Windows 10 KB4535996 Update Fixes Search Bug, Adds Some More
Given that there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of computers running Windows, you'd think that Microsoft would exercise extreme caution when rolling out updates. Given how it has landed with egg on its face so many times already, you'd presume it has already learned its lesson hard. That doesn't seem to be the case, however, if the latest update it released barely two weeks ago is any indicator as it brings the now "normal" story of fixing one or two bugs while introducing a handful of new ones as well.
The KB4535996 update has reportedly fixed some issues related to Windows Search, issues that were actually introduced in a previous update. If things went well for a change, we wouldn't need to write this piece. Unfortunately, BleepingComputer reports a rather random assortment of issues that came along for the ride, some of which may have rendered a few computers almost unusable.
There are numerous reports about degraded performance after the update but perhaps more worrying are the ones that slow down the process of booting up to the login screen. Worse, however, is how some users' PCs have apparently hanged at that point, requiring a recovery to get things back to working condition. That's on top of the sound and audio problems reported by users and issues with the app signing tool used by developers. That last one Microsoft did acknowledge and committed to fixing. Sometime this month, that is.
Windows 10 updates have become something of a guessing game and not the fun kind of game at that. Users never really know if an update will break something or if they will even be able to boot back into the computer after one. This defeats the purpose of Microsoft's Windows as a Service paradigm as it erodes trust in that service.
Given the number of possible hardware and software combinations, it is admittedly difficult but not impossible to test for every possible bug before rolling out an update. But Microsoft is no small startup nor is it an inexperienced newcomer. It may soon find Windows being pushed into irrelevancy in a highly mobile and connected computing age not because it has become obsolete but because it has become irreparably broken.