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Microsoft suspects some PCs might not boot after Windows 11 January 2026 Update
- ronsor 9mo agoI've got to stop doing Windows Updates
- blibble 9mo agojust delete the service entirely, same with defender it's great my only remaining windows PC is for games, and it's on its own vlan with its own external IP if it gets hacked: I simply don't care
- pilif 9mo agoYou should care because once your PC is part of a bot network, it’s part of the problem
- blibble 9mo agoit's running Microslop Windows, so it's born compromised it's an OS with constant built-in ads and spyware it would have been considered malware in the 2000s
- wileydragonfly 9mo ago[flagged]
- shawn_w 9mo agoI had a KMFMS shirt back in the 90's. Lost it in one move or another, alas.
- CamperBob2 9mo agoNot being an incompetent or inexperienced Windows user, I'm vanishingly unlikely to be infected by a bot network trojan... and if that does happen, rest assured, I'll notice it. Windows Update, on the other hand, is part of my threat model.
- brian-armstrong 9mo agoYou don't really need Windows for gaming anymore unless you're playing the games that absolutely insist on kernel-level anti-cheat. Proton is extremely good on Linux these days.
- blibble 9mo agoI have a 2nd nvme in that machine for bazzite not quite there for me yet I'm afraid!
- jayGlow 9mo agosometimes games just won't work on Linux, doom the dark ages refuses to work on Linux for me.
- fh973 9mo agoVR?
- girvo 9mo ago> unless you're playing the games that absolutely insist on kernel-level anti-cheat Sadly, I do :( Valorant is the main one that keeps my Windows partition around, for better or worse. Also sadly still there's some performance overhead for Linux gaming today, I hope that goes away in the future (for Intel/Nvidia cards especially)
- koakuma-chan 9mo agoYou can't do that. Eventually, something will stop working because it requires a certain Windows update.
- nehal3m 9mo agoThen reinstall with a later ISO and cripple it again. On the whole that's probably more reliable.
- PeterStuer 9mo agoIt is called Windows 10.
- imtringued 9mo agoBack when I used Windows, there were plenty of boot looping updates in Windows Vista, 7 and 10. You had three options. Either you disable Windows Updates, reinstall Windows or find a way to delete or prevent the specific patch that breaks your Windows installation. On Windows 10 I was forced to disable Windows Updates altogether, because the updates never finished even after running overnight. I have stopped using Windows since 2018.
- voxadam 9mo agoI suppose that's one way to make Windows secure, keep it from running entirely.
- jampa 9mo agoI am glad that I don't need to use Windows anymore. When I did, the LTSC version (the one made for ATM and Kiosks) was the only one that was productivity-friendly. Microsoft doesn't want to accept that no one cares about Windows, and the OS is the thing that gets you to the thing you want to do. I saw 2 instances of people getting "updating windows" in their personal laptops when they tried to present something and lost everyone's time. I imagine this happens a lot of times every day. And now they are just breaking everyone's system by forcing updates as well.
- MegaDeKay 9mo agoLTSC is what mainstream Windows should be. It doesn't load up a bunch of apps you don't ask for or throw ads in your face all the time. Solid, dependable, reliable, and stable.
- kyriakos 9mo agoIf nobody cared about windows there wouldn't be any posts like this one everyday on HN. The problem is people do care and need to use windows which makes all these stupidity by Microsoft the recent years frustrating.
- jmward01 9mo agoI am personally just a lurker. Windows used to be my only OS for a -very- long time (DOS 2.x, yes 2, was my first MS OS). Now I click on these just to see how far it has fallen. It is like that friend you drifted away from and now you look at their FB posts now and again to watch as they get crazier and crazier.
- wileydragonfly 9mo ago[flagged]
- cjbgkagh 9mo agoNo
- bdcravens 9mo agoI switched to Macs almost completely for personal and devlopment use about 13 or 14 years ago. However, last year I started a 3d printing side hustle, and got an HP laptop for running the print studio since the amount of hardware I could get for less than $1000 was hard to ignore. However, things like this, and other weird issues (my fonts have gone all wonky a couple of times after random updates) make me want to switch it over to a Linux distro (even though the software support for what I need is much better in the Windows world, and in some cases, better than even on the Mac)
- edg5000 9mo ago> the software support for what I need is much better in the Windows world Please elaborate; can you name a few tools and what you use them for? Just curious.
- wileydragonfly 9mo ago[flagged]
- kstrauser 9mo agoNot the person you replied to, but I’ll go. Try experimenting with ham radio on anything but Windows. As far as I can tell, they revoke your Apple developer’s license and confiscate your Linux install disks when you start selling radio hardware. That’s not completely true. There’s good Linux and Mac software for lots of things. But approximately 100% of radio manufacturers ship Windows software. Far fewer support anything else. I bought a new radio at Christmas. Before buying it, I ruled out alternatives that didn’t have 1st party or good 3rd party support. It’s like trying to buy a scanner in 2003.
