Windows updates keep breaking, and Microsoft's "agentic OS" isn't helping

[Alfonso Maruccia]

Facepalm: The Windows Insider initiative promised to solve the most outstanding reliability issues with Windows thanks to millions of unpaid beta testers joining the program. A few years down the line, enterprise customers are now at risk of experiencing a barely working GUI or shell because the latest Windows updates are simply doing something wrong.

Microsoft recently published a baffling support document stating that Windows updates released after July 2025 may break some crucial parts of the operating system's shell. According to the KB5072911 document, File Explorer, the Start menu, and other XAML-dependent apps in Windows may show erratic behavior on some enterprise devices.

The issue affects Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 releases after installing monthly cumulative updates such as KB5062553 or KB5065789. Consumer devices should be safe for now, as the issue has been identified in a "limited" number of enterprise or managed environments. The bug may occur when Windows updates are installed before the user logs into the OS, forcing some XAML components to behave in unexpected ways.

The Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) is an XML-based language designed to define UI elements, and it is now an integral part of many application development frameworks such as WPF, WinUI, UWP, and .NET. XAML templates can be created with Visual Studio or other IDEs and are widely used by many components integrated into Windows 11.

Let's be honest, who really needs a working Start menu, taskbar, or Explorer.exe anyway?

The KB5072911 issue related to XAML components can force users in an organization to experience some truly appalling UI behaviors. Shell components such as Explorer.exe may crash or show a black screen, the Start menu may fail to open, and the taskbar may fail to display. Additional issues include the shellhost.exe component crashing, other XAML apps being unable to start, and more.

The new Windows ordeal is caused by applications having a dependency on XAML packages that do not register in time after newer Windows updates have been installed, Microsoft explains. While developers are working on a proper solution, the KB5072911 support document provides some workarounds to get the OS back into a usable state. IT administrators can run a few PowerShell commands or scripts to manually register the missing XAML packages.

Microsoft recently explained that Windows is going to become an agentic OS, with multiple independent AI agents doing their own thing on separate workspaces. Considering the messy conditions the operating system and its shell are in right now, turning AI slop into a "first-class user" may actually push even the most enthusiastic AI fans to admit that Microsoft has gone too far this time.

Many are thinking the obvious, Redmond doesn't treat Windows as a real business priority anymore, and that has become a problem for the entire technology world (except perhaps for proponents of Linux).

Even a dangerous security vulnerability related to LNK files such as CVE-2025-9491, which has been part of major cybercriminal activities and threat actors' modus operandi for years, was recently "solved" without any proper public documentation of the process.

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Windows updates keep breaking, and Microsoft's "agentic OS" isn't helping

 

[yRaz]

This is why we can't have nice things

 

[winjer]

Microsoft is such a dumpster fire of a company.
Everything they touch turns into crap.

 

[PanGrns]

My kingdom for a better alternative, with far better privacy and open source, please.

 

[trparky]

Microsoft is such a dumpster fire of a company.
Everything they touch turns into crap.

EA is a very close second to Microsoft, they may even be tied.

 

[noel24]

Linux community must up the ante for more compatible OS. Double click install for every app created for Windows in the last 30 years. Cheat, lie, steal, but when called to court, say It's not You. That's what those global corporations are already doing for every penny of profit, at the expense of the society. Don't be shy, Linus.

 

[trparky]

Linux community must up the ante for more compatible OS.

I just don't see that happening. Hell, they had the chance to land a killing blow to Microsoft back when Windows 8 was released and we all remember how hated Windows 8 was.

Think about it... Windows 8 was:

• hated
• ridiculed
• universally rejected
• an OS nobody wanted

Gamers hated it.
Developers hated it.
Enthusiasts hated it.
Enterprise despised it.

And yet, despite how hated Windows was back then, Linux still couldn't land a killing blow. That was Linux’s one chance to kick Microsoft while it was down.

And what did the Linux community do? Argued about:

• systemd
• which init system was morally correct
• whether Ubuntu’s “spyware” was the end of freedom
• GNOME vs KDE vs XFCE vs MATE vs Cinnamon vs etc.
• Wayland vs X11
• Debian purity
• Kernel drama
• Package formats
• Fragmentation politics

They didn’t attack Windows when they absolutely had the chance—they attacked each other.

At this point, I wouldn't even trust the Linux community to organize a kegger in a brewery let alone try and do what you suggest.

 

[Eldrach]

I just don't see that happening. Hell, they had the chance to land a killing blow to Microsoft back when Windows 8 was released and we all remember how hated Windows 8 was.

