The latest Windows 11 update, i🐓dentified as KB5058405, has sparked significant concern among IT professionals and system administrators due to a critical bug that can render systems unbootable.

Released as part of Microsoft’s May 2025 Patch Tuesda🤡y, this cumulative update was intended to address security vulnerabilꦫities and enhance system stability for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. However, reports have surfaced indicating that some devices fail to start after installation, leaving users and enterprises grappling with unexpected downtime.

According to TechRadar, the issue primarily affects systems with specific hardware configurations, particularly those utilizing certain Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) settings. When the update is applied, affected systems encounter a boot failure, often displaying a recovery error cod💞e 0xC0000098, which pꦇoints to a problem with the ACPI.sys driver. This has led to widespread frustration, as organizations relying on Windows 11 for critical operations face significant disruptions.

A Deepening Crisis for IT Departments

Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, confirming that the KB5058405 update can cause boot failures under specific conditions. As reported by BleepingCo♚mputer, the company is actively investigating the root cause, with early findings suggesting that the issue may be tied to how the update interacts with Secure Boot and dual-boot configurations involving Linux systems. While the update was meant to improve Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) to block vulnerable boot managers, it appears to have inadvertently disrupte🐠d boot processes on some machines.

The scale of the problem rema💧ins unclear, as Microsoft has not yet released ♏comprehensive data on the number of affected users. However, forums and IT communities are buzzing with reports of systems stuck in recovery loops or failing to boot entirely. For enterprises managing hundreds or thousands of devices, this poses a logistical nightmare, requiring manual intervention to roll back updates or restore systems from backups.

Technical Details and Temporary Workarounds

Delving into the technical specifics, Microsoft Learn has documented that the error 0xC0000098 often accompanies a failure to load critical system drivers during the boot process.൩ The ACPI.sys driver, essential for power management and hardware communication, seems to be at the heart of the conflict. Systems with older firmware or non-standard configurations appear to be particularly vulnerable, though no definitive list of affe꧙cted hardware has been provided.

For now, Microsoft advises users experiencing thiꦍs issue to boot into Safe Mode or use recovery tools to uninstall the KB5058405 update. TechRadar notes that some IT professionals have resorted to disabling Secure Boot temporarily to bypass the error, though this introduces potential security risks. Microsoft has promised a fix in an upcoming release, but no specific timeline has been shared, leaving many to question the robustness of the company’s update testing processes.

Broader Implications for Windows 11 Adoption

This incident raises broader questions about the reliability of Windows 11 updates at a time when Microsoft is pushing for wider adoption ahead of Windows 10’s end of support in October 2025. Enterprises already hesitant to migrate due to compatibility concerns may view this as another reason to delay. BleepingComputer highlights that su🅰ch boot failures erode trust, especially among IT decision-makers who prioritize stability over new features.

As the investigation continues, the tech community awaits Microsoft’s resolution with bated breath. For now, system administrators are urged to pause the deployment of KB5058405 on critical systems and monitor Microsoft’s updates closely. This episode ser💯ves as a stark reminder of the complexities inherent in modern operating system updates, where a single patch can have cascading effects across diverse hardware ecosystems.