect from the newest patch. The Experimental branch is where all changes normally start before working their way up through the Beta and Release Preview branches before it's deemed ready for release, so you won't see this on your PC unless you opted into Experimental. For this week's patch, we're getting a sleeker animation for the Mouse cursor, which you can enable within the Accessibility settings, alongside a contrast theme for Magnifier for people on a low-glare screen. To round it off, Cloud rebuild is getting some nice new tools: We’re updating Cloud rebuild, the recovery option that restores a Windows 11 PC to a clean, known-good state by performing a full OS reinstall, with two additions. Cloud rebuild can now sanitize the device’s drives as part of the rebuild and IT administrators can now configure and start Cloud rebuild remotely through the Recovery CSP. The 'sanitize' part means cleaning the disk of data before reinstalling Windows on it. Beforehand, there was a chance that old files were 'left over' on the drive, which someone could still access if they knew what they were doing. This new step should ensure nothing survives the reinstall, which makes it a great tool if you, say, plan to sell your Windows PC and you don't want the buyer going through your 'deleted' personal files. The 'Recovery CSP' part means that an IT administrator at a company can trigger a cloud rebuild over the internet. It's not something a user will be doing on their home PC, but for all the IT admins out there, I can imagine it'll save a trip around the office.