14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no secret that Microsoft has a long history of issues caused by botched updates, but every once in a while the company rolls out revised patches that really solve some of the problems that its own fixes are bringing.
The best example is a new update rolled out to Windows 8.1 users this week and supposed to address an old bug in the OneDrive desktop client that was first reported a few months ago.
Surprisingly, Microsoft not only says that everyone experiencing issues with OneDrive should install this patch, but also recommends them to deploy the Windows 8.1 Update improvements released in April and bringing quite a lot of new options on devices running its own modern operating system.
As you might know, the April update in its turn caused several issues to users, so it’s a bit surprising that this new patch requires the deployment of this troublesome release.
Microsoft found the cause of the problems
Microsoft started shipping the new update this morning, and together with it, the company also provided a few more details about what’s exactly happening on computers experiencing issues with the OneDrive desktop client.
According to the software giant, “this problem occurs because of an incorrect registry key that is for self-update mechanism computers. It causes an AutoUpdater feature to crash.”
Basically, installing the bulletin should resolve the problems, but it remains to be seen if the patch is effective on all devices impacted by the OneDrive bug.
Microsoft also has a few more details on what was happening with OneDrive:
“Certain versions of the OneDrive desktop app for Windows cannot automatically update themselves in Windows 8.1.”
Windows 8.1 Update also causing issues
As mentioned, Microsoft’s decision to make the installation of Windows 8.1 Update mandatory for the deployment of this patch is a bit surprising given the fact that this particular release itself is known for causing more trouble on PCs and tablets.
Redmond has already confirmed on its support pages that the OS update launched in April is affected by a few errors, including the following:
• When you install update 2919355 by using Windows Update, the installation fails with error code 0x80071a91; • When you install update 2919355, the installation fails with error code 0x80070005; • When you try to install update 2919355, the installation may fail with a "0x80073712 ERROR_SXS_COMPONENT_STORE_CORRUPT" error. This issue is caused by some corrupted components.
Some users are still struggling to install Windows 8.1 Update, so it remains to be seen how many actually manage to deploy this new OneDrive patch to fix issues with the desktop client.