Boot loop delays Microsoft's forced Windows 11 Version 23H2's rollout — controversial update hits a roadblock

Thanks to a known issue causing forced device restarts (boot loops), particularly on any PC utilizing virtualization, Microsoft has been forced to halt the forced rollout of its cumulative Windows 11 2023 Update, also known as the Windows 11 23H2 update. In the past, we've covered these updates and Microsoft's choice to begin the forced rollout back on February 21, 2024. While the forced restarts issue persists, Microsoft has ceased rolling the update out via Windows Update (for consumers or businesses) as it investigates the root cause. CloudPC, DevBox, and Azure Virtual Desktop are listed as likely culprits, but any virtual machine applications are likely unsafe to run with this update.

Considering that Windows 11 23H2 is mostly just a minor upgrade over Windows 11 22H2  (and both are cumulative updates over the course of Windows 11's 2023 development), it's quite a shock to see Windows 11's so-called 2023 update still in such a poorly-functional state halfway into the following year. While Microsoft notes that most Home users wouldn't be using virtualization at all, it still seems like quite the glaring issue in basic operating functionality that shouldn't be there.

Of course, anyone with knowledge of the PC market knows that Microsoft has a fairly comfortable near-monopoly. Windows operating systems occupy by far the greatest market share on PCs compared to various Linux distributions or Hackintosh configurations. This comfortable place in the market doesn't mean users aren't frustrated with the forced upgrades to a controversial, unfinished update, though, nor that the company has been forced to step back in this manner half a year later.

For what it's worth, the other two known issues listed for this update seem pretty minor. One confirmed issue is that the Photos app may fail to start, which shouldn't impact Home Edition. Microsoft's original post identified a few likely settings changes as culprits. There was also an issue where Microsoft Edge updates would improperly place Copilot into the Installed Apps list, but this has at least been fixed.