{"id":430056,"date":"2026-01-24T10:45:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:45:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/430056\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T10:45:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:45:22","slug":"microsoft-warns-millions-of-pc-owners-remove-windows-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/430056\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Warns Millions Of PC Owners\u2014Remove Windows Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Windows<\/p>\n

Windows update is now causing “havoc.”<\/p>\n

NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Microsoft\u2019s \u201cnightmare<\/a>\u201d January update continues to plague millions of Windows users. Despite multiple emergency updates<\/a>, there\u2019s no signs of stability yet. Worse, the issues affect Outlook and cloud platform users as well. And the workaround is drastic.<\/p>\n

Now, per Windows Latest<\/a>, \u201cMicrosoft says uninstall Windows 11 KB5074109 to fix Outlook POP, PST hang, as 2026\u2019s first update causes havoc.\u201d <\/p>\n

ForbesMicrosoft, Apple, Google And Amazon Accounts Under Attack\u2014Act NowBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n

Microsoft has admitted<\/a> that \u201cClassic Outlook profiles with POP accounts and PSTs hang after Windows updates on January 13, 2026.\u201d This it attributes to cloud storage. \u201cThe Windows Team will be documenting fix guidance,” the company says. \u201cWe will update this topic with a link to the Windows guidance as soon as it is available.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Windows Latest notes, \u201cit\u2019s very rare for Microsoft to admit that it messed up, but the January 2026 Update is a disaster, as it continues to break features in Windows 11, including something as basic as Sleep mode (S3) on older PCs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Microsoft says<\/a> symptoms include Outlook hanging and showing \u201cNot Responding,” the email platform not opening after a crash unless you “end its process in Task Manager or restart the computer,\u201d and sent items missing even as emails re-download.<\/p>\n

The failure affects most Windows users: Windows 11, version 25H2; Windows 11, version 24H2; Windows 11, version 23H2; Windows 10, version 22H2; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021; Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019.<\/p>\n

Forbes\u2018Hitting Targets\u2019\u2014Iran\u2019s Hackers Use Starlink To Attack IsraelBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n

There are two other workarounds to try before you remove the latest Windows update. If possible, use webmail instead. Or you can also move your Outlook PST files out of OneDrive and store locally. Failing that, \u201cremove the Windows Update,\u201d Microsoft says, linking to How to uninstall a Windows Update<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The dilemma for millions of Windows users now is that Microsoft also warns<\/a> that \u201cwhile you might choose ultimately to uninstall a security update, you should know the risks associated with the uninstallation.\u201d These include vulnerability to attacks, compromised personal information and potential data loss, Microsoft says. <\/p>\n

Awkward optics and no easy options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Windows update is now causing “havoc.” NurPhoto via Getty Images Microsoft\u2019s \u201cnightmare\u201d January update continues to plague millions…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430057,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[49,48,37707,20515,45386,61,15392,47041,45385],"class_list":["post-430056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-microsoft-attack","tag-microsoft-security","tag-microsoft-warning","tag-technology","tag-windows-attack","tag-windows-security","tag-windows-warning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430056"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430056\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430057"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}