Microsoft hurries out this fix for Windows 10 printer crash problem
Microsoft has released an out-of-band fix for printer troubles caused by last week's Patch Tuesday update for older versions of Windows 10, plus a preview of Windows 10 20H1 to those who are on the Beta Channel of the Insiders program with a bunch of fixes for various glitches.
Microsoft's March 2021 Patch Tuesday update was somewhat overshadowed by the critical Exchange vulnerabilities, but this month's Patch Tuesday also created Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) problems for Windows 10 PCs connected to multiple printer brands, as reported by Windows Latest last week.
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The printer woes have prompted an out-of-band patch that should provide relief for users on generally available versions of Windows 10. The update contains just the one fix.
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"Updates an issue that might cause a blue screen when you attempt to print to certain printers using some apps," Microsoft says in a support note.
For Windows 10, version 2004, Microsoft adds: "Addresses an issue that might cause a blue screen when attempting to print to certain printers using some apps and might generate the error, APC_INDEX_MISMATCH."
Microsoft will soon release Windows 10 21H1, a minor update that will be easy to install for users on Windows 10 2004 and 20H2. It will be delivered as an enablement package. Per ZDNet Microsoft watcher, Ed Bott, it should be generally available around May, just like past spring Windows 10 releases.
Windows 10 21H1, however, is already available to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel and the new 21H1 Build 19043.899 – update KB5000842 – is now available to install for those in this program.
The update contains bug fixes for multiple glitches that would hamper the experience of 20H1 for users when it becomes generally available.
There are fixes for Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge browser, Action Center, screen darkness, the Japanese Input Method Editor (IME), touchpad settings, graphics issues, split layout for touch keyboards, and more.
Beta members should notice it fixes an issue that displayed nothing or showed "Computing Filters" indefinitely when attempting to filter File Explorer search results.
Using a mobile device management app like Intune was also preventing Windows 10 Home devices from upgrading to Windows 10 Pro Education.
SEE: Microsoft: These Exchange Server zero-day flaws are being used by hackers, so update now
Additionally, Chromium-based Microsoft Edge was not working properly when used with Microsoft App-V and fonts are enabled inside the virtual environment.
Microsoft also found some devices were experiencing a black screen or struggled signing in to Hybrid Azure Active Directory joined machines. On previous builds, File Explorer and other applications stalled for several minutes on devices reconnecting to a corporate network and attempting to use mapped drives to access file shares on that network.
There was also an issue that stopped a device working if users deleted files or folders that sync with OneDrive.
Microsoft also removed the legacy Edge browser from this build and replaced it with the Chromium-based Edge. This makes sense as support for legacy Edge ended on March 9, 2021. The new Microsoft Edge will be available as part of the next Patch Tuesday on April 13.