'Nightmare'--Microsoft Update Breaks Windows For Millions

[usonian]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2026/01/21/nightmare-microsoft-update-breaks-windows-for-millions/

No, it's not you.
Again

“This year’s first mandatory Windows 11 update is a mess,” Windows Latest warns. Users keep reaching out “to share their nightmare experience,.” For those unaware, "this update is a mandatory security patch, so it’s going to attempt installation whether you like it or not.” And that makes failures unavoidable.

Three of the issues have been acknowledged by Microsoft. The Classic Outlook freezing bug, the Remote Desktop Bug, and the failure to shutdown bug. “But it doesn’t look like there were only three issues that needed Microsoft’s attention.”

Microsoft is looking into an issue with desktop.ini that likely means it will be fixed soon. But there’s also a new sleep state issue that is garnering increasing user complaints. This preserves battery and power, but the issue is PCs are not falling asleep as planned.

( incomprehensible paragraph describing the bug here)

All users are advised to watch for additional emergency out-of-band updates to fix outstanding issues. Some may await February’s updates, which means installing it as soon as available. Not great, but unfortunately not that unusual.

[usonian]

1. Kicking with an update. Windows 11 update KB5074109 is breaking systems -- Microsoft says uninstall it ASAP.

Puzzling.

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-urges-uninstalling-the-update-kb5074109-after-bug-reports-on-windows-11-heres-how

Windows 11 users are dealing with yet another update headache, and this time, Microsoft is openly telling people to uninstall the problematic patch. Update KB5074109 has triggered a wave of bug reports ranging from performance issues to broken features, and the company has now published guidance urging affected users to roll it back. It’s the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of Windows updates causing more problems than they solve.

On January 13, 2026, Microsoft started the rollout of the 2026-01 Security Update (KB5074109) (26200.7623) for Windows 11 version 25H2 and 24H2, but shortly after, a number of reports from users started to emerge with different complaints.

yadda

Now, if you use the legacy version of the Outlook app, Microsoft has acknowledged (1) (via WindowsLatest) (2) problems with accounts configured using the POP protocol and profiles with PST files, where users may experience "Outlook hangs and does not exit properly" issues. According to the notes, the problem may occur for any profile that has PSTs stored on OneDrive.

Since the company still doesn't have a permanent fix and the workaround "may be complicated," it's recommending users to either use the web version of the service, relocate the PST files out of OneDrive, or uninstall the build 26200.7623 from the computer.

(1) https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/classic-outlook-profiles-with-pop-accounts-and-psts-hang-after-windows-updates-on-january-13-2026-590fe356-ecc2-49f4-b9e3-bd39fafa58f6#wl
Classic Outlook profiles with POP accounts and PSTs hang after Windows updates on January 13, 2026
Last Updated: January 21, 2026

(2) https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/01/22/microsoft-says-uninstall-windows-11-kb5074109-to-fix-outlook-pop-pst-hang-as-2026s-first-update-causes-havoc/
Outlook POP, PST hang, as 2026’s first update causes havoc
By Mayank Parmar -
January 22, 2026