Windows 10: Recent update August 8, 2023 KB5029263 and KB5028948 caused Explorer to freeze and system...

On 12th Aug 2023 my system was automatically updated with the patches KB5029263 [1] and KB5028948 [2] and I noticed that the explorer could no longer open any folder or a file. The application loaded up, but it just would not work. I even tried installing alternate file explorer for windows 11, but as soon as I try to right click on a file, even that would just hang spinner would just run forever. Few more details on the issue - As soon as I click on a folder within File Explorer Microsoft explorer then the spinner would just turn up and the app would go into "not responding" mode. Even af

:)

 

Cumulative updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 - August 2023

The following release notes coincide with Cumulative updates for all the supported versions of Windows, released on August 8th 2023.

Windows 11

Windows 11 22H2:

August 8, 2023—KB5029263 (OS Build 22621.2134) - Microsoft Support

Improvements

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5028254 (released July 26, 2023). When you install this KB:

• This update makes miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality. No additional issues were documented for this release.
  

Download:

<to be obtained>

Windows 11 (original release):

August 8, 2023—KB5029253 (OS Build 22000.2295) - Microsoft Support

Improvements

This security update includes improvements that were a part of update KB5028245 (released July 25, 2023). When you install this KB:

• This update makes miscellaneous security improvements to internal OS functionality. No additional issues were documented for this release.
  

Download:

<to be obtained>

Windows 10

Windows 10 22H2:

August 8, 2023—KB5029244 (OS Builds 19044.3324 and 19045.3324) - Microsoft Support

Highlights

• This update addresses security issues for your Windows operating system.
  

If you installed earlier updates, only the new updates in this package would be downloaded and installed on your device.

https://twitter.com/WindowsUpdate/status/1635692351996801059

��Resources

• Learn about the different types of monthly updates: https://msft.it/6017eRKoX

• Find resources, tools, and news about known issues and safeguards: https://msft.it/6016eRKon

• Have an issue? File feedback to our engineers: https://msft.it/6018eRKok

 

KB5029263 caused systems to become unusable due to conflict with 3rd party software

Multiple users reported massive system stability issues to me after installing KB5029263, released yesterday.

It appears that affected users had a utility installed called 'ExplorerPatcher' which was used to revert many Windows UI elements to their Windows 10 appearance and functionality as they found multiple aspects of the UI changes in Windows 11 to severely limit their productivity (users repeatedly complained that things they could previously do in Windows 10 as a single-click, were now only accessible through obscure menus, taking much longer to find and requiring multiple clicks to perform the same action - or in some cases apparently being completely unable to perform the previous action at all).

While Microsoft may disapprove of users trying to escape/avoid changes introduced as part of Windows 11, the issue is that rather than simply blocking ExplorerPatcher from working, KB5029263 makes the machine essentially completely unusable if ExplorerPatcher was installed prior to the update... After installing the update, rebooting and logging into Windows, users found that the while Windows tried to load their start-up apps their Start Menu would disappear every 10-15 seconds and their CPU would be constantly maxed out at 100% - meaning they could not regain control of the system, or stop start-up apps from trying to run and were extremely frustrated as they were stuck in a constant cycle of Windows Explorer trying to load, crashing and trying to load again.

This has caused major disruption to users who were completely unable to work and support staff who ended up having to physically attend affected machines in person because the systems were so severely impacted and were unable to be remotely assisted/controlled.

 

Windows 11 cumulative updates continue to fail installation

The 2023-08 update has been released. Please install it. 2023-07 can be skipped.

August 8, 2023—KB5029263 (OS Build 22621.2134) - Microsoft Support: August 8, 2023—KB5029263 (OS Build 22621.2134) - Microsoft Support

Direct download link:

2023-08 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems (KB5029263)

windows11.0-kb5029263-x64_4f5fe19bbec786f5e445d3e71bcdf234fe2cbbec.msu