Microsoft First Update Of The Year Prevents Windows 11 Shutdown
Microsoft recently released its first major security update of the year for users of ‘Windows 11’ and it is already causing significant headaches for many people. This new software patch was intended to fix security vulnerabilities and improve system stability as part of the monthly cycle known as Patch Tuesday. Users quickly discovered that the update introduces a frustrating bug that prevents their computers from shutting down properly. Instead of powering off completely after selecting the shutdown option, affected devices simply restart themselves or hang indefinitely. This loop can be incredibly annoying for anyone trying to conserve battery life or simply turn off their machine for the night.
The specific update causing these problems has been identified as KB5073455. It was rolled out to the general public in mid-January as a mandatory security fix for version 23H2 of the operating system. Reports indicate that the issue is primarily affecting systems running the Enterprise and IoT editions of ‘Windows 11’. The root cause appears to be a conflict with a specific security feature known as System Guard Secure Launch. When this feature is enabled on a device installing the faulty update, the shutdown process fails to execute the final power-off command.
System Guard Secure Launch is a sophisticated protection mechanism designed to ensure that the device firmware has not been tampered with during the boot process. It usually runs silently in the background to protect users from rootkits and bootkits that attempt to load before the operating system starts. The fact that a security update broke a security feature is a bit of an ironic twist that users have come to expect from modern software cycles. While this feature is more common in business environments, advanced home users running specific configurations might also encounter the bug.
Microsoft acknowledged the issue shortly after reports began flooding into feedback hubs and technical forums. The company confirmed that devices with the text KB5073455 installed might restart instead of shutting down or entering hibernation. They advised users who need an immediate workaround to use the Command Prompt to force a shutdown. You can do this by opening the terminal and typing a specific shutdown command with a time variable of zero. This method bypasses the standard software hang and forces the hardware to power down immediately.
Fortunately, the tech giant did not take long to produce a permanent solution for this disruption. An out-of-band update labeled KB5077797 was released just a few days later to address the shutdown bug specifically. This emergency patch is available through the Microsoft Update Catalog and should be applied by anyone experiencing these power cycle issues. It is highly recommended that affected administrators deploy this fix rapidly to prevent data loss or hardware strain from continuous restarting. This situation serves as a reminder to save your work before applying any new system patches.
Please let us know in the comments if your computer has been stuck in a restart loop recently.
