Articles about Windows Update

Microsoft has acknowledged that two recent updates for Windows 10 are causing problems for users. People who have installed KB4598299 and KB4598301 are reporting BSoDs as well as app crashes.

The two updates (released Windows 10 versions 1909, 2004 and 20H2) were supposed to address issues in .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8, but they have -- as is increasingly common with Windows updates -- introduced new problems of their own.

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Microsoft has changed the status of both Windows 10 version 2004 and version 1909, marking them as being ready for "broad deployment".

In the case of Windows 10 version 1909 (or Windows 10 November 2019 Update), the company says it is "designated ready for broad deployment for all users via Windows Update". For Windows 10 version 2004 (aka Windows 10 May 2020 Update), however, the status has been updated to indicate that it is merely "designated for broad deployment". And there is a reason for the difference between the two.

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Microsoft has released a new update for Windows 10, addressing various issues that have plagued users.

Although the KB4598291 update is an optional one, it fixes so many problems that many people are going to want to get it installed straight away. This particular update is only available for Windows 10 May 2020 Update (version 2004) and Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2).

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Installing updates in Windows 10 can be something of a gamble -- will the latest patches make things better or worse? For people with Conexant ISST audio drivers, there have been numerous issues in Windows 10 May 2020 Update (or Windows 10 version 2004).

Users trying to update these drivers found that the update process would fail or produce errors during or after setup. Having worked with Synaptics, Microsoft has identified a compatibility issue and also provided details of a workaround.

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Normally when Microsoft adds new features to Windows 10, it does so using the twice-yearly Feature Updates -- such as Windows 10 May 2020 Update and Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2). But this is changing.

We have seen references to Windows Feature Experience Pack updates in preview builds of Windows 10, and now Microsoft is starting to test out the feature. Using the new method of delivering updates, the company is bringing some interesting new features and options to the operating system.

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The latest update for Windows 10 that is proving to be problematic for people is the recently released KB4586781. While not causing quite as many issues as other updates, it is still causing plenty of problems.

KB4586781 is a cumulative update for people running Windows 10 May 2020 Update and Windows 10 October 2020 Update. Among the issues being reported by users are error codes 0x8007000d and 0x800f0831.

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After years of posing a security risk to millions of computers around the world, Flash is finally being killed off at the end of the year. Ahead of this, Microsoft has released a tool to help people remove Flash from Windows 8.x, Windows 10 and Windows Server.

The KB4577586 update not only purges systems of Adobe Flash Player, but also prevents the software from being installed again.

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Updates for Windows 10 are frequently problematic, causing a wide range of issues both large and small for users. Sometimes, Microsoft intervenes while it investigates problems, and puts a block on certain updates for systems and hardware configurations that are known to run into troubles with a particular release.

While this makes sense, many people prefer the idea of being in control of what they can and cannot install on their own computers. If you would like to get around one of these Microsoft-imposed compatibility holds/update blocks, here what you need to do.

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Emotet began life as a banking Trojan back in 2014 but has since evolved into something much worse -- a self-propagating platform that can deploy multiple exploits and spam campaigns.

The number one malware threat today, Emotet usually takes a break during the summer months while the developers behind it work to add new features and capabilities, and now it’s back with a new 'Windows Update' attachment.

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A few days ago, Microsoft released a new cumulative update for Windows 10. The KB4579311 update was supposed to fix a range of issues with the operating system including various security problem, but -- once again – this update is proving problematic for many people.

The problems that have been reported range from failed installation with a 0x800f0988, 0x80073701 or 0x8007000d error code, to black screens, printing issues, to not being able to log into Windows 10.

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Microsoft has teamed up with HP to work on a fix for a problem affecting various HP Business Notebooks. The flaw not only causes a reduction in performance and battery life, but can also lead to swollen batteries.

The problem lies with the HP Battery Health Manager, and the update from Microsoft and HP is rolling out to enable a new charging algorithm to help alleviate the issue.

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Updates to Windows 10 have become renown for introducing just as many problems as they aim to fix. Recent updates led to problems with Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) displaying an "Element not found" error, and there were also various problems with internet connectivity.

To address these issues, Microsoft has now released the "non-security update" KB4577063. The patch also fixes a number of other problems Windows 10 users have been experiencing.

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If you have installed KB4568831 for Windows 10 on your Lenovo ThinkPad, you may well have encountered the crashing issues caused by the update. Those affected by the problem have been hit by SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED error messages, and 0xc0000005 Access Denied messages in log files and memory dumps.

Microsoft has now acknowledged that there is an issue and has offered details of a workaround -- although you may want to think about whether you really want to follow the mitigation advice because of the security implications.

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Since adopting the Chromium engine for Edge, Microsoft has been eager for people to move away from the legacy version of its web browser.

To help ensure compliance with its wishes, the company has released the KB4576754 update which forces the installation of the new Microsoft Edge and removes the old version. With the update being mandatory, anyone wanting to avoid Edge will have to take action.

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Another month, another Patch Tuesday. Earlier this week Microsoft released a series of updates for Windows 10, including KB4571756, a cumulative update designed to fix a range of security issues.

But many people installing KB4571756 have found that the update breaks Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. Microsoft is yet to acknowledge this as a known issue, but many people are experiencing "Element not found" errors in WSL 2 as well as seeing the message "Process exited with code 4294967295".

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