The Black Cloud

Cloud Rebuild made rebuilding my brother's PC much easier

I had to help my brother rebuild his PC last week after it got hacked. We used Windows 11’s Cloud Rebuild, and it went smoothly. No USB stick to prepare, no DVD-ROM. Who even has one any more? 🤣 It was a much easier way to get Windows reinstalled.

Windows Central has rounded up 11 changes coming to Windows 11 this month. The customisable right-click menu is another welcome one, but Cloud Rebuild is the feature I have wanted for years.

Cloud Rebuild: a fresh start without installation media

The idea is simple: Windows downloads a fresh copy of the operating system and the drivers it needs from Windows Update, then reinstalls Windows. You can start it from Settings, or from the Windows Recovery Environment if Windows will not start.

Official announcement

Microsoft’s official source is its Cloud rebuild support guide, which explains how the feature works and how to start it. I could not find a separate Microsoft news post announcing this November list; the wider roundup is from Windows Central.

To start it from Windows, go to Settings > System > Recovery, then select Rebuild PC next to Rebuild this PC. If Windows will not start, choose Troubleshoot > Cloud rebuild in the recovery environment.

NOTE

Cloud Rebuild removes everything on the PC: personal files, accounts, apps and settings. Back up anything important first, connect to the internet, and keep the PC plugged in until the process finishes. It is available on Windows 11 with the October 2026 non-security update or later.

There is an important caveat for my brother’s situation: Microsoft’s recovery guidance recommends reinstalling Windows using installation media if you suspect malware. Cloud Rebuild worked smoothly for us, but that is my experience; I would not present it as Microsoft’s recommended malware-removal route.

The process also depends on Windows Update having the drivers your PC needs. If a required driver is unavailable, Microsoft says you may need recovery media from the PC manufacturer or Windows installation media instead.

Why I like this

The old process was not difficult because reinstalling Windows itself was complicated; it was the preparation. Find another working computer, download the right files, create a bootable USB drive, and hope you have the right drivers. And if you did not have a spare USB stick? Well, hopefully you still had a DVD-ROM somewhere 🤣

With Cloud Rebuild, we could start the recovery on the PC itself and let it download what it needed. For my brother’s rebuild, the process went smoothly and was much less of a faff. It is one of those features that feels obvious once it exists: if the PC can connect to the internet, why should I have to make the installation media myself?

That does not mean everyone should throw away their recovery USBs. Cloud Rebuild needs a working internet connection and suitable drivers from Windows Update, and Microsoft still documents installation media as an important recovery option. But having a simpler route built into Windows is a massive quality-of-life improvement.

The only problem: setting up a local account

The only problem I had was setting up a local account during the Windows setup that follows the rebuild. Microsoft has patched most of the usual workarounds for this, but the method in this video from Tech Based worked for us 😊

Tech Based published the video on 12 October 2026. It explains that Microsoft has now blocked the old trick of clicking Learn more on the Microsoft account page in Windows 11 26H2, but that creating the local account manually with commands from that sign-in page still works. The local account method starts at 1:28 in the video, and Tech Based also lists the commands in its written guide.

The video shows a second method too, using Rufus to create an installation USB without the online Microsoft account requirement. That is not needed here, because Cloud Rebuild does not use installation media.

NOTE

To use the commands, press Shift + F10 on the Microsoft account sign-in page during setup to open a command prompt, then run the following. Replace User Name with the name you want for the local account:

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net user "User Name" /add
net localgroup "Administrators" "User Name" /add
cd OOBE
msoobe && shutdown -r

The PC then restarts and, according to Tech Based, the setup finishes very quickly. This is a third-party workaround, not an official Microsoft method, so it may stop working in future builds. The commands also do not set a password, so you may want to add one once you are signed in.

The other Windows 11 changes

The other standout in Windows Central’s list is the new right-click menu customisation. It should let you choose which commands and app extensions appear in the main menu, rather than making everyone live with the same clutter.

The roundup also covers updates to accessibility, Phone Link, Settings and gaming. There are some useful refinements in there, but Cloud Rebuild is the one I have now used in a real situation, and I am very glad it was available.

Relevant X posts

Windows Central highlighted the same two improvements: a cleaner context menu and a recovery option that does not require a bootable USB drive.

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#Blog #Windows #Windows 11 #Cloud Rebuild