Patch Tuesday update makes Windows PCs refuse to shut down

"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."

"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. "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."

Some PCs running Windows 11 23H2 fail to power down, restart, or hibernate after installing January security updates when Secure Launch is enabled. Secure Launch uses virtualization-based protections to ensure only trusted components load during boot, and systems with it enabled may not complete shutdown sequences after the patches. From the user's perspective the shutdown appears to proceed but the machine stays on, draining battery. Microsoft says the command shutdown /s /t 0 forces power-off. Microsoft has not provided technical details or affected-device counts and says a resolution will arrive in a future update. A separate Outlook POP issue was also acknowledged.

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