That Infuriating Windows 'Update and Shut Down' Bug Is Finally Dead
It only took them... well, let's just be glad it's over.
You know the drill. It's 5:30 PM, you're packing up, you see the little orange dot, and you dutifully click "Update and shut down." You turn your back to grab your bag, and you hear it... the goddamn Windows startup chime.
Your PC is back on, sitting at the login screen, mocking you.
This stupid, annoying, "why-is-this-still-a-thing" glitch has plagued us for years. And now, finally, Microsoft is fixing it.
The Fix Is (Finally) In
According to Windows Latest, the fix is rolling out in Windows 11 25H2 Build 26200.7019 and Windows 11 24H2 Build 26100.7019. If you were one of the brave souls who installed the optional October update (KB5067036), you might already have it.
For the rest of us normal people who skipped it, the fix will be in the next big Patch Tuesday update on November 11th. From then on, "update and shut down" should... you know, actually shut down.
The Glitch That Killed a Thousand Laptop Batteries
Microsoft, in classic fashion, has been pretty quiet about the whole thing, burying the acknowledgment in a single bullet point in a support doc: "Improved: Addressed underlying issue which can cause 'Update and shutdown' to not actually shut down your PC after updating."
The problem, apparently, was a simple logic error. Windows has to reboot into a special "offline servicing phase" to apply updates. The "shut down" command just wasn't surviving that quick reboot. It got lost in the void, so the PC would just finish updating and boot right back up to the login screen.
For desktop users, this was just a waste of electricity. But for those with gaming laptops, it was a death sentence. You'd throw your laptop in your bag, thinking it was off, only to pull out a scalding-hot brick with a completely dead battery hours later.
And yes, I agree with the consensus that "tiny gaming laptop batteries" are a crime against nature, but that's a different rant.
It's a small fix for a small problem, but it's one that has driven me, and probably you, absolutely insane. It's about time, Microsoft.