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back to article Windows 10 Anniversary Update is borking boxen everywhere

Users are reporting that upgrading to the Windows 10 Anniversary Update renders their PCs unusable. A lengthy Reddit thread explains the problem: the Anniversary Update installs just fine, but when users re-start their PCs after the upgrade … nothing happens. Users report that their PCs simply hang on restart, sometimes …

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  1. Tom 64
    Coffee/keyboard

    Isn't the first time

    The last update (1511) borked my box badly. The start menu and task bars would lock up completely after a minute or so in a manner similar to the borks reported with this release. Probably some old cruft left over from Windows 7 I guess.

    Eventually I did a clean install with 1511 and the new update to 1607 went smoothly.

    12 26 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      @Tom 64 - Re: Isn't the first time

      Please don't badmouth Windows 7, your Windows 10 is totally crap, that's all. You've been suckered into it so try to show some dignity here instead of blaming an OS some of us adore.

      78 31 Reply
      1. Tom 64
        Reply Icon
        Angel

        Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

        Not gonna disagree with you on that point. I've had my gaming rig bricked by W10 twice, but its got one feature I give a monkey's about, and that is DX12.

        For everything else I use W7 and Linux

        26 6 Reply
        1. Poncey McPonceface
          Reply Icon

          Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

          Microsoft has always used DirectX version bumps to force gamers to upgrade their OS. Apparently it has been beyond Microsoft's power to backport said bumps. Funny that.

          37 2 Reply
        2. nkuk
          Reply Icon

          Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

          I wouldn't say that DX12 is a reason to upgrade, at least not yet. Windows 10 has been out for a year now and there are very few DX12 games, those that do support DX12 also support DX10/11 and the performance difference is negligible in many cases unless you have an AMD graphics card.

          Take up of Vulkan seems to be going well, Unity, Source2, id Engine, Unreal, Serious/CroEngine and others have support for Vulkan. Frostbyte will support Vulkan on some platforms.

          If you're a developer and Vulkan support is built into the engine it would seem more sensible to support Vulkan as you can target Win7/8/8.1/10, Linux, Android and possibly MacOS, while with DX12 you only get the ~20% of Windows users with Windows 10 and Xbox one which is losing to the PS4. The Nintendo NX is also rumoured to support Vulkan.

          Linux gaming has been accelerating fast since Valve started working on SteamOS and contributing to Vulkan, I think it will continue to a point where even EA, Activision and Ubi will start to include Vulkan/Linux support in their games.

          18 2 Reply
          1. Chika
            Reply Icon

            Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

            I wouldn't say that DX12 is a reason to upgrade...

            Perhaps not. The problem is that there are a lot of gamers out there that see a shiny new version and will do whatever it takes to get it, no matter what.

            11 1 Reply
            1. Anonymous Coward
              Reply Icon
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

              The gamers are a group in a good position to switch OSs at will. Tower cases are more amenable to swapping boot HDDs, g\amers are used to tweaking stuff, SSDs make system image restores less of a pain, games can be safely deleted from HDDs because they can just be downloaded again from an online account etc. I mean, if I were a gamer and tweaked my system just so to get maximum FPS from my chief time-sink, I'd create a system image back of it.

              7 0 Reply
              1. psychonaut
                Reply Icon

                Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

                if you are going to upgrade an OS, do it properly, wipe and fresh install, you are just piling up potential problems for the future otherwise.

                5 6 Reply
                1. ecofeco Silver badge
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

                  if you are going to upgrade an OS, do it properly, wipe and fresh install, you are just piling up potential problems for the future otherwise.

                  What is this, still the 20th century?

                  9 1 Reply
                2. WolfFan Silver badge
                  Reply Icon

                  Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

                  if you are going to upgrade an OS, do it properly, wipe and fresh install, you are just piling up potential problems for the future otherwise.

                  If you're going to upgrade a Microsoft OS, do it properly, wipe and fresh install, you are just piling up potential problems for the future otherwise. I have in front of me a nice shiny Apple iMac. It is running OS X 10.11.6. It shipped with 10.8.something. I have done nothing but update installs. No significant problems. Elsewhere is an ancient Apple PowerMac G4 tower. That machine shipped with 10.2 or 10.3 on it and went to 10.6 and only stopped there because 10.7 requires an Intel processor and it has a PPC processor. I'm sure that there are other non-MS systems around here which were also updated without a wipe and which also don't give trouble.

