The Windows 11 Moment 5 update is reportedly causing a ‘white screen of doom’ and installation errors
Windows 11 users are now receiving the Moment 5 update, which was rolled out a week ago, but some people have unfortunately been hit with a number of frustrating issues, including a ‘white screen’ crash.
Windows Latest I noticed a few issues with the April Cumulative Update for Windows 11, including some people getting installation errors.
This is a long running gremlin in the making where the update process fails and fails to install, causing an error that is essentially pointless junk. (Or as Microsoft calls it, a stop error code – a hexadecimal string like ‘0x800705b9’, one of the codes spotted in this case).
That gives you no idea how to fix the problem, and trying to reinstall results in the same crash as the Moment 5 update. All you can do is wait and hope that Microsoft fixes the problem for now, or try to upgrade via the Media Creation Tool. (Which we wouldn’t recommend to anyone other than the more tech-savvy readers among us – if you don’t know what this tool is, it’s best to take stock).
The other major stumbling block with this April update is an issue that sounds like the white equivalent of the famous Blue Screen of Death (BSoD), where the PC freezes and needs to be restarted to get back to normal.
Windows Latest describes what they encountered, namely after successfully installing Moment 5, they got stuck on a white screen. This looks like some kind of setup screen, or even one of those panels that tries to force you to do something after the update (like setting up Windows or your Microsoft account), except it’s blank (save for a few small icons after).
The website notes that they were able to boot to the desktop after disconnecting the internet connection, and fortunately for Windows Latest, the white screen did not return afterward.
There is also evidence for this problem Reddit and this thread further Answers.com from Microsoft help forum, where some people say that this white screen keeps coming back.
So while Windows Latest found it to be a problem that quickly went away, others apparently aren’t so lucky. So we call this the ‘white screen of doom’ because, at least for some, it seems to be persistent, which must be a real pain.
Analysis: Unplug from the internet
What’s interesting to note is that one of the affected people on Answers.com says, “The only thing that works for me is starting up the computer without internet and I don’t get a white screen.” Someone else replies that they tried this and it worked.
Windows Latest also notes that disconnecting from the internet has worked to get around the white screen, so this is definitely something you should try if you’re experiencing this problem.
This gives some credence to the idea that this is some kind of whining panel, and that it might fail to transmit content from Microsoft’s servers – and if you unplug the internet, it will stop trying and reload ultimately the desktop. (That’s just wild guesswork, mind you).
It’s also worth noting that in the Reddit thread above, there are some consistent mentions of issues with PCs coming out of sleep (or monitors turning back on after the system wakes up). So that might be something to watch out for too.
Hopefully Microsoft will investigate reports of these issues and issue official guidance soon. We’ve reached out to the company and will update this article with any responses to the apparent issues with the April update. Currently, Microsoft’s official support document lists no known issues with Moment 5.