Windows Update

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.

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The KB5009624, KB5009557 and KB5009555 updates have been withdrawn because they are causing Hyper-V to stop working.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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

Microsoft has revealed that a recent update for Windows has been causing problems that could have left systems unprotected and open to attack.

After installing the KB5007205 update, some system administrators have found that Microsoft Defender for Endpoint fails. This makes something of a change from the printer problems that so many updates for Windows have caused in recent times, but there is currently no fix available.

It is the time of the month that sees Microsoft releasing preview versions of upcoming updates for Windows, and this is precisely what the company has done with the optional KB5007253 Preview cumulative update for Windows 10.

Available for Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2, 21H1 and 21H2, this update addresses 0x000006e4, 0x0000007c and 0x00000709 errors associated with networking printing. It also includes a fix for the Microsoft Installer (MSI) issue that was causing problems with Kaspersky apps, as well as fixing a laundry list of other problems.

Feature updates for Windows are the updates which are supposed to be the most interesting. Rather than just improving security and fixing problems, they often include new features (hence the name) and are far more significant than regular monthly updates.

So significant are feature updates that they are considered to be new versions of Windows and for Windows 10, Microsoft has been releasing them twice a year -- in the spring and in the fall. But moving forward, after the release of Windows 10 November 2021 Update (21H2), Windows 10 will be brought in line with Windows 11, meaning feature updates will become annual events.

Patch Tuesday has rolled round again, and Microsoft has released a cumulative update for Windows 11.

The KB5007215 update addresses security issues that have been found in the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, and also fixes other problems. Among the issues patched are a screen rendering problem affecting various apps. Microsoft has also released a video including some Windows 11 tips.

Just yesterday we wrote about a series of issues with apps in Windows 11. Users found that the Snipping Tools and various Windows settings did not work, something Microsoft has blamed on an expired certificate.

Now the company has released the KB5008295 update to address the problems, but not everyone is going to be able to install it just yet.

Ahead of next month's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has released a preview version of the KB5006738 update for Windows 10.

There's quite a lot to this cumulative update, but what is probably going to be considered the highlight is the fact that it addresses various printer-related issues that have been plaguing Windows users for some time now.