New Windows 10 update causing major PC problems for some — here's the fix

By Sean Endicott
last updated

Another Windows Update, another set of issues, at least for some.

Windows Update
Windows Update (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Windows 10 KB4556799 is causing several issues for people.
  • Issues include the file deletion bug seen in previous updates, audio issues, and the Blue Screen of Death.
  • This is another wave of issues to appear in relation to Windows Updates this year.

Yet another Windows Update is causing issues for people. This time, it's Windows 10 KB4556799 that's causing a wide range of issues. TechRadar reports several issues that people have flagged on Microsoft Community and answer posts, including the Blue Screen of Death (opens in new tab), white screen flickering (opens in new tab), system fonts being replaced, systems switching back to S-mode (opens in new tab), and Outlook search issues (opens in new tab). Windows Latest adds that some people have audio issues as well as the reappearance of the Temporary user profile bug that's been seen with previous updates. The latter is particularly serious as it can delete people's files and change settings back to defaults.

At this time, it's unclear how widespread these issues are, but the variety of issues is concerning. Several Windows Updates have had issues recently. Windows 10 KB4556799 has several of the same issues as previous updates and introduces some new ones as well, according to user reports.

How to fix Windows Update problems on Windows 10

If you have installed it and have any issues, you can easily uninstall it with these steps:

  1. Select the start button or Windows Desktop Search and type update history and select View your Update history.
  2. On the Settings/View update history dialog window, Select Uninstall Updates.
  3. On the Installed Updates dialog window, find and select KB4556799 and select the Uninstall button.
  4. Restart your device.
Sean Endicott
Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

11 Comments
  • FYI, the uninstall steps have the incorrect update to uninstall. To be clear, it's KB4556799, not KB4535996 which is a February update. Also don't know why the last step is to reset the PC but that isn't necessary unless uninstalling the update doesn't work or makes it worse.
  • Thanks, I've updated the steps.
  • I'd love to have all the info to see which systems exactly are having trouble with updates all the time. Or precise numbers reported.
  • Yeah. I wonder how much of this is individual PC woes versus actual update issues. So many PC combinations, social media gives people a voice - therefore the sky is falling down. Hard to decipher.
  • For one I have at least one of these issues and some not even mentioned here on all of my 3 devices, each in different combinations, one server/desktop PC, one work notebook and one personal laptop hooked up to the TV. I report all issues found via the Feedback hub, non of them receives any official feedback since January.
  • I wonder how the average user who doesn't read tech groups like this are supposed to know these things let alone fix them?
  • Scary. Windows 10 is a mess 5 years on. Glad i'm still using Windows 7.
  • I'd be more scared if i were still using Windows 7. Never have I experienced any issues on the software side on any of the 6 W10 machines I got running at home *touch wood*. W7 was good, so was XP, but W10 is generally better and safer.
  • My Windows 7 is getting extended security updates, so i'm secured for 3 more years. I feel like i'm control of my operating system. Windows 10 feels like a chaotic mess.
  • Haha, "mess" is a bit hyperbolic. The QA process for updates leaves much to be desired with MS depending too much on Insiders and probably VMs internally which together still doesn't provide enough "variety" to adequately test. Not to mention many fewer dedicated QA engineers than in the past. But overall, W10 is very good, especially on newer hardware.
  • My 13 year old computer with intel E6850 still running strong lol. As far as I remember, it actually performs better with W10 installed than W7.