Microsoft Pulls Windows 11 Patch After It Sends PCs To BSOD Bootloop Hell

A new optional Windows Update Preview is apparently causing some percentage of users to lose access to their PCs. This is because the update is making the machines enter a "boot loop", where the system attempts to start, fails, restarts, and then starts over, with no way to resolve the problem without secondary boot media.

The specific update is KB5043145, and Microsoft has asked users who run into the problem to file a report using the Windows Feedback Hub app to provide more details—which is going to prove difficult if you don't have another PC, since you can't use the Feedback Hub app. Uninstalling the update will resolve the problem, but you would have to boot to recovery media to do so.

It seems that Microsoft doesn't actually know what is causing the problem. The company's statement on the matter says "We are currently investigating this issue. We will provide an update when more information is available." Many affected users will find that their system enters Automatic Repair or Bitlocker recovery after multiple failed boot attempts.

As with all preview updates, Microsoft intended to roll out this patch to every Windows 11 PC eventually, but that plan has now been "paused" given the issues some users have experienced. Windows Latest reports that users with certain ASUS laptops are commonly affected, but that the issue isn't limited to just those systems.

While KB5043145 has been pulled from the standard update offerings, if you happen to need one of the changes in the September 26 optional update—described in this Microsoft support article—the patch is still available through the Microsoft Update Catalog. Just keep that recovery media handy if you need to do a system restore.