Last week, Microsoft released update KB5083769 for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2 on April’s Patch Tuesday, and unsurprisingly that update is causing issues for users. We previously reported that users were being locked out of their PCs after being asked to input their BitLocker recovery keys. This is a different issue altogether.
A segment of affected users have reported on Microsoft’s support forums that their computers are ending up in “death loops” after installing update KB5083769. In such cases, their screens are reportedly showing a “mosaic of weird pixels” followed by a BSOD crash and a message that says Windows needs to be recovered—but attempting the recovery leads to a loop right back to the same issue.
So far, the issue has affected PCs from both HP and Dell.
According to Microsoft’s AI-generated Q&A Assist, this kind of issue has reared its head before with past updates that corrupt boot-critical components and/or drivers. It recommends going into the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) and attempting a System Restore. If that fails, then a Startup Repair, and then a Local Reinstall as a last resort.
Further reading: Protect your PC with Windows System Restore