                  6 4 Reply
                  1. Michael Sanders
                    Reply Icon

                    Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

                    That's my experience as well. I worried for the first few weeks until I made a USB installer...I've never used it.

                    0 0 Reply
                    1. psychonaut
                      Reply Icon

                      Re: @Tom 64 - Isn't the first time

                      I see the macs that have problems...not many but some. El capitan was fun. ..I run a repair shop. ..most of them dont have problems but some of them do...nowhere near as many as windows of course but then they have a much smaller hardware Base to deal with and maybe apple take more care. Still stand by my comment...and I was referring to ms stuff obviously

                      0 0 Reply
      2. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        re "an OS some of us adore."

        @ac re win7

        "an OS some of us adore."

        awwww Thats the nicest thing anybodys ever said about Microsoft

        18 0 Reply
  2. Carl D

    Same thing happens most of the time with every (forced) monthly update as well.

    Welcome to the Wonderful World Of Windows 10.

    Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester.

    Seriously - you'd have to be either insane or a masochist to use W10 for any considerable length of time.

    Hint to MS: We want a stable operating system with just monthly security and minor updates with a major service pack every year or two. Like we used to have with previous versions. Not this W10 constantly mutating joke of an OS which keeps breaking things almost weekly.

    Oh - and if you could put in a big TELEMETRY OFF button (that actually really works) for home users, that would be nice too.

    87 5 Reply
    1. AlexS
      Reply Icon
      Pint

      "Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester."

      Not every customer. I set group policy in Pro 10 to delay these updates by six months. In my world I won't be seeing this update for quite a little while, so thanks to the rest of you who are beta testing this for me!!

      6 24 Reply
      1. dan1980
        Reply Icon

        Re: "Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester."

        @AlexS

        . . . until a future update (once you get it) removes that policy from Pro, making it available only on Enterprise.

        64 0 Reply
        1. Duncan Macdonald
          Reply Icon

          Re: "Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester."

          When a major "update" like this one is due - stop and disable the Windows Update Service - wait until there has been at least 2 further updates to correct the worst of the problems before re-enabling the service. (Disabling the Windows Update Service works on Home and Pro.)

          2 0 Reply
        2. AlexS
          Reply Icon
          Paris Hilton

          Re: "Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester."

          Oh I see. Silly me I should disable group policy immediately and get on with complaining, beta testing and down voting like the rest of you, even though the facility is there. My bad. It's working for me just fine but somehow I must be mistaken or wrong.

          1 3 Reply
      2. bombastic bob Silver badge
        Reply Icon
        Mushroom

        Re: "Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester."

        "Not every customer. I set group policy in Pro 10 to delay these updates by six months."

        yeah, you USED to be able to do that, huh? Well, it's been "fixed" from what I've read.

        When Micro-shaft LAID OFF all of their testing staff, they started relying on "insiders" to do their beta (read: alpha) testing. Now your average "insider" (who didn't unofficially *LEAVE* the program) is a fanboi sycophantic SUCK UP to anything Micro-shaft. So you can expect LOTS of ass-kissing approval of anything, and testing ONLY on the most limited range of computer hardware available (like Surface laptops and things that came WITH Windows 8.x or Win-10-nic pre-installed).

        THAT would have been the "alpha" test.

        THEN, it's released for Home (and now, Pro) users, and it becomes the new BETA test.

        Oops, they did it again. They nuked your machine. etc. [sounds best of sung by Brittney, heh].

        And _I_ thought that maybe the anniversary release was like "SP1", after which you MIGHT be able to assume some actual STABILITY. But then again, I remembered: Win-10-nic!

        16 9 Reply
    2. a_yank_lurker
      Reply Icon

      @Carl D - Are you sure about beta tester, this is acting more like alpha testing.

      50 2 Reply
      1. Ropewash
        Reply Icon
        Paris Hilton

        @a_yank_lurker

        I'd always drawn my own personal distinction as;

        A beta will shit the bed and break itself.

        An alpha will shit everyone's bed, break itself and everything around it.

        So yeah, this is wandering into alpha-testing territory.

        Sorry. All your data, programs and settings are gone. Please wipe your partitions and re-install. Every damned time we force an upgrade on you. SaaS... More like Crash course in creating boot drives and doing full installations as a Service.

        Paris. Because even she's wondering what the hell is wrong with Microsoft these days.

        45 3 Reply
        1. P. Lee
          Reply Icon

          Re: @a_yank_lurker

          >SaaS... More like Crash course in creating boot drives and doing full installations as a Service.

          In SaaS solutions, the provider manages the stack right up to the application software layer.

