Microsoft patches Start Menu bug, users say it's still broken

Microsoft's patching problems appear set to continue into November, with Windows 10 users reporting that a patch designed to resolve a problem the company denies was ever a problem introduced in an earlier patch to fix a problem Microsoft confirmed was a problem in a still earlier patch fails to resolve said problem - and if that sounds confusing, imagine how Microsoft is feeling right now.

Microsoft's problems - its latest, anyway - began with the release of a security roll-up patch in late August which caused the Cortana search subsystem and voice-activated assistant spin on the CPU, slowing the system and draining mobile devices' batteries. A fix followed in mid-September, but was discovered to break the Start Menu and search functionality for some users. Towards the end of the month, Microsoft denied that the Start Menu issues existed - only to close out last week with the release of cumulative update KB4522355, which specifically fixes the Start Menu and search problems Microsoft said didn't exist.

At least, it's supposed to. According to user comments gathered by Bleeping Computer, however, it doesn't - leaving affected users without a functional Start Menu for what is now well over a month.

Those who are affected by the issue have found that uninstalling the KB4517389 patch which introduced the flaw, or rolling back to a restore point prior to its installation, fixes the problem - but with the proviso of leaving the system vulnerable to the security issues the patches were originally designed to address.