[Sophos Notification] Following the Microsoft Windows 14th May update some machines hang on boot

Update 22-05-2019
We have been continuing to work directly with Microsoft to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Progress has been made in identifying the root cause and we will continue to update this KBA when new information becomes available.

Please note: Microsoft customers using different security products are also seeing similar issues. For more information please refer to the Microsoft KBA: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4499164/windows-7-update-kb4499164 

The comments on the Register site suggest the 30% hang for the May update is a Microsoft issue. Can you confirm?

The comments on the Register site suggest the 30% hang for the May update is a Microsoft issue. Can you confirm?

Hi jak

Yes, indeed this is a Microsoft issue. Here's the latest update:

Update 24-05-2019
Microsoft and Sophos have been working closely to identify and resolve the issue. Microsoft has provided the following information:

Customers running Windows Defender ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 may see sporadic issues installing Windows updates.

Microsoft is aware of the issue and is rolling out a fix to Windows Defender ATP over the coming 36 hours. No customer action is required. The fix will be automatically applied by the Microsoft Monitoring Agent Service.

For Sophos customers experiencing this specific issue, there are no further actions required as the fix will be provided by Microsoft.

Regards,

Does this issue only affect machines with Windows Defender ATP installed? What does this have to do with Sophos customers?

Hi Kevinislow 

Upon further investigation between Sophos and Microsoft, it was determined that this issue was caused by Windows Defender ATP and that our Sophos Endpoint was unrelated. Microsoft has since released a fix for Defender ATP.

Apologies if this caused any confusion or inconvenience.

If you are a Sophos Endpoint user and not using Windows Defender but are experiencing similar issues (or something different), please raise a support case so that further investigation can be performed.

Regards,

Yes it seems to have been a Windows defender issue. 

I usually have Windows defender turned off, but opened it, let it update and scan.  I then tried installing KB 4499175 again which installed and booted in a few seconds instead of hanging. 

I have turned Windows defender off again and all is behaving normally.

Hope this helps