Windows 10 falls victim to yet another serious update fail
The return of Blue Screen of Death
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Reports are emerging thatyet anotherWindows 10update is causing problems for people who have downloaded and installed it.
The update in question isWindows 10KB4540673, and it was only released on March 10. It was supposed to bring a number of security fixes, and even though this was supposed to be a minor update, it appearsMicrosoft’s recent habit of releasing updates that break more things than they fix has struck again.
According toWindows Latest, this new update, which is for Windows 10 versions 1909 and 1903 – so the two most recent major versions of Windows 10 – is reportedly causing some people’s PCs to crash and display the dreaded Blue Screen of Death.
According to a reader of Windows Latest, “After installing it I started having BSOD every time I started my PC. Only solution I had was rolling back to a previous restore points of some days ago.”
There have alsobeen people on Reddit reporting issuessince installing the update, and while the number of cases seems low, it is growing.
More problems
While the most common problem with Windows 10 KB4540673 seems to be PCs randomly crashing – one user reported his PC crashing while playing CS:GO – other users have reported that the update takes an unreasonably long time to download and install.
Another user has also claimed that the update brings back the temporary user profile bug, which replaces the default Windows 10 user account with a new temporary one, removing any desktop icons or customizations. This was an issue thatplagued a lot of peoplewhen it was included in a previous Windows 10 update.
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What should you do?
If you’ve downloaded the Windows 10 KB4540673 update and are encountering any issues, the best way to fix the problem is to uninstall the update.
Open up the Settings app (the cog icon in the Start menu, or by pressing Windows + I on the keyboard), then click ‘Update & security’.
From the window that appears, click ‘Windows Update’ on the left-hand menu, then ‘View update history’.
Click ‘Uninstall updates’ then select KB4540673 to uninstall it. The problems should now be fixed.
You could also use theSystem Restorefeature in Windows 10 to roll back your PC to a time when it was working correctly.
Microsoft has yet to comment on these new problems, and as we stated so far it seems like the issues aren’t too widespread. If you installed the update and you’ve not experienced any problems, then you’ll be fine to continue with it installed.
Matt is TechRadar’s Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there’s no aspect of technology that Matt isn’t passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he’s reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.
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