Microsoft has moved swiftly to remove the bullet it fired into its own foot with the August 2025 Security Update reset and recovery bug.

The company has released out-of-band patches for [1]Windows 10 and [2]Windows 11 to deal with the problem in which attempts to reset and recover a device fail following the installation of the August update. The patch is optional – users who haven't encountered the issue don't need to install it.

Microsoft added the issue to the Windows release health dashboard on August 18. There was no workaround for the problem, which arose on some devices when users attempted to use Windows' recovery tools to reset their PC or fix problems with Windows Update. It affected pretty much every supported version of Windows, including the soon-to-be-terminated Windows 10, although Windows 11 24H2 was unscathed. Windows Server was similarly spared the borkage.

[3]

An out-of-band patch was needed to deal with the problem. A day after Microsoft admitted in its dashboard that it had broken Windows again, a patch emerged to patch the patch.

[4]

Hopefully, the company has tested this one more thoroughly than the August 2025 Windows security update that caused the mess in the first place.

[5]Latest Windows 11 insider builds hide secret File Explorer dark mode

[6]August update leaves Windows reset and recovery dead in the water

[7]Microsoft keeps adding stuff into Windows we don't want – here's what we actually need

[8]Voice, vision, pen: Oh dear. Windows boss says Microsoft is again reshaping OS

The August 2025 Windows security update isn't one of Microsoft's finest hours. In addition to the out-of-band update for Windows 10 and earlier builds of 11, issues were [9]encountered when attempting to install the update through Windows Server Update Services. Some users have also [10]reported problems with storage under heavy load.

We asked Copilot what was going on, and Microsoft's chatbot responded: "The August 2025 Windows security update has stirred up quite a bit of trouble across multiple versions of Windows." You think?

The problem is that there are critical fixes in the update, so holding off on an install can carry considerable risk. However, as the problems mount up, and Microsoft rushes out fixes to clean up its messes, users and administrators alike must balance the risk of leaving vulnerabilities unpatched with the risk of Microsoft accidentally borking their device with yet another iffy update. ®

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[1] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/august-19-2025-kb5066188-os-builds-19044-6218-and-19045-6218-out-of-band-decbec0f-fddb-4dc0-b91b-ed59001ce0d8

[2] https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/topic/august-19-2025-kb5066189-os-builds-22621-5771-and-22631-5771-out-of-band-ce99f225-f523-4d85-8039-54965e97d0ff

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aKXxGoc6XxRy2hSBY0sV4AAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aKXxGoc6XxRy2hSBY0sV4AAAAMk&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/19/windows_11_insider_builds_file_explorer_dark_mode/

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/19/windows_reset_recovery_broken/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/16/microsoft_windows_features_help_productivity/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/14/microsofts_windows_revision_comment_opinion/

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/14/microsoft_patch_tuesday_update_fails/

[10] https://x.com/Necoru_cat/status/1956130393050243325

[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/