Critical Issue with Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2 – System Crashes & Performance Issues

Hi Ram Verma,

The performance degradation and crashes across your Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 devices indicate a severe regression in how the new KB5085516 update interacts with core operating system processes. Because Microsoft has not yet published an Out-of-Band patch or an automated Known Issue Rollback for this specific defect, your immediate priority must be removing the problematic package to restore stability to your environment.

Rather than relying on the Windows Update Standalone Installer which no longer supports silent uninstalls and can cause central deployment scripts to hang, your IT team should utilize the Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool. You can deploy a script running the command DISM.exe /Online /Remove-Package /PackageName along with the specific package identity string for KB5085516 to cleanly revert the operating system. Once the update is successfully removed and the machines rebooted, you must prevent the Windows Update agent from immediately reinstalling the bad patch. You can achieve this by configuring a Group Policy Object under Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Update, to pause Quality Updates. Alternatively, you can directly modify the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate to establish a strict deferral period.

Operating without Software Assurance restricts your ability to open a premier support ticket, making the built-in Windows Feedback Hub your primary escalation route. Having your affected users submit crash diagnostics through this application provides Microsoft engineering with the necessary telemetry to investigate the flaw. You should actively monitor the official Windows Release Health portal for any status changes regarding KB5085516. Once Microsoft acknowledges the defect and releases a superseding update containing the fix, you can safely remove your registry blocks or Group Policy deferrals and resume standard patching.

Hope this answer brought you some useful information. If it did, please hit “accept answer”. Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

VP

KB5085516 is not mentioned in the available Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2 release-health or resolved-issues documentation, and there is no directly documented performance or crash issue tied to that specific update in the provided context.

However, the context does describe how similar post-update issues are typically handled and what concrete steps IT admins can take when cumulative updates cause instability:

1. Check if the issue is a known problem for 24H2 / 25H2
   Review the Windows 11, version 24H2 and 25H2 release-health pages (known issues and resolved issues) to see if any current or recently mitigated issues match the observed behavior (system unresponsiveness, app hangs, crashes). These pages are where Microsoft documents problems like:
   • Apps becoming unresponsive when saving to cloud-backed storage (resolved by KB5078127 after originating in KB5074109).
   • Task Manager processes remaining in the background and degrading performance after KB5067036, fixed in KB5068861.
2. Ensure all latest fixes after the problematic update are installed
   Many issues introduced by one cumulative update are resolved by a later one or by an out-of-band (OOB) update. For example:
   • The “apps might become unresponsive when saving files to cloud-backed storage” issue (affecting Outlook and OneDrive scenarios) was fixed by installing KB5078127.
   • Some issues have been fixed via OOB updates such as KB5077744, which must be manually installed from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
   For affected devices:
   1. Go to Settings → Windows Update and install all available quality/security updates released after KB5085516.
   2. If Microsoft later publishes an OOB fix for this issue, download and install it from the Microsoft Update Catalog as documented for similar issues.
3. Use Known Issue Rollback (KIR) where applicable (managed environments)
   For some regressions, Microsoft uses Known Issue Rollback (KIR) to revert the problematic code path in cumulative updates without uninstalling the update. The context shows this pattern for Windows 11 24H2/25H2 issues:
   • KIR is automatically applied to most home and non-managed devices (a restart can help it take effect sooner).
   • For managed devices (AD or MDM), IT admins must deploy a special Group Policy to enable the rollback.
   For a KIR-enabled issue on 24H2/25H2:
   1. Download the appropriate KIR Group Policy MSI for Windows 11 24H2 / Windows Server 2025 (for example, the “Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025 KB5062660 250806_17201 Known Issue Rollback.msi”).
   2. Install the MSI on the management workstation or domain controller.
   3. In Group Policy Management, under Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates, locate the specific policy name described in the KIR documentation and enable it for the affected OU/devices.
   4. Force a Group Policy update (gpupdate /force) or wait for normal policy refresh, then restart the devices.
   This approach is how Microsoft expects enterprises to mitigate regressions introduced by certain cumulative updates without removing the entire update.
4. If no KIR or follow-up fix exists yet
   If the issue is new with KB5085516 and not yet documented as a known issue or covered by a KIR or later fix in release-health:
   • Temporarily roll back/uninstall KB5085516 on a small pilot set of devices to confirm that performance and stability return to normal. If confirmed, this can be used as a short-term mitigation while monitoring release-health for an official fix. (The exact uninstall steps are not detailed in the provided context, but this is the standard mitigation pattern implied by the existence of KIR and subsequent fixes.)
   • Avoid broad deployment of KB5085516 to additional devices until a fix or KIR is published.
5. Use Feedback Hub to report the issue to Microsoft
   Even without Software Assurance, issues can be reported directly to Microsoft via Feedback Hub:
   1. Open the Feedback Hub app on an affected device.
   2. Provide a detailed description (mention Windows 11 24H2/25H2, KB5085516, symptoms like crashes and performance degradation, and whether uninstalling the update resolves it).
   3. Attach logs and reproduce the issue if prompted.
   The release-health documentation explicitly recommends Feedback Hub for reporting update problems and is the supported channel for customers without paid support contracts.
6. If devices are Azure Virtual Desktop or RDS-related
   The context also describes an issue where apps become unresponsive when saving to cloud-backed storage across multiple Windows versions, with guidance to:
   • Install OOB update KB5077744 if applicable, or
   • Use alternative connection methods (Remote Desktop client for Windows or Windows App Web Client) as a temporary workaround.
   If the environment matches that scenario (e.g., AVD sessions, cloud storage hangs), apply the same pattern: install the documented fix or use the documented connection workarounds until the fix is in place.

In summary, for this KB5085516-related issue on Windows 11 24H2/25H2:

• Confirm whether it matches any documented known issues in the release-health pages.
• Ensure all subsequent cumulative and OOB updates are installed on affected devices.
• For managed environments, check if a KIR policy exists for the related KB and deploy it where applicable.
• If no fix is yet published, validate uninstalling KB5085516 on a pilot group as a temporary mitigation and report the issue via Feedback Hub to Microsoft.

References:

• Resolved issues in Windows 11, version 24H2
• Windows 11, version 24H2 known issues and notifications
• Resolved issues in Windows 11, version 25H2