ReFS 3.12 doesn't boot newer Windows 11 versions yet

Microsoft released a new Windows installation setup experience, last week, with the release of Build 26040 to the Canary Channel, and it was found that the new setup doesn’t support automatic drive formatting to ReFS.

Now, a few days later, we know why: when trying to boot the new version of Windows on ReFS 3.12, the system reboots repeatedly, according to the same Windows Insider who spotted the inconsistency in the new UI.

However, it has been going on like this for several months now, as the spotter also posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) in November 2023, stating that booting a newer Windows version on a ReFS volume was not possible.

It seems that the Redmond-based tech giant hasn’t made any progress since then when it comes to ReFS 3.12 compatibility with newer Windows versions.

Older ReFS versions, such as 3.10, should have no problems booting the newer Windows versions, so it’s advisable to use that version when booting Windows on a ReFS volume.

ReFS is a relatively new format, and it stands for Resilient File System. It debuted sometime around the release of Windows 8, back in 2011-2012, and installing Windows on such a drive can be quite beneficial for you, as you can see in this article, as it can improve performance, support scalability, and, as its name suggests, it’s much more resilient to corruptions of any kind.

It’s worth mentioning that the ReFS format is available only on certain editions of Windows 10/Windows 11, as Microsoft states:

Applies to: Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012

Microsoft

The Redmond-based tech giant might still need some time to work on ReFS 3.12’s compatibility with newer Windows versions, so, as we mentioned earlier, users might want to opt for version 3.10.