Think about it... Windows 8 was:

• hated
• ridiculed
• universally rejected
• an OS nobody wanted

Gamers hated it.
Developers hated it.
Enthusiasts hated it.
Enterprise despised it.

And yet, despite how hated Windows was back then, Linux still couldn't land a killing blow. That was Linux’s one chance to kick Microsoft while it was down.

And what did the Linux community do? Argued about:

• systemd
• which init system was morally correct
• whether Ubuntu’s “spyware” was the end of freedom
• GNOME vs KDE vs XFCE vs MATE vs Cinnamon vs etc.
• Wayland vs X11
• Debian purity
• Kernel drama
• Package formats
• Fragmentation politics

They didn’t attack Windows when they absolutely had the chance—they attacked each other.

At this point, I wouldn't even trust the Linux community to organize a kegger in a brewery let alone try and do what you suggest.

Well - True, but on the other hand we're seeing the rise of more user friendly Linux distros like Bazzite. More has happened the last 3 years concerning bringing Linux to the "masses" than the 10 years before.
Now Bazzite isn't perfect - but it's a step in the right direction. Valve with its Proton layer has lit a fire within the Linux community to make the OS finally reach a compatibility level people can use with having to watch 2000 Youtube videos just to get your wireless gaming keyboard to work.
It's still super janky, alot of stuff is broken - many games runs like dung still - but I'd imagine in around 3 years from now it will be a truly viable option to ditch Windows even as a gamer.
Hopefully the "Steam Box" will bridge some of that gap even though it's being optimized for a single GPU / CPU configuration

 

[trparky]

Valve with its Proton layer has lit a fire within the Linux community to make the OS finally reach a compatibility level people can use with having to watch 2000 Youtube videos just to get your wireless gaming keyboard to work.

I agree. But why in the seven levels of Hell did it take Valve to do this? The Linux community had decades — DECADES — to make gaming viable and yet they missed the mark every damn time.

Again... I wouldn't even trust the Linux community to organize a kegger in a brewery.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I'm currently on an affected version and have had 0 problems:

Edition Windows 11 Enterprise
Version 24H2
Installed on ‎6/‎9/‎2025
OS build 26100.7092
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.253.0

Microsoft reports the issue only happens on a VDI or a fresh Windows installation.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

I agree. But why in the seven levels of Hell did it take Valve to do this? The Linux community had decades — DECADES — to make gaming viable and yet they missed the mark every damn time.

Again... I wouldn't even trust the Linux community to organize a kegger in a brewery.

Because open-source products only thrive when corporations take an interest in them. That's why Linux has been great for running servers for decades, but it was only when Valve wanted to offer their own hardware that Linux became even remotely viable for gaming.

If there's no money to be made on something, few are motivated to solve a problem (like most open source projects). And if there's not money to be lost on something (ie. institutions like government or higher ed, or entrenched corporations like Blockbuster or Nokia), then productivity will suffer because money will continuously be endlessly be spent on something that barely improves. This is a testament to why capitalism leads to maximum productivity.

 

[Watzupken]

Microsoft is increasingly becoming anti consumer and customer. The OS is nothing more than just a way for them to collect user information, and not about delivering stable platform for their customers. Most of the severe bugs can easily be detected with some testing, yet they can’t give 2 hoots about it when releasing it to public. Instead they choose to add more bloatware and cosmetic changes. They are doing this because MS knows they can get away with it since a lot of people are not willing to try a different OS, citing “too hard to use”, as an excuse. It’s also all software tends to work seamlessly with Windows. But after moving to Linux and MacOS, I rarely miss Windows.

 

[trparky]

Because open-source products only thrive when corporations take an interest in them.

Sure — corporations stepping in helps open-source projects. No disagreement there. But that doesn’t explain why it took Valve, a gaming company, to do what the entire Linux community couldn’t coordinate in 30 years. Linux wasn’t just waiting for funding — it was trapped in endless fragmentation and infighting. Valve succeeded because it ignored the community’s chaos, picked a stack, enforced standards, and shipped a working product. That’s exactly what Linux refused to do on its own.

If you ask anyone in the open-source community, they’ll swear up and down that open-source is superior to commercial software in every way. Yet… here we are, and it still took Valve — a commercial company — to make Linux gaming even remotely usable.

 

[trparky]

Don't get me wrong, I love open-source... I really do. But damn do they have a problem with getting out of their own damn way.

It's why I think that if there's anyone who will save us from Microsoft, it will be Valve and Apple. The more you look at the industry trends, the more it becomes clear why Valve and Apple are the only two entities with the leverage, vision, and discipline to counterbalance Microsoft’s direction.