          W10 isn't SaaS - I'm not sure what it is, but a managed solution it isn't.

          All those enterprise outsourcers who have difficulty managing their clients' OS estates? That's what MS is trying to do, for "free." How well do we think that will end?

          6 0 Reply
          1. Chika
            Reply Icon

            Re: @a_yank_lurker

            W10 isn't SaaS

            Depends on how you translate it. If you mean "Software as a Service", then probably not.

            If you mean "Shits all available Systems" then...

            17 4 Reply
            1. Chika
              Reply Icon

              Re: @a_yank_lurker

              Oooo! One thumb down already! The M$UK folk are being vigilant today!

              8 6 Reply
            2. Soruk
              Reply Icon
              Boffin

              Re: @a_yank_lurker

              "Software as a Service" works, for agricultural values of "service".

              (As in, the way the bull services a cow.)

              7 0 Reply
          2. cybersaur
            Reply Icon
            Devil

            Re: @a_yank_lurker

            Windows 10 is FYaaS!

            6 0 Reply
            1. dajames
              Reply Icon

              Re: @a_yank_lurker

              Windows 10 is FYaaS!

              Windows 10 is just SaaD (Software as a Disservice).

              4 0 Reply
        2. a_yank_lurker
          Reply Icon

          Re: @a_yank_lurker

          The reports make the rolling release distro Arch Linux and derivatives look like paragons for ease of updating and stability for any user. Linux rolling release distros are only recommend for the stout of heart who are willing to occasionally go fix problems by Distrowatch.com. The funny part is I use an Arch derivative (Antergos) as my main distro and have less problems than Winbloat 10 users are reporting.

          3 1 Reply
          1. Skymonrie
            Reply Icon
            Gimp

            Re: @a_yank_lurker

            Upvoted as I also use arch linux as my everyday workhorse and find it very stable.

            I feel a lot less pain for the only minor (and generally easy to debug / fix) glitches I have come across compared to this windows affair.

            Here was me thinking I lived on the bleeding edge with my OS, MS spoil everything...i can't even enjoy the pain...

            2 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      "We want a stable operating system with just monthly security and minor updates with a major service pack every year or two."

      Have you tried any Linux distro?

      Ubuntu: easy install and update

      Mint: Great for Windows escapees

      etc...

      32 15 Reply
    4. anonymous boring coward Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      "Where every customer is a perpetual unpaid beta tester."

      Seems MS only want gamers as customers then.

      Only gamers take pride in reinstalling periodically. And only gamers are conditioned to put up with any sh*t that happens when those shiny new nVidia or AMD drivers inevitably crash, so are well positioned to take a good ramming from MS too.

      9 3 Reply
    5. Pirate Dave Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Pirate

      "Oh - and if you could put in a big TELEMETRY OFF button (that actually really works) for home users"

      And don't forget a similar button to turn off Cortana. It totally irks me that there's no (reasonable) way to completely kill that software and prevent it from chewing 25 Megs of RAM for no reason whatsoever.

      13 0 Reply
    6. Howard Hanek
      Reply Icon
      Childcatcher

      Data Glut

      ...I suspect all the data that Redmond 'acquires' does cause network bottlenecks that halts systems.

      3 0 Reply
  3. Sampler

    Schrödinger's Laptop

    So, I came in to my work box performing "updates" this morning, ten minutes later (on a top line i7/32GB RAM/512GB SSD) I saw I had Anniversary, so, now I've not yet rebooted since the upgrade, my computer could be in a quantum state of being fucked and not fucked.

    And some people spent billions on quantum computing.

    Well, might as well hit the reboot now and see which way the waveform collapses...

    88 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

      Nooooo! You need to get a cat to do it!

      32 3 Reply
      1. Grade%
        Reply Icon

        Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

        "Nooooo! You need to get a cat to do it!"

        You can tape sticks to its paws so it will look like it's doing it itself!

        Video and post it on YouTube!

        I smell a viral winner!

        2 1 Reply
        1. Anonymous Coward
          Reply Icon
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

          You can't force the cat to push the button, then it's really you doing it.

          Has to be the cat's idea.

          5 5 Reply
          1. Roq D. Kasba
            Reply Icon

            Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

            Should be independent. Cats walking on keyboard is a good randomiser, but not if you're trying to work, at which point the fact the keyboard is getting all the attention will guarantee a keyboard trampling

            5 1 Reply
            1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
              Reply Icon
              Flame

              Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

              "Cats walking on keyboard is a good randomiser"

              not at my house - the cat hits a function key for "Load previous save" every time

              3 0 Reply

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

        > Nooooo! You need to get a cat to do it!

