Windows 11 update reportedly hit by mystery bug
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Windows 11âs most recent cumulative update is reportedly failing to install for some users, with no explanation as to why.
This problem with Microsoftâs round of patching for August (KB5016629) which was deployed last week, is that with some installation attempts, itâs screeching to a halt with one of the typically uninformative error messages weâre unfortunately used to seeing (and sighing at, no doubt).
As Windows Latest (opens in new tab) reports, the installation error cites a meaningless code â0x80073701â, with multiple users complaining that the update wonât fire up on Microsoftâs Feedback Hub.
One message reads: âIt takes ages to download and then comes up with this error â no other information â someone at Microsoft must know what the error code means and how to correct it.â
This issue has also been raised over at Microsoftâs official Answers.com (opens in new tab) help forum. Suggestions made here â take them with caution, as this isnât official advice as such â include uninstalling Malwarebytes (or at least switching off real-time protection temporarily), and also turning off .NET Framework 3.5.
Thus far Microsoft hasnât acknowledged this problem, so if the company is investigating, then itâs doing so on the quiet.
There are, however, a couple of known issues that the software giant has flagged with KB5016629, relating to the XPS Viewer, and the Edge browser (specifically with IE mode tabs in the latter case); so be aware of those, too.
Another thing to note here is that as well as applying a bunch of security fixes, this patch solves a serious issue with the Start menu â namely that some users canât open it at all. So, if youâve been affected by that glitch, as well as the above installation failure bug, thatâs going to be a frustrating combination of factors working against you. That said, this overlap is likely to be just a very small niche of particularly unlucky people, no doubt.
Hopefully weâll hear something official from Microsoft on this bug soon enough, and maybe we will see a fix implemented at speed. Meantime, you could at least try temporarily turning off your antivirus as suggested above to see if that helps.