Microsoft recently released several updates for Windows 11 and 10 as part of the Patch Tuesday cycle. After updates were widely rolled out, users have reported that some apps crashed on launch on Intel hardware, especially apps that use older graphics drivers released in early 2022.
After recent Windows updates such as KB5022360, some users have had the apps crash on startup, with an error message “apphelp.dll is missing”. While this seems to be a widespread problem given its nature and importance, it does not affect all users, and only those with Intel hardware encounter it.
Some of our readers with older Intel drivers encountered the crash, but we didn’t notice any issues on our systems. The only major difference between affected and unaffected devices is that they have older Windows drivers installed instead of fresh new releases.
In an update to the supporting document, Microsoft confirmed that it is aware of the issues with some Intel PCs and that only PCs using Intel graphics drivers with versions 26.20.100.7463 to 30.0.101.1190 are affected. Given the severity of the problem, it is likely that Microsoft will release a patch soon.
Microsoft documentation further revealed that users could fix the problem by installing an Intel GPU driver with version 30.0.101.1190 or older. You can manually download and install the latest version of the Intel driver using the troubleshooting assistant app.
Microsoft says it is safe to use driver version 30.0.101.1190 or newer, adding that a fix will be released in the near future.
“We are working on a fix and will provide an update in an upcoming release,” Microsoft stated without revealing when it plans to release the emergency patch.
Other known issues in Windows 11 January 2023 Update
Microsoft is aware of another issue: provisioning packages may not work as expected on some systems. As a result, some PCs may be only partially configured, and this bug also affects the Out Of Box Experience. Fortunately, provisioning packages (.PPKG files) are used in work or school environments and do not affect home computers.
The third known issue is related to copying large files of several gigabytes (GB). According to Microsoft, it may take longer than expected to copy or move files.
Users are likely to encounter slow transfer issues on Windows 11, version 22H2 or newer.
