Microsoft has released emergency updates to address multiple issues caused by Windows Updates released during the January 2021 Patch Tuesday.
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“Microsoft is releasing out-of-band (OOB) updates today, January 18, 2022, for certain versions of Windows,” the company said.
“This update addresses issues related to VPN connectivity, Windows Server domain controllers restarting, virtual machines failing to start, and ReFS-formatted removable media failing to mount.“
All OOB updates released today are available for download in the Catalog , and some of them can also be installed directly through Windows Update as optional updates.
You will need to manually check for updates if you want to install hotfixes through Windows Update, as they are optional and will not be installed automatically.
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The following updates can be downloaded and installed only through the Microsoft Update Catalog:
Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2: KB5010794
Windows Server 2012: KB5010797
Updates for the following versions of Windows are also available through Windows Update as optional:
Windows 11, version 21H1 (original release): KB5010795
Windows Server 2022: KB5010796
Windows 10, version 21H2: KB5010793
Windows 10, version 21H1: KB5010793
Windows 10, version 20H2, Windows Server, version 20H2: KB5010793
Windows 10, version 20H1, Windows Server, version 20H1: KB5010793
Windows 10, version 1909, Windows Server, version 1909: KB5010792
Windows 10, version 1607, Windows Server 2016: KB5010790
Windows 10, version 1507: KB5010789
Windows 7 SP1: KB5010798
Windows Server 2008 SP2: KB5010799
The latest Windows Server updates caused a number of serious problems for administrators.
According to reports, Windows domain controllers were performing sudden reboots, Hyper-V was no longer starting on Windows servers, and Windows Resilient File System (ReFS) volumes were no longer accessible after installing the January 2021 updates.
Windows 10 users and administrators have also reported issues with L2TP VPN connections after installing recent Windows 10 and Windows 11 cumulative updates and seeing the “Unable to connect to VPN” message.
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Those who cannot install today's updates immediately can remove the KB5009624, KB5009557, KB5009555, KB5009566 , and KB5009543 that cause these issues, with the following commands:
Windows Server 2012 R2: wusa /uninstall /kb:KB5009624
Windows Server 2019: wusa /uninstall /kb:KB5009557
Windows Server 2022: wusa /uninstall /kb:KB5009555
Windows 10: wusa /uninstall /kb:5009543
Windows 11: wusa /uninstall /kb:5009566
Windows administrators and users should consider the risks of unpatched vulnerabilities affecting their systems versus the disruption caused by issues arising from this month's Windows updates.
