Microsoft Confirms Emergency Updates For Most Windows PCs

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Microsoft has rushed out multiple emergency fixes after January’s Patch Tuesday security fixes caused multiple problems. Shut down and sign-in failures have plagued users. These are now fixed. But there’s more bad news for millions of users.

As reported by Windows Latest, Microsoft has now “released fixes for at least two bugs.” Specifically, the shut-down failure on older PCs running Windows 11 23H2 and a “much more widespread” remote desktop login failure affecting 24H2 and 25H2.

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Windows Latest confirms the complex situation for users this weekend. “Microsoft has officially admitted to at least three problems so far. A bug where Remote Desktop Connections fail (fixed today). A bug where Windows 11 23H2 would not shut down (fixed today). A bug that crashes Outlook Classic (not fixed).”

The most significant issue has been those remote login failures. “After installing the January 2026 Windows security update,” Microsoft says, “some users experienced sign-in failures during Remote Desktop connections. This issue affected authentication steps for different Remote Desktop applications on Windows such as the Windows App.”

The failure to shutdown issue affects the older 23H2 version of Windows 11, and so less users. “After installing the January 13, 2026, Windows security update,” Microsoft says, affecting Windows 11, version 23H2, “some PCs with Secure Launch are unable to shut down or enter hibernation. Instead, the device restarts.” It has also been fixed.

But the bad news is “three issues that remain unpatched,” warns Windows Latest, none of which have yet been acknowledged by Microsoft. “A black screen appears for some seconds or minutes before the cursor appears,” an issue where “the desktop background is reset to black,” and also a PC’s File Explorer’s desktop.ini failing to work.

There is also an issue which has been acknowledged with Outlook. This affects “Outlook Classic” setups where users run old-style POP accounts. This might cause Outlook to essentially freeze, running in the background and so preventing a normal restart.

If you’re sure you have the issue, you can force the app to restart. But don’t do this unless you are sure, for fear of affecting the email database. This likely requires a fix to Outlook itself, which is likely to come from Microsoft imminently.

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Meanwhile, the two emergency Windows fixes for most users are here:

• “KB5077744: This out-of-band update is for Windows 11 25H2/24H2, and it patches the failure of Remote Desktop connections. You can download it from Microsoft Update Catalog.
• KB5077797: This is for Windows 11 23H2, and it patches a bug where the PC does not shut down properly. You can download it from Microsoft Update Catalog.”