 

[Jeff Murray]

As long as M$ keeps hiring 3rd World folks with color printer diplomas, nothing will change.
H1-Boeing, FedEx, etc., all suffer from the same performance issues.

 

[acrossthestars]

The new Windows ordeal is caused by applications having a dependency on XAML packages that do not register in time after newer Windows updates have been installed, Microsoft explains.

Sounds like a race condition.

This is also not new. Windows 8 introduced "Fast Startup", which preloads core functions and their current states, by saving them to disk, on shutdown. Unlike now, it wasn't implemented because Microsoft kept degrading the baseline performance with each new update. It was added because hard drives are slow.

 

[dualkelly]

I turned off windows update a long time ago. its constally breaking things. Infact I use a hostfile and block every single MS ip address used for updates/telemetery/phone home/spyware. Scrubbed every single piece of Microsoft bloatware off my pc.

 

[opckieran]

Linux community must up the ante for more compatible OS. Double click install for every app created for Windows in the last 30 years. Cheat, lie, steal, but when called to court, say It's not You. That's what those global corporations are already doing for every penny of profit, at the expense of the society. Don't be shy, Linus.

Fun fact, Linux is compatible with 98% of what people are running on Windows today.

The truth is, it's not the fault of Linux, rather, it's software companies who stubbornly insist making their software as incompatible with Linux as possible. Activision and DXO to name a couple...

 

[NumberNine]

Let it be known that Micrsoft doesn't need third party malware anymore because they bake their own directly into the OS.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

The Linux community had decades — DECADES[/B] — to make gaming viable and yet they missed the mark every damn time.

You would be right.
If you did not forget to write ... windows gaming on Linux.
There is gaming on Linux and was there for decades.

So do not blame community to not providing support for games deliberately written to not be compatible with anything else except an exact version of Windows.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

... having to watch 2000 Youtube videos just to get your wireless gaming keyboard to work ...

Pick one able coder from cummunity
Give him that darn keyboard
Provide him food, shelter, electricity, internet
And you will get that keyboard working

Manufacturers do not provide drivers
Manufacturers do not provide datasheets
Yet you blame OSS comunity for not providing support.

PS: Instead of watching 2000 videos, do something else in meantime to earn some money and give them to OSS.
Or just do not buy crap without support from manufacturer.

 

[MasterAce]

I don’t think the Linux community is motivated by marketshare or out there to ”compete” with anyone.

Most of the core functions of Linux is already developed by paid professionals like intel/AMD, google, Red Hat etc engineers. When a company needs something, they develop it and everyone will benefit. Valve is a natural continuation of this pattern. Valve didn’t develop proton from scratch, most of the parts were already in development by the community, Valve simply funded them to boost their work.

The more momentum Linux can gather, the better it will be as more paid engineers join in.

 

[OortCloud]

Windows 11's unmaintainable codebase and massive technical debt combined with the window lickers doing development on the OS now are resulting in an omnishambles. Like so many companies they are so obsessed with AI they have completely taken their eye of the ball.

 

[Revolution 11]

Well - True, but on the other hand we're seeing the rise of more user friendly Linux distros like Bazzite. More has happened the last 3 years concerning bringing Linux to the "masses" than the 10 years before.
Now Bazzite isn't perfect - but it's a step in the right direction. Valve with its Proton layer has lit a fire within the Linux community to make the OS finally reach a compatibility level people can use with having to watch 2000 Youtube videos just to get your wireless gaming keyboard to work.
It's still super janky, alot of stuff is broken - many games runs like dung still - but I'd imagine in around 3 years from now it will be a truly viable option to ditch Windows even as a gamer.
Hopefully the "Steam Box" will bridge some of that gap even though it's being optimized for a single GPU / CPU configuration

None of that is because of Linux's entrenched factions (which are still squabbling over the meaning and philosophy of what Linux should be), that is largely the work of self-interested corporate entities like Valve that are interested in extracting money out of Linux.

I would argue that Linux has only succeeded in getting over its self-created issues when an outside corporate organization (like Red Hat Software, Canonical, and Valve) steps in to make money from Linux-based products.

I am sure I will get hate from the Linux hardcore crowd but this is the harsh truth.

 

[Revolution 11]

You would be right.
If you did not forget to write ... windows gaming on Linux.
There is gaming on Linux and was there for decades.

So do not blame community to not providing support for games deliberately written to not be compatible with anything else except an exact version of Windows.

I mean, the community DOES provide support for games written to not be compatible with anything else except an exact version of Windows. It is called Wine.

I would argue that the Linux ecosystem would have benefited massively if more time and money had gone into Wine years earlier, something that Valve is now doing for its own reasons with Proton.