Microsoft has issued an emergency update after users were hit by May’s mandatory security update breaking Windows. “Windows 10 might repeatedly display the BitLocker recovery screen at startup,” Microsoft confirmed, pointing any affected users the newly issued out of bounds update via its Update Catalog.
Windows Latest was first to note the escalating issue, noting that “the KB5058379 install starts, but ends up at ‘Enter the recovery key to get going again (Keyboard layout: US)’ screen, and there’s a text field to add the recovery key.”
There were some reports of the dreaded blue screen of death (BSOD) as well, albeit this was primarily a Bitlocker issue and only for Windows 10 users yet to upgrade. But those BSOD reports were timely, given Microsoft’s update just a week earlier.
Neowin was first to note that “Microsoft has shared steps on how users will be able to troubleshoot and hopefully fix” BSODs when they hit. The company updated a support document, which before has simply advised users turn to “Safe Mode troubleshooting and the Get Help app,” but which now offered much more of a guide.
“Blue Screen errors,” the company explains, “(also called bug checks, STOP code errors, kernel errors, or BSOD errors) can occur if a serious problem causes Windows to shut down or restart unexpectedly to protect itself from data loss.”
What you’ll see is a message warning “”Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.” It’s the dreaded moment, Neowin says, “most Windows users must have experienced once in their lives.”
Microsoft breaks its guidance into two parts.
First is “basic troubleshooting” that should work for everyone, and comprises six fairly easy to follow steps:
- “Remove any new hardware. If you added new hardware to your PC before the error, shut down your PC, remove the hardware, and try restarting.
- Start your PC in safe mode. If you’re having trouble restarting, you can start your PC in safe mode. See Start your PC in safe mode in Windows for details. From safe mode, you can try the remaining troubleshooting steps.
- Check the Device Manager. Right-click the Start button and select Device Manager. Check to see if any devices are marked with the exclamation point (!). Right-click the device and select Update driver. If updating the driver doesn’t help, try disabling or uninstalling the device.
- Check for sufficient free space on the hard drive. The OS and some applications require sufficient free space to create swap files and perform other functions. Based on the system configuration, the exact requirement varies, but it’s a good idea to have 10% to 15% of free space available.
- Install the latest Windows Updates. To check for updates, select Start > Settings > Windows Update , then select Check for updates.
- Restore Windows. If none of these steps help, try restoring Windows using a system restore point, or one of the other Recovery options in Windows. Choose the recovery option that most closely matches your scenario.”
For more expert users, Microsoft also lists three “advanced troubleshooting” tips:
- Check the Event Viewer. Check the system log in Event Viewer for other error messages that might help pinpoint the device or driver that’s causing the error. For more information, see Open Event Viewer. Look for critical errors in the system log that occurred in the same time frame as the blue screen.
- Run the Windows Memory Diagnostics tool. In the search box, type Memory, and then select Windows Memory Diagnostic. After running the diagnostic, use the Event Viewer to view the results under the system log. Look for the MemoryDiagnostics-Results entry to view the results.
- Memory dump analysis. IT professionals and developers can try performing a memory dump analysis. For details and other advanced troubleshooting steps, see Advanced troubleshooting for stop or blue screen errors.
Meanwhile, if you’ve been hit with the latest issues, Windows Latest says “once you’ve installed the update, you’ll no longer run into BitLocker or Blue Screen of Death errors.”
But for those “stuck on the blue screen with automatic recovery failing,” the website has provided its own guidance to “manually turn off Intel TXT from BIOS,” after which you can install Microsoft’s emergency out-of-band update.
“To turn off Intel TXT and the BitLocker recovery screen loop, follow these steps:
- Boot into BIOS by pressing ESC or other keys after powering on. Other keys include F2, F10/F12.
- Once you’re in BIOS, look for the Security tab and head to the Virtualisation menu.
- Then, under Intel TXT, turn off the toggle. It may be called Trusted Execution or “OS Kernel DMA Support as well.”