Latest Win10 Update Breaks Printing, Crashes Explorer

The latest Windows 10 update is designed to fix problems with printers. Instead it seems to be causing more problems.

The update in question is Microsoft patch KB4524147, which is marked as a "critical" update for those users running Windows 10 version 1903. It addresses an Internet Explorer scripting engine security vulnerability (CVE-2019-1367). Another highlight of this update is a fix for "an intermittent issue with the print spooler service that may cause print jobs to fail."

Unfortunately some users report quite the opposite has happened with regard to their printers. Since installing the update, they've found that clicking on "Print" would crash the program concerned (such as Notepad or MS Word, for example). It's not limited to specific applications and using the test print option in Windows simply crashes Windows Explorer. Removing the update puts things back to working order.

Start Menu Stops Working

Other users have found the update introduces a problem with the Start menu, with it showing a message reading "Critical Error". Start menu issues have been a persistent side effects of recent updates.

The worst effect of the update for some users has been Windows failing to boot whatsoever after the update - a problem that requires some technical knowledge to fix and restore the computer to its working state before the update. It's not clear how widespread this issue is. (Source: techradar.com)

The obvious answer might seem to be to avoid the update altogether. The problem is that KB4524147 incorporates both feature and security updates, something that's not usually the case with Windows 10.

Security Fix Complicates Matters

Microsoft explains things in a complicated way by describing the fix as "a required security update that expands the out-of-band update dated September 23, 2019." This is more commonly known as an emergency patch which fixed a potentially serious problem with Internet Explorer that could let hackers take control of a computer just by getting the user to visit a booby-trapped web page. (Source: microsoft.com)

However, Microsoft goes on to say that the latest patch KB4524147 simply "includes" the mitigation from that emergency patch. That means it's only going to benefit a fairly small group of users - namely those who have security updates switched off completely, missed the emergency patch, but happen to spot and install this update.

What's Your Opinion?

Have you had any problems with Windows 10 updates? Would you prefer less frequent, larger updates that allow more time for testing? Should Microsoft keep security and feature updates completely separate?