Microsoft confirms latest Windows 11 update is crashing games and rebooting PCs

[DragonSlayer101]

Facepalm: The latest Patch Tuesday update for Windows 11 started rolling out last week, bringing multiple new features, improvements, and bug fixes. However, following several complaints from disgruntled users, Microsoft has now acknowledged that the update may be causing some games to crash on affected devices.

The KB5121003 update was released on August 11 for Windows 11 builds 26200.9168 and 26100.9168. According to some users who installed the update, it contains a bug that is causing games to crash and display the EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION error. In some cases, the PC automatically reboots after the crash.

After Redditor MyCatsNameIsKlaus reported the issue last week, several others confirmed that they were also experiencing crashes, error messages, and random reboots after installing the update. Redditor Thin_Twist7030 even posted event logs, WER reports, and a kernel dump analysis by DeepSeek, suggesting that the game crashes were actually system BSODs that occurred while playing Arc Raiders.

The AI analysis suggests that the problems are caused by a pre-existing "bad-handle bug" that Windows previously ignored or returned an error for when an invalid handle was closed. However, the update appears to have tightened kernel handle validation, causing the same invalid handle close to trigger bug check 0x93 INVALID_KERNEL_HANDLE instead of being tolerated.

Microsoft confirmed that the issue is affecting Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 and is investigating whether it is caused by the update or incompatible third-party software. The company added that affected games include Arc Raiders, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals.

Microsoft hasn't suggested an official workaround, but Thin_Twist7030 claims that rolling back KB5121003 via DISM stopped the crashes on his system. They added that they have paused Windows Update for one month so that the contentious update package won't automatically reinstall. As a permanent fix, they recommend that users remove old drivers responsible for the bad-handle bug.

Game crashes and random reboots are apparently not the only issues caused by KB5121003. According to a Microsoft Learn post by Brian Stringfellow, Teams and the new Outlook are no longer working on Arm devices after installing the update. While Teams crashes after opening, the new Outlook doesn't even launch. The classic Outlook app, however, works as expected.

Stringfellow claims that the issue is affecting a Snapdragon-powered Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition assigned to his company's CFO. He added that the same problem cropped up earlier this year after installing KB5094126, but the issue was resolved by simply rolling back the update. The problem has now apparently reemerged following last week's update.

Microsoft has yet to respond to the report, but a couple of other users replied to the thread, confirming that they are also experiencing similar issues on the HP OmniBook 3 and Surface Pro 11, both powered by Arm64 processors.

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Microsoft confirms latest Windows 11 update is crashing games and rebooting PCs

 

[brunocasarini]

At this point, people should never install Windows 11 updates on day one. I can't recall a Win11 update that didn't crash something.

 

[poshflamingos]

Really? Writing articles about reddit posts now? Really scrapping the bottom of the barrel to keep this "windows bad" circlejerk going.

Are we also going to get articles about every single little issue that happens on macOS and Linux distros too? Last month a Fedora Workstation update made it so my laptop could no longer connect to my phone's wi-fi hotspot, when is the article about that coming out?

 

[BobHome]

At this point, people should never install Windows 11 updates on day one. I can't recall a Win11 update that didn't crash something.

Actually many of us learned that back in the XP days after hurriedly doing them in Windows 95.
It's Microsoft = wait a few days or a week to check the fallout first.

 

[BobHome]

No problem here. I turned on my Win PC for Patch Tuesday and Friday and
1. Did the updates. Store, too.
2. Did another reboot after they all installed.
3. Went back to my Linux partition for the rest of the month.

(Yeah, after 8 months on Linux I'm not sure why I'm still nursing it along, too. Hope?)

 

[yRaz]

(Yeah, after 8 months on Linux I'm not sure why I'm still nursing it along, too. Hope?)

Well, you see, when a man loves a pigeon....

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Title: Windows 11 update is crashing games
Article: Microsoft is investigating whether it is caused by the update
Reality: 400 vulnerabilities were fixed on the very same day by Microsoft. Last month it was 570: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...26-patch-tuesday-fixes-400-flaws-3-zero-days/

Also lol...

