Microsoft's Patch Tuesday roll-up crashes HP boxes

While Microsoft seems confident it has got to the bottom of a file-deleting bug in its latest Windows 10 feature update, the company's patch woes appear to be continuing with the news that its latest cumulative security update is causing crashes on selected Hewlett Packard machines and, potentially, those of other brands.

Microsoft has had an undeniably rough start to October: Its Windows 10 October 2018 Update, bringing new features including support for DirectX Raytracing acceleration on compatible hardware, launched surprisingly early only to be pulled following reports of a bug which deletes users files if Known Folder Redirection (KFR) had got itself into a particular knot. While the company is now confident it has fixed that flaw, complaints are stacking up about its latest Patch Tuesday security updates - specifically, claims that it is crashing HP machines.

In a variety of reports collated by Windows Latest from social media and Microsoft's own support forum, users are complaining that their HP machines are crashing following the installation of the company's KB4464330 cumulative security update. In one post on Microsoft Answers, Windows user Mikael Sillman reports that the company's support staff have confirmed the issue as affecting both HP and 'other computers as well like Dell etc.' - though user reports appear to relate solely to selected HP machines - while claiming that the update has been 'temporarily paused' as the company investigates.

Bar Sillman's quote from an unnamed support representative, though, Microsoft has been silent on the matter, and while the number of reports suggests that the flaw is affecting only a tiny proportion of Windows 10 machines it comes mere months after Microsoft boasted of its use of artificial intelligence technology to make Windows Update more reliable.