        Is that for paws on the keyboard (doing the secret random known-only-to-cats keystrokes that freezes the box)? Or the "lets vomit partly-digested mouse-and-catfood over the keyboard"?

        Either are available from your local cat empawioum.

        1 0 Reply
    2. CanadianMacFan
      Reply Icon

      Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

      It reminds me of servers before they became commodity boxes (the old Suns, DECs, etc) where they would keep on running almost no matter what and when you rebooted them you would find out if there was a hardware problem or not.

      Back around 2006 I had a couple of DEC Alphas still running in the data centre. (Yes, they were from Digital!) The last of the applications had just ported over to Linux but they were running just for a backup in case something went wrong with the conversion. But our annual data centre shut down weekend for maintenance (don't ask) was coming up and I really wanted to get the permission to turn them off before that weekend. They had been up for another year and I didn't really want to worry if they were going to come back up.

      7 2 Reply
      1. Down not across
        Reply Icon
        Happy

        Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

        Back around 2006 I had a couple of DEC Alphas still running in the data centre. (Yes, they were from Digital!) The last of the applications had just ported over to Linux but they were running just for a backup in case something went wrong with the conversion. But our annual data centre shut down weekend for maintenance (don't ask) was coming up and I really wanted to get the permission to turn them off before that weekend. They had been up for another year and I didn't really want to worry if they were going to come back up.

        Disappointing. I was expecting, when the power came back on, the Alphas would've been the only ones booting up successfully.

        0 0 Reply
        1. CanadianMacFan
          Reply Icon

          Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

          No, everything came up fine but it just took a long time to do it because there were a lot of dependencies (web server needs the application server which needs the database etc). However shutting them down was very fast. The dependencies were still there but while the rest of the group where up in the data centre logging onto each machine one at a time to turn it off, earlier in the day I had scheduled 70+ servers to turn off in groups with the "at" command. I just went up to manually turn off switches and power supplies and unplug the power strips that were in the racks holding my servers since they were messing around with the power distribution units. They had nothing else for me to do so I was out of there in a half hour while everyone else was just getting started.

          0 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

      You bastard....

      I just laughed out my sandwich over my laptop reading this. Now I have to clean it.

      3 0 Reply
    4. ChubbyBehemoth
      Reply Icon

      Re: Schrödinger's Laptop

      No sillies,.. you have to put the computer in a cardboard box and as long as you don't open the box and take a peek, you don know whether it is still working or not. As soon as you take a peek (i.e. turn it on and wait for boot) you know for sure it is bricked. Until that moment you may have an inkling of hope MS Marketing has calculated the correct outcome although any independent scientific research has already proven beyond reasonable doubt that their methods suck.

      3 0 Reply
  4. Anonymous Coward
    Meh

    Boot scoot

    So you have Windows, and yet another update borks your machine.

    You know the drill: Clean install!

    You say you're afraid you have a virus? Clean install!

    You have a txt file that won't open? Clean bloody install!

    Why do they always stall instead of coming clean?

    46 0 Reply
    1. Innocent-Bystander*
      Reply Icon

      Re: Boot scoot

      So you have Windows, and yet another update borks your machine.

      You know the drill: Clean install!

      You say you're afraid you have a virus? Clean install!

      You have a txt file that won't open? Clean bloody install!

      Why do they always stall instead of coming clean?

      Weird. On my end, I installed it once, updated it with the second major release, then swapped motherboard/CPU/GPU combo and it just kept on trucking, no problems. I've yet to do a clean install of W10 since it released.

      Probably famous last words, you never know what tomorrow brings.

      13 1 Reply
      1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        Re: Boot scoot

        I think you may be 'speaking too soon'.

        I get the feeling that there is some Evil Genius sorry, Madman somewhere inside Microsoft who has set out to bork every Windows 10 system in existence.

        As he strokes his white cat he chuckles to himself and mentally ticks off another million borks of upgraded systems.

        His motto is 'the day ain't done until all updated systems don't run'.

        come back Balmer, all is forgiven.

        5 6 Reply
      2. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Boot scoot

        Probably famous last words, you never know what tomorrow brings.

        And that is exactly why I abandoned Windows. I have too much work to do to worry about what Microsoft is going to screw up next.

        "Update" isn't a word in the Microsoft world, it's a sentence.

        11 2 Reply

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