Since the launch of Windows 11 in 2021, there has been a steady stream of bugs, performance issues, instabilities, and more that have been affecting even the best Windows laptops and best laptops. It seems that with every new update comes new problems to contend with, even if the update genuinely does bring about improvements and stability fixes.
The most benign problems are ones that can be easily mitigated or ignored, but unfortunately, there are some bugs that can be incredibly persistent or even devastating to your Windows 11 OS. These are the kinds of issues that send you immediately searching for fixes, either official ones or clever temporary fixes from other users.
These are five of the worst issues that Windows 11 have caused in recent months, along with how to either temporarily troubleshoot them or how to download the official patch if there is one. It is telling, however, how long many of these bugs go without patches from big tech for months until enough people complain.
Stealth nerfing graphics cards
Windows 11’s VBS (Virtualization Based Security) has been an issue with gamers since Windows 11 was first released in 2021. For the uninitiated, VBS is a security feature that has this problem with throttling gaming performance. The problem is that VBS is switched on automatically, meaning that even with the best graphics card you could be seeing a reduction in performance by up to 10%, depending on the game.
Thankfully there is a way to fix this problem, though it does require a bit of menu navigation. First, search for Core Isolation and click it, then toggle the Memory Integrity option off, and restart your computer as prompted. To make sure it’s off, go to System Information, and check if ‘virtualization-based security’ is set to ’not enabled.’ You may have to repeat this process every time you update the OS, but doing so means you’ll get the most out of your graphics card.
Bluetooth instability after a forced update
There’s another strange and insidious bug that can happen after Windows 11 force restarts your PC for an update that you didn’t consent to. If it happens, say goodbye to any Bluetooth functionality until you manage to troubleshoot it back again. Unfortunately, this particular issue was discovered by a fellow colleague one frustrating morning and it took her hours to restore her laptop back to normal.
The problem with this bug is that most people don’t know what’s behind it. Meaning that you’ll be wading through plenty of bad advice before finding the true solution, which is disabling Fast Startup and then restarting. Articles from back in 2017 chronicle how Fast Startup can interfere with critical functions ranging from installing Windows updates to not being able to access BIOS settings. It’s because instead of actually booting up your PC quicker, it simply puts it in hibernation mode, which causes plenty of problems. Just disable it and save yourself the headache.
AMD processors get hit with a strange bug
There’s a particularly strange Windows 11 bug impacting one of the best AMD processors, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU, preventing owners from even installing the OS in the first place due to a failed ‘TPM attestation’ error. The biggest issue is that, at the time of this writing, both Microsoft and AMD are aware of the problem but have no known fix for it. That unfortunately leaves it up to users to troubleshoot a solution instead, which is far from ideal.
The most successful solution is to install a separate TPM module instead of using the one built into the processor. It’s not fair to expect that from those affected, as it requires you to buy and install a separate TPM module for a problem that should have been fixed by this point. One Reddit user suggests another workaround to fix the problem: “Put the old CPU back in, disable TPM, clear the CMOS, reinstall the new processor, and then turn TPM back on.” It’s not fully confirmed to be completely reliable but someone claims it helped them out. And it’s better than the silence from AMD and Microsoft at least.
Slowdown and general jankiness after a recent update
Windows 11's latest update, KB5025239, seems to be causing various issues for users including File Explorer crashing, general slowdown, performance issues, SSD speed issues, unresponsive desktop icons, and even those same icons disappearing from the desktop. Various Reddit posts as well as Windows Latest readers have cataloged their issues surrounding the update.
If you find yourself having these issues, which apparently start shortly after installation, then it’s best to uninstall the new update immediately. Luckily it’s a simple process to uninstall, as you just need to go to the Start menu, search for ‘Windows Update,’ and from there view your update history and hit ‘Uninstall Update.’ What makes this disappointing is that the latest version of Windows 11 brought with it some great accessibility features and an improved taskbar.
File copying bug causing massive slowdown
Windows update Windows 11 22H2 caused a big issue that affected file copying speeds by massively slowing them down. According to a report from Bleeping Computer, this happens “when copying larger files from a remote computer down to a Windows 11 computer or when copying files on a local drive.” This bug has been around since at least December 2022, with fixes in the pipeline since then, but no patches had been released in the over three months.
The official patch from Microsoft has finally launched, which has been included in the ‘Moment 2’ update for Windows 11 22H2 that was released in March 2023. And it seems that, according to both Windows Latest readers and a tech consultant who gave a statement to the site, the installation of patch KB5022913 solves the file copying issue completely.
