Some Windows 10 Home Users Experiencing Reboot Hell Thanks To First Cumulative Update

Windows 10 launched in late July to positive reviews and incredible interest from consumers. Microsoft officially confirmed that the operating system has been installed on 14 million machines within 24 hours of launching, and recent reports peg the installation count somewhere north of 25 million.

But with any new operating system release, there are bound to be issues that crop up — this is to be expected for such a large-scale software program that is being installed on millions of machines, all with unique hardware and software configurations. However, Microsoft’s decision to make Windows 10 Home download and install system updates automatically without the ability for the user to intervene is acerbating user frustration when problem do arise.

Such is the case with the first cumulative update for Windows 10 (KB3081424), which was pushed out on Wednesday. The update is failing on installation for a number of Windows 10 users, and as is standard procedure for failed updates, Windows 10 rolls back the installation. In previous versions of Windows, this would have been the end of it; the user could have just “hid” the update or held off installation until a fix was found.

However, Microsoft’s new mandatory Windows Updates means that Windows 10 repeatedly tries install KB3081424, leading to a comical reboot loop. Some users have taken to Microsoft’s support community to vent their frustrations about the update, while others have offered up a solution (which involves editing keys in the Registry) in the interim until Microsoft can release a working cumulative update.

For the tech savvy (meaning those of you reading this), deleting a few registry keys isn’t too much of a hassle. Likewise, advanced users have the option of installing the Troubleshooter Package to “prevent [a] problematic driver or update from reinstalling automatically the next time Windows Updates are installed.”