Microsoft dubs latest Windows 11 release "most reliable version of Windows yet" — PCs that upgrade will see an improved experience compared to Windows 10

Microsoft has revealed that Windows 11 version 24H2 is now the most reliable version of Windows ever made, with unexpected restarts at an all time low compared to the latest version of Windows 10. In a blog post detailing the latest changes coming to the BSOD screen, the company says unexpected restarts are down 24%.

"We’re also proud to share that Windows 11 24H2 is our most reliable version of Windows yet." says Microsoft senior program manager Monika Sandhu in a blog post. "Compared to Windows 10 22H2, failure rates for unexpected restarts have dropped by 24%. These improvements reflect deep collaboration across engineering, design, and user research teams and a commitment to making Windows more resilient for everyone."

Microsoft has made several changes and improvements to the unexpected restart system on Windows 11 in recent weeks. It has redesigned the Blue Screen of Death, replacing it with a new Black Screen of Death (BSOD) that's simpler and quicker at creating crash dumps.

That means the new BSOD won't be on screen for as long as the old one was. Microsoft says it has reduced the amount of time Windows takes to create a crash dump, reducing the BSOD from 40 seconds down to just 2 seconds. This means when your Windows 11 PC does crash, it won't be offline for as long.

Microsoft reckons you likely won't see the BSOD much anyway, but in the rare instance where Windows does crash, it should only take a few seconds to recover. The company has also announced a feature called Quick Machine Recovery, which is designed to help restore access to a Windows PC that has been taken offline by a faulty driver or update.

Quick Machine Recovery is another feature designed to improve the reliability of the Windows OS. Previously, if a Windows PC found itself in a boot loop, there wasn't much the user could do without physical access to the machine. Quick Machine Recovery allows Windows to automatically troubleshoot and attempt to fix issues that may be causing a boot loop.

These reliability improvements are available to all Windows 11 users who upgrade to version 24H2. That means if you're running Windows 10 or an older version of Windows 11, you should consider upgrading if you can for an improved Windows experience on your existing PC.

Windows 10 is almost dead

Later this year, Microsoft will pull the plug on mainstream support for Windows 10 PCs. On October 14, your Windows 10 PC will no longer receive security updates automatically. Users can choose to enrol in Microsoft's extended security updates program for an additional year of security updates, or upgrade to a new Windows 11 PC if their existing one doesn't support it.

The company has made several improvements to Windows 11 to ensure the upgrade process is worth the users while. In recent weeks, Windows 11 gained a new PC transfer feature which is designed to make moving from a Windows 10 PC to a Windows 11 PC as seamless and straightforward as possible, bringing with you your apps and documents.

Microsoft has also announced that the upcoming Windows 11 version 25H2 release will be built on the same reliable platform as version 24H2. That means there won't be any compatibility issues or platform instability concerns when the next Windows 11 version releases this fall, as it will be based on the same tried and test platform release as version 24H2, which Microsoft just called the most reliable version of Windows ever.

If you're still running an older version of Windows 11, it's highly advised to upgrade to version 24H2 now so that you can experience the more reliable platform release and prepare for version 25H2. Windows 10 users should also be considering the move to Windows 11 at this point, whether that be via an in-place upgrade on their existing machines, or by buying a new PC with Windows 11 installed.