Articles about Windows Update

We have already written about the KB5008353 update that was released for Windows 11 last month. Made available as a preview, the update addressed a number of issues with the operating system, including problems with Bluetooth audio and the taskbar.

But it seems there may have been more to KB5008353 than met the eye, or than Microsoft revealed. According to reports, the update has helped to boost the performance of Windows 11 while apparently fixing an on-going issue with various types of hard drive.

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While Microsoft may have released more than its fair share of problematic updates, it's still a good idea to keep Windows fully updated to help minimize the risk of security issues. But there are plenty of systems out there which are not up to date. Why is this?

It could be that it is not a matter of user error, or even there being a problem with Windows Update itself. Rather the issue could stem from the simple fact that a computer needs to be connected to the internet for an unexpectedly lengthy period of time in order to guarantee reliable update installation. Microsoft has revealed the surprising data surrounding update delivery.

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Having released a preview of next month's updates for Windows 11, Microsoft has also done the same for Windows 10. With the release of KB5009596, the company has addressed an issue that prevented the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) localhost relay from starting, as well as fixing a couple of audio problems.

This particular update also sees the addition of a reminder to Internet Explorer 11 users about the browser’s upcoming retirement. One of the more interesting additions that comes with the KB5009596 update is the new feature called Sync Your Settings which has been designed to make it easier to migrate to Windows 11.

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We are coming to the end of the month and that means it is time for Microsoft to unleash the preview versions of the Windows updates that will be released on Patch Tuesday. As such, the company has released the KB5008353 update preview for Windows 11, addressing dozens of issues.

The list of changes, fixes and improvements included in this optional, non-security update is fairly lengthy, but there are some definite highlights. Among the most significant changes are fixes for problems with Bluetooth audio, as well as fixes for issues with Windows 11's taskbar that caused app icons to appear unnecessarily.

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It is, of course, no secret that Microsoft would like as many people as possible to use Windows 11. While it may not be realistic for the company to expect all computer users -- or even all Windows users, for that matter -- to install the latest version of the operating system, it can at the very least ensure that it minimizes the number of systems out there running unsupported versions of Windows.

And this is precisely what is happening with machines that currently have Windows 10 2004 installed. Microsoft is automatically (or forcibly, depending on your perspective) upgrading such computers to Windows 10 21H2. And next in the company's sights are people still running Windows 10 20H2.

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The first Patch Tuesday of 2022 was little different to those in preceding months in as much as the updates released by Microsoft caused various problems for lots of Windows users -- quelle surprise!

As a result, the company has been forced to release a series of out-of-band updates for numerous versions of Windows. The updates (KB5010789, KB5010790, KB5010792, KB5010793, KB5010794, KB5010795, KB5010796, KB5010797, KB5010798 and KB5010799) fix problems with virtual machines, VPN connections, Windows Server Domain Controllers and more.

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The first Patch Tuesday of 2022 ended up being rather more dramatic that many would have expected -- and not for the right reasons. The company released the KB5009566 update which, along with another update, was later found to cause problems with VPN connections. But it was issue with Window Server updates that concerns system administrators.

No fewer than three updates were found to be problematic for different versions of Windows Server, ultimately leading to Microsoft halting the rollout of KB5009624, KB5009557 and KB5009555. And while the Hyper-V issues introduced by the patches are still to be fixed, Microsoft has nonetheless recommenced the rollout of the update, saying that it is investigating the problems.

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Problems with updates are hardly a new phenomenon for Microsoft, but 2022 has not got off to a good start. Not only were the KB5009543 and KB5009566 updates found to break VPN connections, another trio of updates has now been pulled because it contains critical bugs.

The KB5009624, KB5009557 and KB5009555 updates have been withdrawn because they are causing Hyper-V to stop working. The problematic updates have also be found to cause domain controller reboots and to render ReFS volume systems inaccessible.

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Updates for Windows are supposed to fix problems, boost security and add new features, but all too often they cause problems of their own. This month's Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 are no different in this regard.

Earlier this week, Microsoft released KB5009543 for Windows 10 and KB5009566 for Windows 11. Users who have installed either of these updates are reporting issues with L2TP VPN connections.

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Microsoft has fixed a critical vulnerability which affects several versions of its operating system including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.

The security bug is an HTTP vulnerability which is tracked as CVE-2022-21907 and Microsoft warns it is wormable. The company has issued a fix for the flaw and says that users should prioritize installing it to secure their systems.

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Microsoft has released the first cumulative patch of 2022 for Windows 11 in the form of the KB5009566 update.

The patch is a mandatory cumulative update that addresses security problems thanks to the inclusion of January 2022 Patch Tuesday fixes. These address no fewer than six zero-day vulnerabilities, and a total of 97 security issues in all. The KB5009566 update also address a long-standing issue with Windows 11 and takes the operating system up to build 22000.434.

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Microsoft has acknowledged an issue following the installation of the KB5008212 update. The problem causes email searching in Outlook to break, and no fix is currently available.

To let people know about the issue, and to provide details of a workaround, Microsoft has published a support document entitled "Outlook Search not showing recent emails after Windows update KB5008212".

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In what is the last scheduled update for Windows 11 this year, Microsoft released the KB5008215 update. The update takes the operating system up to build 22000.376 and includes numerous security fixes.

Among the changes introduced in this update are new emoji, as well as a fix for an issue that prevented the appearance of File Explorer and desktop shortcut menus. The fixes for SSD performance problems addressed by the previously released KB5007262 are also included.

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Just a few days ago we reported about an issue with reduced SSD performance in Windows 11. There have been numerous complaints from users about poor write speeds after upgrading from Windows 10, and while Microsoft has not made a big announcement about it, it seems that a fix may already be available.

The reason the company is yet to make a fuss about the availability of a fix is that it is part of an update preview -- something that not everyone will be comfortable installing. But for anyone suffering with poor drive speeds under Windows 11, the recently released KB5007262 update could be the solutiuon.

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The importance of installing the latest patches and fixes for Windows cannot really be overstated. As well as helping to boost security and fix problems, updates can also add new features to Windows.

While there is a lot to be said in favor of enabling automatic updates, there's nothing wrong with performing manual check as well or instead. Unfortunately, Microsoft has hidden the option to check for updates away in the Settings app meaning it is a pain to access. Here's how to add an update check option to the context menu in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

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