You might want to avoid the latest Windows 11 update. Frustrated PC owners have complained the latest software update issued by Microsoft is causing serious problems.
The update, referred as KB5035853, started to roll out on March 12, 2024. However, as more Windows users started to download the software, which is available for Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2, reports of issues started to emerge.
Users rushed to social news website Reddit to complain about errors, including the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) error screen that signals a fatal system error.
“This update caused my PC to hard freeze twice today, so I rolled back to the previous update with the system restore,” one Windows 11 user posted in a rapidly-growing thread.
Another warned fellow PC owners: “This update caused a windows to crash on startup. Got blue screen error. Had to rollback. Just a warning. That happen to anyone else?”
"Happened to me too, it would boot loop and eventually boot to a blue screen, 0xc0000225,” another user on Reddit added. One frustrated user shared: " Major f***ing fail on this update"
“Getting blue screen can't access boot device after this update,” another Reddit user agreed “Really disappointing when a OS update I didn't specifically select to be installed is installed and f***s up my PC. Hoping a system restore or something fixes it.”
Even those who haven’t been plagued by this critical error warning seem to be experiencing problems. Sluggish load times when rebooting your PC after the update to KB5035853 seem to be fairly commonplace, reports suggest. Overall system performance also seems to have taken a hit.
“Anyone else having SEVERE slowdown and chugging with everything after the install? I can't do anything because of this. My PC is unusablely slow,” one PC owner shared in the Reddit thread.
Based on the growing thread of issues surrounding KB5035853, here are some of the issues plaguing users so far...
- Taskbar at the bottom of the screen becomes transparent
- Performance slows down and stutters
- Slower time to boot-up
- Slower performance overall across operating system
- Blue Screen of Death error messages with various error codes
- Endless boot loops leave PC owners unable to use machine
- Microsoft Edge refuses to open
- Sluggish loading or Ribbon banner in File Explorer
The update KB5035853 is designed to bring a number of useful features to Windows 11 users. It includes the ability to edit photos from your Android smartphone using the Snipping Tool. Support for faster wired internet connection via USB4 v2.0 and speeds up to 80Gbps are bundled too.
As always, the update contains the latest security patches and bug fixes too. Running the latest version of the software is one of the best lines of defence against scammers and malware, security experts advise.
The support page for KB5035853 currently states that "Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update". However, given the growing grumbles online, that could change very soon.
If you've already upgraded Windows 11 and want to travel back in time to an earlier version, head to Settings > Update & Security. Then click on Recovery from the menu on the left-hand side.
Then click Go Back To The Previous Version Of Windows > Get Started. You only get a certain amount of time to roll back after updating to a new version of the operating system, so you'll need to act quickly.
