[German]Windows 10 users recently received the KB4100347 microcode update again. However, some users experience problems afterwards because the error 0xc0000142 is reported. The problem can also occur with other updates.
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Intel Microcode Update KB4100347
Microsoft releases the Intel microcode update KB4100347 for Windows 10 in cyclic intervals. The last update seems to have been done in December 2018, the KB article here has the modification date 11.12.2018.
Update KB4100347 is causing Error 0xc0000142
This Intel microcode update seems to be causing issues with Windows 10 or applications from time to time. German blog reader Thomas Keller wrote within this comment:
With date from 15.12.2018 I installed the (new?) KB4100347. Yesterday at system start the installation was finished, today after the Windows start (the first real restart after the installation) all Office(2016-32Bit)-programs didn't work anymore. The message: "The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142)…." occurs. After uninstalling the update KB4100347 everything works again.
This error pattern has been present in Internet forums for months. Here you can find a six-page thread that started in 2017.
Within this Technet forum thread user Thomas Keller has described also his issue on November 12, 2018 with Office 2016 and update KB4100347.
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What does the error code means?
Error code 0xc0000142 stands for STATUS_DLL_INIT_FAILED, the 'Initialization of the DLL "%hs" failed. The process is not terminated normally'. This means that the required DLL file could not be loaded successfully.
Possible Fixes
The obvious fix is to uninstall the update causing that issue. But before you do that, you can try some more fixes.
The first thing to try is a clean boot. Microsoft has described the steps to perform such a clean reboot here. You should also make sure that Windows is not damaged. The steps for checking and repairing are described in the blog post Check and repair Windows system files and component store.
In Microsoft Office, you can then try to repair the Office installation. To do this, go to Uninstall programs from the Control Panel, select the Office installation and click the Repair button (for .msi files). For click-2-run installations you should follow these Microsoft instructions.
Occasionally it is suggested to go in the registry via regedit.exe to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\
CurrentVersion\Windows\
There you should find the DWORD value LoadAppInit_DLLs. If the value is set to 1, it should be changed to 0.
In my case (Windows Update failing to install new build), here is my experience:
It looks like the Intel RST was causing it, in my case. These are the steps that actually changed something (each in its way).
1. DISM /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
2. SFC /scannow
3. Disable WindowsDefender
4. Uninstall Intel RST
5. Install RST from Intel's website
WU successfully installed the build after this.
In my case the error was fixed by installing the latest update (August 30, 2019—KB4512941 (OS Build 18362.329)). It was probably also caused by installing a previous windows update. The error only occured when starting either one of the Office 365 applications and did not seem to be related to other conflicting applications (application error also occured when starting without any startup options / services)