TechSpot: This random redditor recommends rolling back the update and pausing updates for a month
Windows Latest: I strongly recommend against removing Windows 11 KB5121003 or any cumulative update - https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/...vestigating-after-a-studio-blamed-the-update/
Bleeping Computer: Video game developer shared this specific multi-step temporary workaround that is SAFE - https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...dows-updates-may-cause-gaming-issues-reboots/

Do better TechSpot. This kind of sensationalist reporting can actually harm your readers.

 

[TechSam]

I have this problem, its driving me nuts. Can't leave my PC on overnight. You can't roll back the 25H2 update causing it.

I'm trying out the insider program to get onto 26H1 update to see if it fixes it.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I have this problem, its driving me nuts. Can't leave my PC on overnight. You can't roll back the 25H2 update causing it.

I'm trying out the insider program to get onto 26H1 update to see if it fixes it.

If you rollback the updates, you will get hacked. They fix multiple zero day vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild. I don’t understand why the article is normalizing the idea of rolling back these updates.

Try this solution instead: https://www.reachthefinals.com/patchnotes/s11-crash-troubleshooting

 

[RudyBob]

Love this article every time and the comments too.

 

[toooooot]

I wonder, are the people who made win 10 are not the same that created win 11?
How can 11 be so much worse? I only have one main requirement to computer OS,
it must not get in my way. And it is breaking this rule hard these last few years.

 

[Notmare]

And here I thought dropping support for a bunch of hardware in Windows 11 was going to reduce their scope and make it easier for them to keep things stable...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Really? Writing articles about reddit posts now? Really scrapping the bottom of the barrel to keep this "windows bad" circlejerk going.

Are we also going to get articles about every single little issue that happens on macOS and Linux distros too? Last month a Fedora Workstation update made it so my laptop could no longer connect to my phone's wi-fi hotspot, when is the article about that coming out?

You act like that's a new thing.

Nearly all of the outrage over melted 12v2 connectors comes from Reddit posts. 99% of the time, when you see other tech sites quoted as sources, THOSE sites also got it from Reddit.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I wonder, are the people who made win 10 are not the same that created win 11?
How can 11 be so much worse? I only have one main requirement to computer OS,
it must not get in my way. And it is breaking this rule hard these last few years.

11 is worse because they are trying to modernize it. 10 has a huge number of issues over its life, how quickly people forget MS breaking all sorts of **** in the 1500 and 1600 days. Remember how they broke webcams with the anniversary update, then broke printers trying to fix that, then broke audio trying to fix that, then broke webcams AGAIN fixing that?

Now, throw that legacy codebase full of spaghetti at the team trying to depreciate things like Active Directory and WSUS in favor of Intune and Entra. Every. Single. System. has to be rebuilt. None of the people who built the legacy code are still at MS, they all retired or were laid off in favor of contractors ages ago. The vast majority of these broken updates come from them changing something, and it breaking a function that is totally unrelated.

Microsoft's decades of crusty code is an absolute nightmare to modernize, but they cannot afford to throw it all out, because that legacy code is why people still use Windows. If you just use the modern components, 11 works fantastic! But much like ME, the moment you cross over to older code, things erupt into failure. You cant even pull these systems out at risk of breaking something unrelated, hence why we are still limited to 15 character PC names because of some old 16 bit code that you cant touch without breaking all active directory systems.....for some reason nobody can find. This is also why the move from Control Panel to Settings, something that was promised int eh days of 8 to be done within a few years, is STILL not done 15 years later.

 

[MasterFig]

Well, I happen to help oversee thousands of computers in our environment, and it's extremely rare that we have had an issue with a Windows update.

 

[Rudyduu]

If you rollback the updates, you will get hacked. They fix multiple zero day vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild. I don’t understand why the article is normalizing the idea of rolling back these updates.

