What you need to know
- March 2022's Patch Tuesday has arrived, packing the usual slew of security and servicing stack updates.
- This month's Patch Tuesday also contains a fix for a particularly troublesome OneDrive issue that prevented Windows users from having a fully wiped PC when attempting resets.
Windows 10 and Windows 11 users should expect a Windows Update waiting for them, as it's Patch Tuesday once more. March 2022's cumulative updates contain the standard assortment of security and servicing stack updates, with the added benefit of an important bug fix that was recently called out by a Microsoft MVP on Twitter.
To go over the security updates first: 71 vulnerabilities were tackled for this Tuesday's release, including a trio of zero-days.
As for the bug that's addressed in both Windows 11's KB5011493 (build 22000.556) update and the Windows 10 KB5011487 update (which pertains to W10 builds 19042.1586, 19043.1586, and 19044.1586), it's Microsoft's answer to the recently outed OneDrive problem.
In February 2022, Microsoft MVP Rudy Ooms shared his findings regarding a bug that meant OneDrive users would find some data still on their PCs even after a proper reset was carried out. The March 2022 Patch Tuesday notes mention this issue with the following note:
Addresses a known issue that occurs when you attempt to reset a Windows device and its apps have folders that contain reparse data, such as Microsoft OneDrive or Microsoft OneDrive for Business. When you select Remove everything, files that have been downloaded or synced locally from Microsoft OneDrive might not be deleted. Some devices might take up to seven (7) days after you install this update to fully address the issue and prevent files from persisting after a reset. For immediate effect, you can manually trigger Windows Update Troubleshooter using the instructions in Windows Update Troubleshooter.
That's the long and short of this Patch Tuesday. To see what's going on elsewhere in Windows, check out the scoop on a hidden Windows 9 reference inside W11 and W10, as well as upcoming tablet mode improvements.
