Windows Sandbox might fail to start after the update

May 27, 2019 05:36 GMT  ·  By

The May 2019 Patch Tuesday cumulative update for Windows 10 version 1903 (May 2019 Update) breaks down one of the top features that this new release brings.

Windows Sandbox might no longer start after installing cumulative update KB4497936 on devices already running Windows 10 May 2019 Update, and Microsoft says no workaround is available at this point.

In other words, while you are recommended to install cumulative update KB4497936 because it resolves security vulnerabilities in the OS, you could end up unable to use Windows Sandbox after that.

Needless to say, users experiencing this issue can always remove the update to restore Windows Sandbox.

Listed as “acknowledged,” this bug only exists in Windows 10 version 1903 – the May 2019 Update is the only version of Windows 10 that comes with Windows Sandbox.

Fix coming next month

Microsoft says it’s already working on a fix, and it expects to release it in late June. The next Patch Tuesday rollout takes place on June 11, so Microsoft could wait even longer to resolve this problem.

In most of the cases, the bug causes Windows Sandbox to fail to start with error 0x80070002, and the software giant provides more details on this problem:

“Windows Sandbox may fail to start with "ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND (0x80070002)" on devices in which the operating system language is changed during the update process when installing Windows 10, version 1903.”

Windows Sandbox is a new Windows 10 feature available in the May 2019 Update that allows users to run apps in a separate and secure environment that prevents any potential malware from reaching data stored on the device. Built like a virtual machine, Windows Sandbox fires up a separate fully-featured instance of Windows within the OS, protecting files not only when running apps, but also when browsing the web on potentially malicious files.