Try this solution instead: https://www.reachthefinals.com/patchnotes/s11-crash-troubleshooting

Let me fix your post for you "...you might get hacked." Do you have any evidence to support anyone has activity exploited these vulnerabilities? Why would anyone who cares about security click on your URL?

 

[Vanderlinde]

At this point, people should never install Windows 11 updates on day one. I can't recall a Win11 update that didn't crash something.

If you don't know how to disable updates as it is, you have no choice lol.

In the past they actually used to test updates on various configurations with a dozen of people. Yes, time and money consuming, but effective when pushed on large scale.

Now you are, a bug tester for them. it's easier to Vibe code stuff up, push it, and then afterwards get people with complaints online and on forums rather then actually doing what you should have done.

I feel sorry for the small businesses who lose their work, files, due to borked updates.

 

[mtlmrgn]

I did have this problem but I gave up and did a clean install problem solved
this is not a game machine and built on amd odd that I didnt have a problem
with an intel laptop

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Let me fix your post for you "...you might get hacked." Do you have any evidence to support anyone has activity exploited these vulnerabilities? Why would anyone who cares about security click on your URL?

That is a link by Embark Studios reported by Bleeping Computer. Obviously you didn't do your homework and read any of the links I provided just 2 posts earlier. These offer way better information that what was written by TechSpot in this case: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...dows-updates-may-cause-gaming-issues-reboots/

Yes there is plenty of evidence that Windows updates are fixing bugs being exploited in the wild. In July, Microsoft warned users to NOT delay installing updates. There are zero day vulnerabilities fixed by nearly every one of these updates, and Microsoft has found that AI is analyzing updates and developing exploits within hours: https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/...s-warns-against-delaying-updates-past-3-days/

In addition, Bleeping Computer reported more than a week ago that at least one of the August's patch vulnerabilities fixed was already being exploited in the wild. There are likely others being exploited too:

In a report released today, Check Point says the flaw was exploited in zero-day attacks by the North Korean threat actors known as Lazarus to deploy malware.

"During the intrusion, the threat actor exploited CVE-2026-68820, a zero-day vulnerability in the Microsoft AFD.sys driver, to deploy a new version of FudModule, Lazarus’ kernel-mode rootkit," said Check Point.

 

[Win7user]

Microsoft = Losers!

 

[TechSam]

clean install problem solved

tell me I don't have to do it... please! Just want to play some games.

 

[hahahanoobs]

At this point, people should never install Windows 11 updates on day one. I can't recall a Win11 update that didn't crash something.

Sadly the majority of the ones that have been affected by bad updates will probably still ignore the Pause Updates button. You won't get that reminder from tech sites getting paid to hate on 'X' product or service when they are using it to feed their families.

Maturity is all but gone in tech.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

I can confirm ZERO issues after 10 days.

 

[airbornex]

Really? Writing articles about reddit posts now? Really scrapping the bottom of the barrel to keep this "windows bad" circlejerk going.

From the article:

Microsoft confirmed that the issue is affecting Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 and is investigating whether it is caused by the update or incompatible third-party software. The company added that affected games include Arc Raiders, Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls, and The Finals.

So... WTF?

Are we also going to get articles about every single little issue that happens on macOS and Linux distros too? Last month a Fedora Workstation update made it so my laptop could no longer connect to my phone's wi-fi hotspot, when is the article about that coming out?

There is some of that here, too, but historically Windows is much more mainstream and covered here, it's also the main OS for most PC gamers. Just seems logical.

Apple just patched a critical macOS flaw that let hackers break in without a password

The Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NL) recently published an alarming security advisory about the new macOS flaw. It describes a vulnerability tied to an improper authentication...

www.techspot.com

 

[Win7user]

tell me I don't have to do it... please! Just want to play some games.

tell me I don't have to do it... please! Just want to play some games.

Get yourself "EASE To Do" FREE backup software. It's completely FREE. You can set it to back up your C: drive every 24hrs. Create an emergency USB, so that the next time you won't have to do a clean install. I also use Acronis True Image, but I've come to the conclusion, EASE to do is better, and easier to use. And not to mention, I had to pay for true image.