https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/16/patch_tuesday_secure_launch_bug_no_shutdown/ # # Sign in / up The Register # # # Topics Security Security All SecurityCyber-crimePatchesResearchCSO (X) Off-Prem Off-Prem All Off-PremEdge + IoTChannelPaaS + IaaSSaaS (X) On-Prem On-Prem All On-PremSystemsStorageNetworksHPCPersonal TechCxOPublic Sector (X) Software Software All SoftwareAI + MLApplicationsDatabasesDevOpsOSesVirtualization (X) Offbeat Offbeat All OffbeatDebatesColumnistsScienceGeek's GuideBOFHLegalBootnotesSite NewsAbout Us (X) Special Features Special Features All Special Features The Future of the Datacenter AWS Re:invent SC25 Supercomputing Month Cloud Infrastructure Month Datacenter Networking Nexus The State of Storage European Supercomputing AI Infrastructure Month Spotlight on RSAC AI Software Development Week Disaster Recovery Week Nvidia GTC Ransomware in Focus Cybersecurity Month VMware Explore Vendor Voice Vendor Voice Vendor Voice All Vendor Voice HERE and AWS Guidewire InsuranceNow Intel Core Ultra Processors: Powering business-ready AI PCs ZTE Nutanix: Scale Kubernetes. Not Chaos. Money Movement Hub The BigQuery Difference AWS Global Partner Security Initiative Amazon Web Services (AWS) New Horizon in Cloud Computing (X) Resources Resources Whitepapers Webinars & Events Newsletters [patches] Patches 78 comment bubble on white Sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that! PCs refuse to shut down after Microsoft patch 78 comment bubble on white Microsoft claims it's a Secure Launch bug icon Carly Page Fri 16 Jan 2026 // 16:44 UTC # We're not saying Copilot has become sentient and decided it doesn't want to lose consciousness. But if it did, it would create Microsoft's January Patch Tuesday update, which has made it so that some PCs flat-out refuse to shut down or hibernate, no matter how many times you try. In a notice on its Windows release health dashboard, Microsoft confirmed that some PCs running Windows 11 23H2 might fail to power down properly after installing the latest security updates. Instead of slipping into shutdown or hibernation, affected machines stay stubbornly awake, draining batteries and ignoring shutdown like they have a mind of their own and don't want to experience temporary non-existence. The bug appears to be tied to Secure Launch, a security feature that uses virtualization-based protections to ensure only trusted components load during boot. On systems with Secure Launch enabled, attempts to shut down, restart, or hibernate after applying the January patches may fail to complete. From the user's perspective, everything looks normal - until the PC keeps running anyway, refusing to be denied life. [patches] Microsoft says that entering the command "shutdown /s /t 0" at the command prompt will, in fact, force your PC to turn off, whether it wants to or not. [patches] [patches] "Until this issue is resolved, please ensure you save all your work, and shut down when you are done working on your device to avoid the device running out of power instead of hibernating," Microsoft said. The firm hasn't offered much in the way of technical detail, nor has it put numbers on how many devices are affected. There's also no fix yet, with Redmond vaguely promising to "release a resolution for this issue in a future update." But isn't that just what a sentient bot might say? * Microsoft teases targeted Copilot removal for admins * Microsoft rushes an out-of-band update for Message Queuing bug * Windows is testing a new, wider Run dialog box. Here's how to try it * Latest Windows 11 updates may break the OS's most basic bits This isn't the only post-update gremlin lurking in January's Patch Tuesday bundle. Microsoft has also been forced to acknowledge a separate issue in which classic Outlook POP account profiles can hang or freeze after installing this month's patches, another reminder that while the bugs being fixed may be invisible, the ones introduced can be painfully obvious. The notice is similarly vague, with Microsoft stating: "This is an emerging issue, and we don't have all the symptoms yet, but we will update the topic as we understand the issue better." [patches] Patch Tuesday exists to close security holes, some of them serious, and skipping updates is rarely a great idea. But once again, a batch of fixes has arrived with side effects that range from irritating to disruptive, depending on how much you rely on your system behaving predictably when it's told to turn off. For now, admins and long-suffering Windows users are left watching Microsoft's status pages and waiting for patches to the patches - hoping their machines eventually go to sleep. (r) Get our Tech Resources # Share More about * Windows * Windows 11 More like these x More about * Windows * Windows 11 Narrower topics * Bitlocker * BSoD * PowerShell * Windows 10 * Windows 2000 * Windows 7 * Windows 8 * Windows Server * Windows Subsystem for Linux * Windows XP * WPF Broader topics * Microsoft * Operating System More about # Share 78 comment bubble on white COMMENTS More about * Windows * Windows 11 More like these x More about * Windows * Windows 11 Narrower topics * Bitlocker * BSoD * PowerShell * Windows 10 * Windows 2000 * Windows 7 * Windows 8 * Windows Server * Windows Subsystem for Linux * Windows XP * WPF Broader topics * Microsoft * Operating System TIP US OFF Send us news --------------------------------------------------------------------- Other stories you might like Fast Pair, loose security: Bluetooth accessories open to silent hijack Sloppy implementation of Google spec leaves 'hundreds of millions' of devices vulnerable Research17 Jan 2026 | 17 S Twatter: When text-to-speech goes down the drain Bork!Bork!Bork! Rinse of the machines: A cautionary tale about relying on robots Offbeat17 Jan 2026 | 20 Coming soon: We interrupt this ChatGPT session with a very special message from our sponsors Gotta pay for those datacenter buildouts somehow AI + ML17 Jan 2026 | 45 The AI PC needs to deliver more than performance - it needs to deliver security Scanning the future Sponsored Feature [patches] Trump wants big tech to pay for big beautiful power plants It just needs PJM Interconnection, one of the US's biggest grid operators, to green light the auction Public Sector17 Jan 2026 | 13 Experiment suggests AI chatbot would save insurance agents a whopping 3 minutes a day Does that kind of time saving actually pay for itself? AI + ML16 Jan 2026 | 12 Micron breaks ground on humungous NY DRAM fab after beating bats and tree huggers Chipmaker claims the four-fab site could expand US-based DRAM production by a factor of 12 Storage16 Jan 2026 | 17 Windows Backup adds second-chance restore at sign-in First sign-in restore aims to cut rebuilds when users skip setup options OSes16 Jan 2026 | 9 Ready for a newbie-friendly Linux? Mint team officially releases v 22.3, 'Zena' Newer kernel, newer Cinnamon, new tools, and even new icons OSes16 Jan 2026 | 41 German cops add Black Basta boss to EU most-wanted list Ransomware kingpin who escaped Armenian custody is believed to be lying low back home Cyber-crime16 Jan 2026 | Meta retreats from metaverse after virtual reality check That went well Personal Tech16 Jan 2026 | 51 Hyperscalers, vendors funding trillion dollar AI spree, but users will have to pay up long term Analyst: We'll hit a spot where 'we go from that was a great idea to where's my revenue?' AI + ML16 Jan 2026 | 11 The Register icon Biting the hand that feeds IT About Us* * Contact us * Advertise with us * Who we are Our Websites* * The Next Platform * DevClass * Blocks and Files Your Privacy* * Cookies Policy * Privacy Policy * Ts & Cs * Do not sell my personal information Situation Publishing Copyright. All rights reserved (c) 1998-2025 no-js