Microsoft has confirmed that some Windows users may see desktop loading problems, including black screens, after installing the August 2026 preview updates and later updates. The company says the issue mainly affects Azure Virtual Desktop hosts that use FSLogix, a tool that speeds up user profile loading in virtual desktop environments.
The symptoms go beyond a dark display. Users may sign in and then find they cannot reach their desktop until they start the desktop session manually. Application event logs on affected machines also show Windows Explorer crashes, according to Microsoft.
The updates tied to the problem include KB5120996 for Windows 11 26H1, KB5120998 for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, and this month's Patch Tuesday updates, KB5124008 and KB5122880. Until Microsoft ships a permanent fix, users can work around the issue by starting Windows Explorer by hand. That involves opening Task Manager with Ctrl+Shift+Esc, choosing Run new task, typing explorer.exe, and clicking OK.
Microsoft has also applied a mitigation for enterprise customers through Known Issue Rollback, a Windows feature that undoes buggy updates delivered through Windows Update. IT administrators can put the mitigation in place on enterprise-managed devices by installing a Group Policy for their version of Windows.
Microsoft said administrators need to install and configure the Group Policy for their Windows version to resolve the issue, and they must restart their devices to apply the setting. The company noted that the Group Policy will disable the change causing the problem until a fix arrives in a future Windows update. Additional guidance on deploying and configuring Known Issue Rollback group policies is available on Microsoft's support website.
The confirmation follows a separate fix earlier this month. Microsoft resolved known issues that wiped mouse and desktop settings on some Windows 11 systems, which were also triggered after installing the KB5120998 August 2026 optional update. For US enterprises running virtualized desktops, the black-screen reports add another patch-management item to weigh against the rollback option Microsoft is offering.
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