Windows 11 Gains User Profile Customization and Enhanced Restore Options

Microsoft is rolling out several improvements to Windows 11 through the Beta and Dev channels of the Windows Insider Program. These updates, arriving with revisions 26220.8062 and 26300.8068 respectively, include the ability to customize user profile folder names, refinements to the point-in-time restore feature, and a renaming of the “Drag Tray” to “Drop Tray.” Many of these improvements build upon features initially introduced in the Release Preview channel.

Customizable User Profile Folder Names

Previously requiring command-line intervention, users will soon be able to specify the name of their user profile folder directly during the initial Windows 11 setup. A link will be provided during the computer naming stage of the wizard, expanding a field where the desired folder name can be entered. This customization option will not be available after the initial setup is complete.

Enhanced Point-in-Time Restore

Building on a feature initially released in late November, Microsoft is refining the point-in-time restore functionality. This feature, initially developed in response to incidents like the Crowdstrike case, allows users to revert their systems to a previous restore point, enabling recovery from situations where Windows fails to start. The updated environment now concentrates settings within a dialog box accessible after a User Account Control (UAC) prompt.

The modern interface displays stored restore points and provides a recommendation to connect the computer to a power source during the restore process. It also offers more detailed information about the system version to which the user will be reverting. The feature utilizes the Volume Shadow Copy service for backups and safeguards the system against failures during driver or system updates.

“Drag Tray” Renamed to “Drop Tray”

The “Drag Tray” feature, used for sharing files, has been renamed to “Drop Tray.” In previous builds, the sharing panel was reduced in size to minimize distractions. The setting to toggle this feature has been moved from Settings > System > Contactless sharing to Settings > System > Multitasking.

A complete list of changes can be found on the Windows Insider Blog.

To participate in the Windows Insider Program and access these preview builds, you must be a member. You can learn more and join the program at Microsoft’s Windows Insider page. Access to the Windows Insider Preview ISO downloads requires membership and can be found at Microsoft’s download page.