The January 2026 Windows Update: A Survival Guide for Your PC

It was supposed to be a standard "Patch Tuesday." Microsoft released the KB5074109 update on January 13, 2026, intended to fix security holes and polish up Windows 11. Instead, it’s sent thousands of users into a frantic search for "how to fix a black screen" and "why won't my PC boot?"

If your computer is acting like it’s forgotten how to be a computer, you aren't alone. Here is the breakdown of the latest problems and how to survive them.

1. The "Unmountable Boot Volume" Nightmare

The most severe issue making headlines right now is the Black Screen of Death. Users are installing the latest update, restarting their systems, and being greeted by a black screen with the error code:

UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME

Essentially, the update is causing some PCs to lose track of their own hard drives. It’s affecting users on Windows 11 versions 24H2 and the newly released 25H2.

The Fix:

If you're stuck in this boot loop, you’ll need to enter the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE):

• Force your PC to shut down and restart 3 times in a row to trigger Automatic Repair.
• Navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Uninstall Updates.
• Select Uninstall latest quality update.

2. Outlook and the "Ghost Process"

For the office crowd, the update has broken Outlook Classic. People are finding that they click the icon, and... nothing happens. Or, they get an error saying the app is already open.

This is happening because Outlook is getting stuck in a "zombie state" in the background, especially for those using PST files on OneDrive or old POP accounts.

The Fix:

Open your Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), find outlook.exe under the "Details" or "Processes" tab, right-click it, and select End Task. You should then be able to reopen the app—though you might have to do this every single time until the emergency patch hits your machine.

3. The Sudden Black Screen "Flicker"

Even if your PC boots fine, many users are reporting that their screens randomly go black for 1–2 seconds before returning to normal. It looks like a hardware failure, but it’s actually a bug in the way the new update handles display drivers and "Cloud-backed" desktop wallpapers.

The Quick Tips:

• Wallpaper Reset: Some users found that manually changing their desktop background from "Windows Spotlight" to a static picture stopped the flickering.
• Check for KB5078127: Microsoft has already released an Emergency Out-of-Band (OOB) update (KB5078127) to address some of these app crashes. Go to Settings > Windows Update and see if it's waiting for you.

Should you update right now?

In a word: Wait. Unless you are tech-savvy enough to navigate the Recovery Environment, it’s a good idea to pause updates for 7 days. This gives Microsoft time to stabilize the patches and stop the "unmountable" drive issues from spreading further.

 Or contact us at Good As New for help and support with this issue .