Microsoft has now confirmed that PCs are crashing into the new, darker black screen of death following January’s mandatory security update. The good news is that the crashes is preventable. The bad news is that the underlying issue is not.
Microsoft now says “this issue can occur on devices that failed to install the December 2025 security update and were left in an improper state after rolling back the update.” That means “attempting to install Windows updates while in this improper state could result in the device being unable to boot.” Thus this latest January jinx.
“We are working on a partial resolution that will prevent additional devices from resulting in a no-boot scenario if they try to install an update while in this improper state,” Microsoft says. “However, this partial resolution will not prevent devices from getting into the improper state in the first place.”
That’s not the worse news. The worse news is that Microsoft also says the fix will not repair devices “that are already unable to boot.” That really is a disaster scenario.
Microsoft’s new warning was spotted by Windows Latest. “In an updated support document, the company has confirmed that the update is indeed crashing some PCs.” This primarily affects commercial PCs. “Most home users won’t run into the problem.”
What we also know is that “this issue affects PCs running Windows 11 KB5074109 (25H2 Build 26200.7623 and 24H2 Build 26100.7623).” Worth checking your PC.
If you are affected, the escape route is painful: “The Black Screen of Death (BSOD) appears with UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME error and requires customers to manually recover their computer. That means it is no longer possible for affected PCs to boot. To recover the PC, Microsoft says you need to enter WinRE (Windows Recovery Environment) and use one of the available methods.”
January is proving something of a nightmare for Windows users, with emergency updates, warnings to uninstall fixes and even Outlook failures. Microsoft will no doubt be glad to see the end of the month next week, and will hope for a better February.