- quietsegfault 9mo agoAlmost all the “good” radio software runs primarily on Windows. Almost all of it is ancient in ways that genuinely suck. It’s like going back in time!
- leptons 9mo agoSimple fix, move to Linux. (unless you're forced to use it like I am at work, for security theater reasons)
- nsoonhui 9mo agoLast Thursday windows 11 forced this update on my Acer machine. It caused me BSOD: inaccessible boot device, so I had to reformat my machine to get Windows running again. So I am now very wary of this Out of Band Update[0], especially when it's not mentioned whether the latest update solve my issue or not. I don't know the same problem is still there, or whether this update makes the problem any better or worse. 0: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46750358 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46750358
- prmoustache 9mo ago> so I had to reformat my machine to get Windows running again. I can hear everyone in choir saying "but why would you do that?" If Microsoft would ever do that to me in an update, I would install an immutable Linux distro on my machine and run windows as a VM (only if I had a strong requirement for it). That way you can do snapshots you can restore from easily.
- nsoonhui 9mo ago>> "but why would you do that?" My bread and butter is Windows WPF cum AutoCAD-like application. My users are all on Windows. So I have to develop on Windows.
- water-data-dude 9mo agoThe only reason I use Windows is probably the same reason a lot of people use Windows: the company I work for requires it. It's a small company and they don't want IT to have to support more than one OS, so I _get_ why, but man do I hate it. Linux on my non-work machine tho. Windows 11 made me rip off the bandaid and get rid of the windows dual boot I very occasionally used for some old software.
- franktankbank 9mo agoIf you can only pick one OS why not pick a good one then lol
- pizlonator 9mo agoI had to renuke one of my gaming PCs this month so yeah Except I think the problem happened just before Jan 13 But symptoms were almost exactly what TFA says
- lofaszvanitt 9mo agoAnd noone asks why Windows looks, feels and operates the way it is. Isn't it strange that a megacorp creates these watermelon headed monstrosities and it gets worse after each iteration?
- commandersaki 9mo agoHasn't the answer always been legacy support.
- samrus 9mo agoI think the general incompetence in the decision making behind windows is also a driver
- charlieyu1 9mo agoDo they really have legacy support anymore? They just randomly break things with updates
- JaggerFoo 9mo agoYou mean the one I just downloaded and updated my laptop with? It installed OK. I usually use MacOS and Linux, it's just that some software is Windows only, and I run MacOS on Apple Silicon - the windows program I needed only uses x86-64 architecture, so I can't use parallels (AFAIK). I'm kind of hoping I get an update that bricks my laptop so I can install Debian over this MS Windows hellscape and run windows on a VM when needed. I may do it anyways after I get fed up with nagging MS messages and workarounds.
- jackblemming 9mo agoHow is this not considered destruction of property? How about big tech plays by the same rules as everyone else?
- michaelmrose 9mo agoBecause destruction of property is when you destroy property and windows can be reinstalled and even preserve the prior installations files.
- dboreham 9mo agoThis is Tay Bridge syndrome: all the people who know how to ship an OS properly have retired.
- l000tr 9mo ago[flagged]
- quietbritishjim 9mo agoWhat is "Tay Bridge syndrome"? There are no Google hits. If you're going to use an obscure term (or make one up) then please define it. Is it a reference to the Tay Bridge disaster? Looking at the Wikipedia article [1], it didn't seem to have anything to do with losing organisational knowledge due to retirement. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Bridge_disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_Bridge_disaster
- nhhvhy 9mo agoFunny enough, this comment is now the top result (for me) when searching “Tay Bridge syndrome”. Crazy how fast Google indexes this stuff
- eviks 9mo agoHow does this explain all the fails when shipping the OS when those people were working?
- pinkmuffinere 9mo ago> “ Microsoft has received a limited number…” I always find this wording funny; the “limited” conveys no information but downplays the issue in a non-specific way. I wish we could have standardized writing guidelines for press reports, to call out such weasel words
- __del__ 9mo agowe'll be working on that very strongly in the next period of time
- quietsegfault 9mo agoImagine if they received an unlimited or infinite number of reports!
- Bluescreenbuddy 9mo agoI deployed it to a few machines here at my job and thankfully we've had zero issues. The outlook issue is for POP accounts and if you're using outlook, you're probably using Exchange. The RDP issue is for modern RDP clients like the Windows App (we use the the old RDP app since we're mostly on prem) and so far no one has experienced any boot issues. We use one OEM across a few models. I'm hoping it stays this smooth one it's fully deployed.
