How to Fix Issues with Windows Updates KB4493472 and KB4493446

Just when it seemed like Microsoft finally stopped rolling out botched updates, here’s the April 2019 Patch Tuesday cycle that brings a handful of updates causing devices to freeze on boot.

It’s happening on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 systems after installing the April 2019 monthly rollups, and by the looks of things, the culprit is a compatibility bug with a number of antivirus products.

First and foremost, it looks like such issues are only experienced on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 for now, though I’m also seeing reports that Windows 10 might be hit as well. Microsoft, however, has only acknowledged such bugs on Windows 7 and 8.1.

The updates that are said to cause the freezing on boot and to make devices unresponsive are the following:  

Additionally, some security vendors claim the following updates could also cause similar issues on Windows versions older than Windows 10:  

To do this, all you have to do is to follow this path on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1:

If you can’t boot to the desktop because the device freezes, you can remove the update from the Safe Mode. To enter Safe Mode in Windows 7, just press the F8 key before the Windows 7 loading screen appears. You will then be presented with a series of advanced options, including Safe Mode, so choose this one to log in to the desktop and remove the update.

As an alternative, you can also try to remove the affected security products, as the freezing only occurs when these apps are installed.

Microsoft says it has already halted the rollout to devices with impacted security products, but until now, the only stated that only Sophos devices are concerned by this restriction. It’s not yet clear if Avira and Avast machines continue to be provided with the botched updates.

As an alternative, security vendors also recommend their customers to get in touch with customer support services for additional information and assistance should it be needed.

Meanwhile, security vendors and Microsoft are still working on a fix. Avast says Windows 7 are most often affected, and the company doesn’t say anything about any potential issues that Windows 8.1 customers might experience.

On the other hand, Microsoft says the issue that hits Sophos machines exists on both Windows 7 and 8.1.

There’s no estimated date as to when Microsoft could publish a fix, but given how widespread this turns out to be, there’s a high chance the software giant wouldn’t wait until the next Patch Tuesday cycle to publish it. The May 2019 Patch Tuesday takes place on the 14th so we’re more than a month away from the moment the company could provide users on Windows 7 and 8.1 with a fix on this.