This Bug Might Be Why You Can’t Shut Down Your PC

Shutting down your PC is a fairly simple and straightforward function within Windows. Whether you’re dealing with a few too many bugs, or you want to keep your computer off while it’s not in use, shutting down your PC makes sense. In fact, it’s probably a process you’ve gone through hundreds of times without really thinking about it, which is why you’d likely find it confusing if your PC refused to shut down after you chose to do so.

That said, you might not have noticed this happen, especially if you tend to walk away from your PC after shutting it down. That’s because Windows isn’t issuing an error messages when you choose to shut it down; instead, the OS is now deciding to restart, even when the user explicitly selects “Shut down,” as if both “Restart” and “Shut down” have the same exact function.

This isn’t happening to every PC, either. At this time, the bug appears to be affecting Windows 11 PCs that are running Secure Launch, which blocks some strains of malware from taking hold on Windows. In addition, only PCs running Microsoft’s latest Patch Tuesday update are affected. This monthly update, which is meant to patch all of the security issues Microsoft discovered over the past month, inadvertently introduced a new bug, it seems.

That’s directly from Microsoft, as well, which issued the following statement: “After installing the January 13, 2026, Windows security update (KB5073455) for Windows 11, version 23H2, some PCs with Secure Launch are unable to shut down or enter hibernation. Instead, the device restarts.”

It’s a small bug, granted, but it’s a legitimate issue for any affected user that needs to shut down their PC. Luckily, there’s now a fix, through build version KB5077797 though you can’t install the update from Settings alone. To install the patch, you’ll need to download it from Microsoft’s update catalog here.