Microsoft has issued an emergency update to Windows 10 after a growing number of desktop PC and laptop owners reported serious problems with its latest mandatory security patch.
The latter was designed to fix over 72 security vulnerabilities discovered in the Windows operating system, including six deemed "critical" and awarded the dreaded "zero-day" rating. For those who don't know, a "zero-day" flaw is one already known to hackers and cybercriminals, so it's a race against time.
With so many vital fixes, Windows 10 users raced to install the May Patch Tuesday update. But in the days that followed, reports started to emerge that Windows 10 users have found themselves locked out of their machines.
If you installed the Windows 10 update, hoping to shield your machine from the latest batch of security flaws, you could find yourself facing a BitLocker Recovery screen, or even the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) due to a glitch. Microsoft warns: "Windows 10 might repeatedly display the BitLocker recovery screen at startup."
If you're impacted by the glitch, the BitLocker screen will ask you to "enter the recovery key to get going again". Entering the details doesn't always work to unlock the Windows 10 machine. According to reports, this bug occurs in roughly 2-5% of Windows 10 machines in the workplace. That might sound small, but since there are billions of Windows devices in use globally, that's still thousands of people locked out of their PCs.
And it's not the only bug that's been triggered by the May update, which is codenamed KB5058379 by Microsoft. Others have experienced a Blue Screen of Death, which is a full-screen error message that only appears on desktop PC and laptops when a critical system error occurs. Windows will display this message when it encounters a problem it cannot recover from without risking data loss or damage.
The error screen is blue with white text, hence the name.
The glitch in the critical May Update is triggering the BitLocker recovery screen to appear on desktop PCs and laptops, while others have seen complete operating system crashes
MICROSOFT PRESS OFFICE
For those who don't know, BitLocker might be one of the most powerful tools baked into Windows 10 ...but for most everyday laptop owners, it remains tucked away in the background — largely invisible and often underused. This full-disk encryption feature, developed by Microsoft, is designed to lock down your data by encrypting the entire drive which Windows lives on. But if it's so important, why haven’t most people even heard of it?
The answer lies in how BitLocker is positioned. It’s predominantly aimed at enterprise and professional users, often pre-enabled on business laptops or centrally managed by IT departments. On the consumer side, unless you're using Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions — and even then, only if you actively go looking for it — BitLocker stays hidden in plain sight. Microsoft doesn’t exactly make a song and dance about it in the same way it does with more consumer-friendly features like Cortana or Windows Hello.
At its core, BitLocker encrypts your data, making it unreadable to anyone who doesn’t have the proper key. This is particularly critical in corporate environments where laptops are frequently taken out of the office and into the world, increasing the risk of theft or loss.
If a device falls into the wrong hands, BitLocker ensures that the contents of the drive remain inaccessible, even if someone tries to boot it from a USB stick or physically remove the hard drive to read it elsewhere.
For enterprises, this is non-negotiable. Data breaches can be catastrophic, leading to regulatory fines, reputational damage, and lost trust. BitLocker offers a frontline defence, ensuring that sensitive data—from financial reports to intellectual property—doesn’t walk out the door.
It’s also designed to integrate with TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chips, adding an extra layer of security tied directly to the machine's hardware.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- Google Chromecast returns from the grave to challenge Fire TV Stick and Roku
- Best VPN deals
- Samsung launches new way to pay for its Galaxy smartphones in UK
- Best Sky Glass deals
- Watch exclusive Sky TV channels and everything on Netflix for just £12
That's why the latest glitch affects "devices with Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) enabled on 10th generation or later Intel vPro processors," according to Microsoft.
If you have this hardware configuration, you're at risk of encountering the BitLocker recovery screen or Blue Screen of Death after installing the May update. Thankfully, there is a fix.
If you're experiencing either of these issues, Microsoft has released an emergency update — dubbed KB5061768 — available exclusively via Microsoft Update Catalogue.
Acknowledging the complaints, Microsoft added: "On affected devices, upon installing the update, Windows might fail to start enough times to trigger an Automatic Repair. On devices with BitLocker enabled, BitLocker requires the input of your BitLocker recovery key to initiate an Automatic Repair."
