Windows 10 2021-05 KB5003173 x86 Update Fails on 2nd boot restart / cold boot - NOT Edge Chromium Related

Doug Shobe 16

As stated in the Title: Win10 20H2 2021-05 KB5003173 update on an x86 (32bit) version of Win 10 Pro. Needed x86 for some 16 bit apps. Edge Chromium is (was) working fine and has NEVER been removed.

Once the update is installed and the system restarted it boots up - ONCE.

IF the system is restarted or shutdown and cold booted - It hangs at the Blue Windows icon (No Dot circles).

The Automated Repair does NOTHING. So something introduced in the May update is preventing a full normal boot. It is NOT Edge related in this case.

Intel i7 3770K / Z77 chipset (ASUS P8Z77i - ITX), 256GB Samsung 860EVO SSD. Tried with both 4GB (2 x 2GB) and 8 GB (2 x 4GB) Ram (All tested good). Tested with both On-Board Intel GPU and NVidia GT630 GPU. No difference.

Everything works fine if the update is removed or re-imaged with April updates restored. Boot cycles work as expected until KB5003173 is installed.

Since this is a MANDATORY update can someone at MS look into this?

Will MS ever get their AI diagnostics testing to work or will users forever dread the monthly updates that are anything but 'Quality' ? :-P

L.Spath 6 Reputation points

2021-06-07T14:23:09.73+00:00

Just chiming in with the same issue.

We have several Dell Optiplex 7010s running 32bit Windows 10 for legacy reasons.
Two have updated to 21H1 and are now freezing at the logo.

I was able to roll back the update and they're working normally, but I have had to suspend updates on all of our 32bit machines.
Uwe Bachmann 1 Reputation point

2021-06-10T08:09:19.87+00:00

Hi,
I am also suffering from Update KB5003173. Have also a Win10 32-bit PC. And yesterday that update has been installed though updates have been disabled until 30th of June.
Would like to get a solution for that.
Kind regards
David Harry 1 Reputation point

2021-06-24T06:01:21.97+00:00
I've been noticing this on a number of Dell Optiplex 9010 and 9020 machines.

Initially I thought it was occurring on machines that had had KB5000802 and KB5001649 before the May update, using WSUS.
After frustrating tries to isolate the critical factor, I installed a fresh 20H2 x86 from USB media, then let Windows update itself.
There it is, unable to restart, with a logo and no spinning dots.
Some more information I have gleaned:

It seems to be on restart, not a cold start.

Holding down the power button for 4 seconds does not help. This seems to be like a restart. Removing electricity seems to work,

Disable Fast Start using group policy or local settings. Fast start makes every startup a restart on the previous session. Disabling it means it has a pretty good chance for users every day who startup and shut down.

To disable Fast start:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Power
"HiberbootEnabled"=dword:00000000
Doug Shobe 16 Reputation points

2021-06-24T15:54:02.907+00:00

OP here - On ALL our Win 10 systems x86 or x64 I have Fast Start and Sleep disabled wish I which Feature updates would PRESERVE.

I don't want our laptops power settings switched to Sleep due to company laptops in Sleep left in laptop bags over weekends overheating. Hibernate or OFF only.

The problem exists if Hibernate is ON or OFF (Hiberfil.sys file does or doesn't exist).

The initial Restart after any April/May/June update is applied goes through.

The next subsequent Restart or Shutdown and the system will not boot up again unless the update is removed back to pre-April update.

Windows Logo - Frozen - NO DOTS appear !!

I have a deployment project requiring x86 that is now on indefinite HOLD until the patch team graces us with a working update. :-(

Cannot deploy any x86 going forward until this is resolved.
David Harry 1 Reputation point

2021-07-08T01:00:05.81+00:00

I didn't catch whether you were in a domain. If so, you can use group policy to enforce the Fast Start and Sleep settings.
If not, I suggest you keep a folder of useful registry keys to apply when needed.

26 answers

Ken 6 Reputation points

2021-06-09T03:53:49.803+00:00

Unfortunately the 2021-06 Tuesday patch KB5003637 is also failing. PCs with x86 Windows 10 will not boot and only showing the Windows logo without spinning dots. Now we blocked automatic updates for all 32-bit PCs.

Tested it on one PC and the PE cannot uninstall the update as we did when testing KB5003173, system restore is required. Anyone who want to test it yourself should have a full disk backup ready.

We also tested the 21H1 installation using the Windows 10 Update Assistant, and after restart the PC also stops at the Windows logo screen without spinning dots.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.

0 comments No comments
Sign in to comment
Virgo Pärna 6 Reputation points

2021-07-07T07:37:51.387+00:00

July update (2021-07) seems to have fixed it. At least I was able install updates on both computers and restart them twice afterwards.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.

