Microsoft has resolved a known issue triggering errors and temporarily causing the taskbar and desktop to disappear on Windows 10 systems.
The company also linked the same issue with instances where the users’ devices would stop responding to input and freeze.
“You might experience an error in which the desktop or taskbar might momentarily disappear, or your device might become unresponsive,” Microsoft explains on the Windows health dashboard.
The list of affected Windows platforms includes the following client releases: Windows 10 version 20H2, Windows 10 version 21H1, Windows 10 version 21H2, and Windows 10 version 22H2.
Microsoft suggests restarting the affected devices to work around the disappearing desktop or taskbar and system freeze issues.
Addressed via Known Issue Rollback
Microsoft has also pushed a fix for the issue via the Known Issue Rollback (KIR) Windows servicing feature that allows Redmond to revert buggy non-security fixes rolled out via Windows Update.
KIR fixes usually propagate automatically to all affected devices within 24 hours, with Microsoft advising impacted users to restart the systems to speed up the rollout.
However, IT admins will have to install and configure a special Group Policy associated with the affected systems’ Windows versions to resolve the issue on enterprise-managed Windows devices. You can download the Group Policy for Windows 10 20H2 and later from here.
After running the downloaded MSI installer, admins have to navigate to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates using the Group Policy Editor on their domain controller to select the Windows version they want to target to deploy the KIR fix.
You can find more information on deploying and configuring KIR Group Policies on hybrid Azure AD or AD DS domain using Group Policy on Microsoft’s support website.
Over the weekend, Redmond also addressed Windows Kerberos authentication and Windows DirectAccess connectivity issues triggered by November and October updates.