- calrain 9mo agoJust today I dumped Windows 11 and moved to Linux, lots to learn but wow, so nice not to be inside their walls.
- guessmyname 9mo ago> Just today I dumped Windows 11 and moved to Linux, lots to learn but wow, so nice not to be inside their walls. Well, best of luck. I don’t regret switching from Windows to Linux decades ago, I learned a lot, but I can’t say the problems ever stopped. If anything, I ran into more issues than I did on Windows, many of them caused by things I did at the command line, and others due to quirks or bugs in open‑source software. Still, it was a long learning journey that ended up helping my career. I’m not sure you’ll have the same steep learning curve we did back then, but I hope the switch pays off for you.
- 8fingerlouie 9mo agoI've used Linux (and FreeBSD) for decades. My first linux distribution was Yggdrasil Plug & Play Linux Fall 1994 (https://github.com/jtsagata/Yggdrasil-1994 https://github.com/jtsagata/Yggdrasil-1994). Windows stuck around for gaming. My experience may have been different as Linux was less mature back then, but ultimately i had a lot of "issues" that required Linux knowledge to fix, so while it was "fine" for me, i wouldn't push it to my family for day to day usage. Since then i've moved pretty much everyone to Mac. My parents, my in-laws, wife, kids, all use Macs, and the number of "support" calls have fallen from weekly to "once or twice per year", and that's compared to when they ran Windows. Linux on the desktop is certainly better than it was a decade ago (i still lurk and install new releases from time to time), but it's still a far cry from being optimized for the average user that just needs things to work. Not saying it won't ever get there, but it will take some effort to make it frictionless.
- pjmlp 9mo agoYeah, just last year I had several issues with a Gigabyte board that refused to boot Linux regardless of the UEFI incantation, paritions being used, or distribution, yet it had no problems booting the very same M.2 SSD if plugged via an external case. Eventually it gets tiring, I still remember Yggdrasil, my first distro was Slackware 2.0, bundled on Linux Unleashed first edition in 1995.
- ForestCritter 9mo agoFixed my son's computer by shredding all evidence of Microsoft off his computer and installing Linux Devuan OS. Fortunatly his files were all stored on his separate ssd dut to a previous issue.
- stuaxo 9mo agoI suspect a company needs to pay some damages. Now, where's the Louis Rossman video on this?
- RobinHirst11 9mo agowaiting for his video too, XD
- NetMageSCW 9mo agoHe can’t create it because his PC won’t boot.
- kshri24 9mo agoMicrosoft needs to go back to basics and keep the OS dead simple. No AI cruft. AI is good only for certain categories and specific ways of integration. It falls apart quickly if you do not know how to glue things together properly and just use it in anything and everything (for example: adding AI to Notepad was the stupidest thing Microsoft could do).
- direwolf20 9mo agoWhy does Microsoft need to do these things to retain shareholder value?
- kshri24 9mo agoContributing to AI fatigue among consumers is not the way to retain shareholder value. Tastefully integrated AI is what will bring enthusiasm among consumers, which will generate REAL revenues (not inflated valuations) and have a direct impact on the bottom line. It is ridiculous to destroy existing user base just to satisfy some vanity metrics on AI usage.
- captain_coffee 9mo ago"suspects".... they are not 100% sure guys, there is only a vague suspicion that "some" users "might" Can't believe how low Microsoft have sunk and how fast in the last few years
- RobinHirst11 9mo agoman, its safer NOT to update than it is TO update... microslop fell hard
- exploraz 9mo agoRelated: Windows 11 update KB5074109 is breaking systems – Microsoft says uninstall it (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46725053 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46725053)
- notepad0x90 9mo agoThis shouldn't have happened, but my advice is to have a backup of your PCs that can be easily restored, regardless of the OS. I've had boot device hardware failures, file systems corrupted,etc.. with Linux and Windows alike (not yet with little mac though, I assume it's just a matter of time).
- bfrog 9mo agoPerhaps its because SpywareOS is being written by Copilot with zero supervision by a bunch of monkeys with keyboards bashing away? WorstOS ever.
- mrkramer 9mo agoWindows is so big and dominant, the only way that they can lose market share is to shoot themselves in the foot. And that's exactly what they are doing every now and then. But the question is, when will real Windows apocalypse begin?
- tsoukase 9mo agoFact is that the massive number of CPUs worldwide run heavy versions of Windows and consume valuable energy while running Linux they whould be idle.
- anonymars 9mo agoSure. Sleep mode says "hello"