0 comments No comments
Sign in to comment
KTG75 6 Reputation points

2021-07-08T01:48:32.613+00:00

Good news to report. As VirgoPrna pointed out above it does look like this issue has potentially been addressed by Microsoft in the July Security Update.

I can confirm that for my Lenovo K450 32 bit Windows 10 installations the boot failures seem to be resolved with the July update. I have applied this update to half a dozen 32 bit machines with a successful result. The other half dozen machines will update automatically overnight from WSUS.

I am hoping I finally have this issue resolved after 3 months of delaying security updates. I will report back if I encounter any additional issues. Those who have been holding off Windows security updates for a potential solution may want to give the July update a try. I do suggest you have a good backup first.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

1 person found this answer helpful.
L.Spath 6 Reputation points

2021-07-20T17:39:34.93+00:00

Yes.

I have allowed all 32-bit machines in my shop to continue with updates after suspending them until July 6.

As of July 20 there have been no issues.
Sign in to comment
Teemo Tang 11,346 Reputation points

2021-05-25T01:43:50.963+00:00

Please configure clean boot on your computer after KB5003173 installed, then restart computer to check boot state.
How to perform a clean boot in Windows (microsoft.com)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-da2f9573-6eec-00ad-2f8a-a97a1807f3dd
If still boot failed, uninstall KB 5003173 and pause update for 30 days from Update & Update->Advanced options->Pause updates. Wait the new update release.
One more thing, 21H1 version for Windows 10 Pro has released, you could upgrade to this version to check result, use Windows update assistant Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)
https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/software-download/windows10

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.
Information posted in the given link is hosted by a third party. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy and effectiveness of information.
Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
Please sign in to rate this answer.
Doug Shobe 16 Reputation points

2021-06-09T17:46:48.55+00:00

Teemo,

As this initial post has now grown to nearly three pages, would it be possible to at least get an acknowledgement that the MS Patch team are now aware of the issue?

Three cumulative updates (April, May, June - 2021) and the 21H1 update ALL cause the boot issue on x86 installations across multiple vendors as reported.

I don't expect an immediate fix but ALL of us following this deserve to know that the Patch engineering team has been notified of this major issue on x86 platforms.

KTG 1 Reputation point

2021-06-09T20:15:44.827+00:00

As Doug suggested getting some type of confirmation from Microsoft that they at least know there may be a potential issue out there would go a long way. I don't suspect we are likely to see anything like that happen in this forum but it sure would be nice if it did.

The challenge I see is that so far this is the only forum I have come across where people with this issue have been coming together to report it. I suspect this is primarily the result of too small of a user base still running 32 bit Windows 10. As the issue does seem to affect a variety of PC manufacturers I am hopeful we can make enough noise to get some attention.

I am of the mindset that we simply can not update these machines moving forward until there is some type of acknowledgement of an issue. This is a viable short term plan but it certainly is not a viable long term plan for an OS that is supposedly still supported by Microsoft.

Any suggestions on how we can get some attention to the issue?
Sign in to comment
Doug Shobe 16 Reputation points

2021-05-25T16:22:07.093+00:00

If forced into SAFE mode it will boot - Using that to uninstall the May 21 update to restore system to a bootable state.

The issue is re-produceable with NVidia or Intel GPU drivers. It also happens if the system is in SysPrep - Audit mode (From a re-image) if the May 21 update is applied.

There are NO non-MS services running on the system.

Two Apps (Greenshot - excellent Printscreen Utility - FREE for Business and Personal), and the classic NVidia control Panel (with NVidia GPU installed - Non DCH) are the only auto running apps.

This issue isn't happening on our x64 platform(s).

Turning off / suspending the updates only guarantees this system cannot be deployed as a 30 day time bomb solves nothing.

How am I to assure our CEO emeritus that he won't have his system nuked afterward?

This was to replace a Win 7 system - I see NO reports about this issue (Only the Edge Chromium uninstalled / empty folder left - BEFORE the May update is applied and sporadic audio issues with oddball audio chips).

In the last 12 months a MAJORITY of Win 10 customers have been treated to:

VBA runtimes trashed (Causing Excel Macro failures - took 15 days to get a fix posted and tested).

Print Spooler bugs causing App Crashes and Blue Screens (Twice in 6 months - requiring hotfixes). Type 4 print drivers still stink.

Various Office 365 issues (Outlook to numerous to document here) from the constant untested updates.

I have been working with Windows NT since the original NT 3.1 through Win 10 / Server 2019. I used / supported WinXP-x64 for two years until Win 7 launched.

I want to make sure MS is aware that the x86 version of the May '21 patch needs a team to thoroughly check it out or PULL the x86 versions from the Update service.

If MS is going to support Win 10 x86 though EOL in 2025 they need to follow through.

Worst thing MS did was dismantlement of the Patch Team they had up to 2015. It is now apparent that the current patch testing system isn't working.
Please sign in to rate this answer.

0 comments No comments
Sign in to comment