Microsoft finally admits almost all major Windows 11 core features are broken
November 2025
It has been a troublesome week or two for Microsoft, for sure. Earlier today, the company fixed a Microsoft 365 outage that made files unusable; downtimes like this seem to happen on a fairly regular basis.Meanwhile on the Windows side, it has probably been worse. The tech giant got blamed by Nvidia today as the latest Patch Tuesday is leading to performance issues in games. The GPU maker has released an emergency hotfix driver to resolve the problems.
This comes hot on the heels of the massive backlash that the company's Windows boss recently faced due to the evolution of the operating system into an agentic OS as unveiled earlier this week.
On the positive side though, following all that backlash, Microsoft acknowledged Windows has issues, and as if on cue, the company in a new support article has admitted that there are problems on almost every major Windows 11 core feature. The issues are related to XAML and this impacts all the Shell components like the Start Menu, Taskbar, Explorer, and Windows Settings.
Microsoft admitted in late 2025 that certain Windows 11 core features like the Start Menu, Taskbar, and File Explorer became unreliable or "broken" for some users, primarily in enterprise/VDI environments, due to a bug with XAML package registration after July 2025 updates (KB5062553), causing crashes and failures, with temporary PowerShell workarounds provided while a fix is in development for 24H2/25H2 builds. What Features Were Affected?Start Menu (Explorer.exe, StartMenuExperienceHost)
Taskbar
File Explorer (Explorer.exe)
System Settings (SystemSettings.exe)
Windows Search
What Caused It?
A bug related to XML-dependent modern apps failing to register correctly after monthly cumulative updates released from July 2025 onward (like KB5062553).
Who Was Affected?
Primarily enterprise and managed environments using non-persistent setups (like Virtual Desktop Infrastructure - VDI).
Less likely to impact personal home PCs, though some individual users reported issues.
Affected both Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2, as they share the same codebase.
Symptoms: Start Menu, Taskbar, or File Explorer not appearing or crashing.
System Settings failing to launch.
Task Manager repeatedly reopening.
The Fix: Microsoft provided temporary PowerShell scripts and commands for IT admins to re-register the affected packages as a workaround.
A permanent fix was in development, with no specific timeline given at the time of admission.
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-finally-admits-almost-all-major-windows-11-core-features-are-broken/
















