Articles about Windows Update

If the recent printing problems caused by a string of Windows 10 updates weren't so disruptive -- and if the poor quality of updates from Microsoft hadn't been an issue for so long -- the situation would almost be funny.

As it is, however, those who have been affected by the bug-riddled updates find themselves extraordinarily frustrated and losing trust in Microsoft's ability to deliver reliable software. With so many updates, patches, bug fixes and workarounds having been released in the last couple of weeks, keeping on top of problems has been difficult. This PowerShell script should get things sorted once and for all.

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Microsoft's appalling track record with problematic updates for Windows 10 shows absolutely no signs of abating. If the fiasco that came after this month's Patch Tuesday updates is anything to go by, if anything the situation is getting worse.

Over the last week or so, we have reported about printing problems that followed the release of March's updates, and the subsequent string of patches that not only failed to fix things but, in many cases, actually made things worse. Now the fubar'd fix has been deemed so problematic that Microsoft has taken the decision to pull it.

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The printing problems that were caused by a recent update to Windows 10 have rumbled on, and on, and on... and on.

After the initial issue introduced by the Patch Tuesday updates earlier this month, there were complaints about printing problems from users, an acknowledge from Microsoft, a workaround that didn’t really cut the mustard, a fix that didn't help, and then admissions of further printing problems. Now the company has pushed out yet another out-of-band update which it -- and countless Windows 10 users -- will be hoping gets things sorted once and for all.

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For years, Microsoft has used KB identifiers (or knowledge base identifiers that take the form KBXXXXXXX) to refer to updates for Windows. As well as being a handy means of identifying a particular update, it also provides an easy way to cross reference the same updates across various pieces of documentation.

But last month Microsoft announced that it is changing the system. The company is not getting rid of KB identifiers, but it is changing the way they are used in release notes and support documentation. In many instances, the KB identifier will be hidden in the source code of web pages -- something even Microsoft concedes is "not ideal".

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More complaints are starting to surface about the KB4601319 update for Windows 10. The cumulative update was released last month, and has already been found to cause problems with some webcams.

Now this same update has been found to lead to issues with File History backups. Windows 10 KB4601319 update was pushed to users of the May 2020 Update and October 2020 Update last Patch Tuesday, and it is causing backups to fail for a number of people with a 80070005 error.

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These days, it is almost a given that an update for Windows 10 will not only fix bugs and introduce new options, it is also likely to cause additional problems. It is something that Windows users have been painfully aware of for some time, and Microsoft has been working on a solution.

And that solution is KIR, or Known Issue Rollback. The new system enables Microsoft to rollback changes introduced by problematic patches rolled out through Windows Update. KIR only applies to non-security updates.

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There are many different types of update for Windows 10, some of which are more important than others. To make things easier to manage, both for the company itself and for end users, Microsoft is now integrating servicing stack updates (SSUs) into the latest cumulative updates (LCUs).

Cumulative updates should be familiar to most Windows 10 users, but SSUs are not something that everyone will be aware of. Nonetheless, the change Microsoft is introducing is a important one that should help to reduce update problems in future.

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Ahead of March's Patch Tuesday releases, Microsoft has released a preview of the KB4601382 update. This cumulative update is available for Windows 10 2004 (Windows 10 May 2020 Update) and Windows 10 20H2 (Windows 10 October 2020 Update), and it includes a number of important fixes.

Some of the highlights of this particular update include addressing a screen flicker issue during video playback, fixing a problem that prevented some keyboard keys from working, and improving application startup times in certain scenarios.

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The death of Flash has been on the cards for quite some time. What was once a staple of the online experience soon became little more than a security nightmare, and all of the major web browsers have slowly but surely dropped support for the software. Back in October, Microsoft released an update to not only remove Flash from Windows, but also prevent it from being reinstalled.

Now the company is upping the ante, and is pushing out the KB4577586 update to Windows users. The update is installed automatically and kills Flash once and for all.

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Microsoft has acknowledged a problem with an update for Windows 10 that was released earlier this month. The KB4601319 update was part of February Patch Tuesday releases, and it is causing issues with webcams for some users.

While the impact of the problem appears to be limited to a fairly small number of webcams, the issue is no less irritating for those affected. Thankfully, Microsoft is not only aware of the problem and is working on a fix, but also provides details of a workaround in the meantime.

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Windows 10 users are keenly awaiting the release of the next big update to the operating system. Due for release in the next four months -- in June if a recent leak is correct -- Windows 10 21H1 is not a major release, and this has important implications.

The fear with milestone releases to Windows 10 is that hardware requirements change. But ahead of the release of Windows 10 21H1, Microsoft has made it clear that this will not be the case with this update.

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A cumulative update for Windows 10 is making another appearance as Microsoft prepares users' systems for more significant service updates further down the line.

This is far from being the first time Microsoft has pushed the KB4023057 update, and it's not hard to understand why. This update improves the reliability of the Windows Update Service components which will prove so essential when a bigger feature update is released later in the year.

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Just days after the regular update release date of Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has released an out-of-band patch to address a problem with WPA3 connections in Windows 10.

The KB5001028 update is for Windows 10 version 1909, and it fixes a problem that caused blue screens and stop error 0x7E in nwifi.sys when using a WPA3 connection. Microsoft says that the problems arose after users installed the KB4598298 or KB4601315 updates.

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Whenever Microsoft releases updates for Windows, the company is always keen for as many people as possible to get the patch installed. But with this month's Patch Tuesday bug fixes, the company is encouraging Windows users even more than usual.

Referring to two Critical security issues and one Important one, all affecting TCP/IP, Microsoft says that "it is essential that customers apply Windows updates to address these vulnerabilities as soon as possible". The CVE-2021-24074, CVE-2021-24086 and CVE-2021-24094 vulnerabilities affect Windows 7 upwards.

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This Patch Tuesday -- the second Tuesday of February, yesterday -- Microsoft released fixes for a slew of Windows 10 flaws. Included among a total of 56 vulnerabilities is a critical zero-day which was being actively exploited to gain admin privileges on victims' systems.

But the fix for CVE-2021-1732 (Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability) is just one of 11 fixes for critical bugs this month. In addition, Microsoft has fixed two Moderate vulnerabilities, as well as 43 that are marked as Important.

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