Updated June 29 with details of a restart loop impacting some Windows 11 users.
Since this article was published, the situation for Windows 11 users has been complicated by spreading news of an unexpected restart loop impacting some users installing June’s Windows 11 KB5039302. Microsoft has warned users that “after installing updates released June 26, 2024 (KB5039302), some devices might fail to start,” advising that “affected systems might restart repeatedly and require recovery operations in order to restore normal use.”
Don’t be alarmed by these headlines and proceed to update as usual. KB5039302 is not a mandatory update in itself and is not a security update—as such, put those headlines aside and proceed as normal. Do not confuse this update with the security patching that resolves the Microsoft Windows Error Reporting Service vulnerability. In any case, it’s highly likely that your Windows 11 PC will be unaffected by the new issue. This restart loop impacts enterprise machines running “virtual machines tools and nested virtualization features,” Microsoft has said, which means home users are less likely to be hit. Users will still see relevant updates as available.
The issues covered by CISA’s warning were patched ahead of June’s release, and given the Black Basta angle, the urgency remains. And that means that while Microsoft may have pulled KB5039302 for some users, you should still ensure you update your PC ahead of the July 4 deadline.
Windows 10 End-of-Life Looms
The much bigger issue that does impact Windows home users is now fast approaching, albeit that deadline is still more than a year away on October 14, 2025. Just days before Symantec’s report, we saw Microsoft again urging Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11. With a daunting 70% of users yet to make the switch ahead of next year’s end-of-life, that challenge is becoming ever more acute and Microsoft’s nags have started to hit PCs worldwide.
When Windows 10 goes end-of-life it also goes end-of-support. No more security updates for users unwilling to upgrade or pay a new and expensive annual fee.
And so to all those corporate and personal Windows 10 holdouts. “It’s time to upgrade your PC before end of support,” Microsoft urges. “End of support for Windows arrives on October 14, 2025. This means your desktop won’t receive technical support or security updates after that date.”
And that’s simply not a risk worth taking—certainly not with Windows.
