Microsoft is once again in the spotlight as it rolls out a fix for a recent patch that inadvertently sent some PCs into recovery mode, accompanied by an enigmatic error code. The root of the issue traces back to the May Patch Tuesday update, which encountered installation failures on a select few Windows 11 machines. This glitch primarily impacted virtual boxes, leaving them stranded in recovery mode with a boot error.
Details of the Glitch
The affected systems include Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2, which displayed the following message: “Your PC/Device needs to be repaired. The operating system couldn’t be loaded because a required file is missing or contains errors. File: ACPI.sys. Error code: 0xc0000098.”
While the issue predominantly troubled virtual machines, Microsoft acknowledged that some physical devices were also caught in the crossfire. Consequently, this situation posed more of a challenge for IT administrators rather than for everyday users of Windows 11 Home and Pro editions.
Introducing the Fix
The remedy, identified as KB5062170, aims to rectify the error; however, it does not resolve an ongoing issue with Noto fonts. Users have reported that CJK (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) characters can appear blurry in Chromium browsers when set at 100 percent scaling. A temporary workaround suggests adjusting the scaling to either 125 or 150 percent to alleviate the problem.
Recurring Challenges
Out-of-band fixes have become a somewhat disheartening trend for Microsoft. Even Windows Server has not escaped this pattern; earlier this year, an out-of-band patch was necessary to address a NUMA-related issue that hindered the booting of affected servers. In May, another out-of-band update was rolled out to rectify a situation where certain Windows 10 devices were inadvertently thrust into BitLocker recovery due to yet another flawed patch. As was the case with the latest incident, enterprise IT administrators found themselves grappling with these challenges while the average consumer remained largely unaffected.
While Microsoft deserves recognition for its prompt response to these update-related issues, the tech giant might benefit from a more proactive approach to ensure that such complications do not arise in the first place.
