Windows 11’s first update of the year is breaking all kinds of stuff

Microsoft has really stepped in it with the first Windows 11 update of 2026. Reports from annoyed Windows users are cropping up regarding various errors caused by the KB5074109 update.

According to said reports, Windows 11 PCs that installed the KB5074109 update on Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday for January 2026 are experiencing black screens (formerly known as blue screens). Furthermore, the classic Outlook app is crashing for some and File Explorer is ignoring settings stored in the desktop.ini file.

In addition, some computers can no longer be shut down and sleep mode is broken for some. (There’s also a thread about this on Reddit.) Some third-party apps, like Citrix Director, also no longer work.

Microsoft has already solved—or at least confirmed—some of these problems: shutdown (solved), remote desktop connections (solved), and classic Outlook (not yet solved).

The KB5074109 update is a mandatory update that addresses security vulnerabilities. Every Windows 11 PC installs it automatically. Windows Latest asked Microsoft for a statement about these issues, but Microsoft only said that it currently has nothing further to say.

That said, Windows Latest noted that Microsoft had marked some of the newly discovered (but as yet unconfirmed) issues with a “looking into it” label in the Feedback Hub, such as the one with File Explorer and desktop.ini. Microsoft may release the corresponding repair patches on the next Patch Tuesday, which will be on February 10th, 2026.