The ‘Windows won’t shut down’ bug is even worse than we thought
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Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- PCWorld reports that Microsoft’s Windows shutdown bug affects multiple versions including Windows 10 22H2, LTSC, and Windows 11 23H2, with an emergency update failing to resolve the issue.
- The persistent bug prevents proper shutdown and hibernation, linked to System Guard Secure Launch and Virtual Secure Mode security features.
- Microsoft acknowledges the widespread problem and is developing a new permanent solution while users can temporarily use the shutdown /s /t 0 command workaround.
Since the last major update for Windows 11 in January, problems have been piling up. Among other issues, some users were no longer able to shut down their PCs properly or put them into hibernation mode.
It’s now clear that significantly more systems are affected by this bug. Not only is Windows 11 23H2 also plagued by this problem, but apparently it can also happen with Windows 10.
Microsoft explains on this support page, which mentions that the following versions all impacted:
- Windows 10 22H2
- Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019
- Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021
- Windows 11 23H2
This error occurs when the affected device is running System Guard Secure Launch, a Windows security feature that’s only supposed to be active when the system starts up to protect against threats. In this case, however, affected PCs can no longer shut down. Virtual Secure Mode (VSM) also appears to play a role.
No workaround available yet
Microsoft previouly stated that the issue was addressed with an emergency update. However, the company has now confirmed that the problem still exists on some systems and wasn’t fully resolved.
According to a note, Microsoft is now working on a solution that should finally fix the bug. This applies to both Windows 11 and Windows 10. Until then, you can continue to shut down Windows using the shutdown /s /t 0 command in the Command Prompt.
Further reading: Windows tricks for faster PC shutdowns
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
Author: Laura Pippig, Staff Writer, PC-WELT
Laura is an enthusiastic gamer as well as a movie and TV fan. After studying communication science, she went straight into a job at PCMagazin and Connect Living. Since then, she has been writing about everything to do with PCs and technology topics, and has been a permanent editor at our German sister site PC-WELT since May 2024.
