[German]Microsoft has just released an out-of-band update for Windows 10 that should fix the blue screens triggered by the March 2021 security updates when printing to various devices. Here is an overview about the updates just released. Addendum: The out-of-band updates didn't fixes all printing issues.
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The printing BSOD issue
With the March 9, 2021 security updates, yes there are printer issues on Windows (specifically Windows 10, but also Windows Server and Terminal Server). Depending on the Windows variant and environment, this ranges from no longer being able to print, to blue screens when printing or calling applications from LibeOffice or Microsoft Office. Microsoft itself has confirmed the problem and writes about it:
After installing this update, you may see an APC_INDEX_MISMATCH error with a blue screen when trying to print to certain printers in some apps.
I had summarized this in the blog post Windows 10 Updates KB5000802/KB5000808 causes BSOD when printing in win32kfull.sys – pulled? More findings can be read in the blog post News about the printer issues (BSOD) after March 2021 update. Affected were mainly Kyocera printers and systems on which older type 3 printer drivers were installed. Blog readers had found solutions ranging from replacing the printer driver with a Type 4 variant to activating direct printing, bypassing the print spooler.
By the weekend, Microsoft had released a sort of "workaround" that supposedly avoided the blue screens (see Microsoft provides workaround for Windows 10 patchday printer issue (BSOD)). The workaround uses commands to bypass the print spooler when printing. However, this approach was hardly feasible for corporate environments, so that we had to wait for a fix from Microsoft. This was promised by Microsoft for this week.
Microsoft released an Out-of-band Update for Windows 10
Now Microsoft has provided this out-of-band fix already today, March 15, 2021. I just checked again, but on the Windows 10 status page I could not read anything about an update yet. On the English Windows 10 update page, however, the following updates are already listed.
- KB5001567: Out-of-band-Update for Windows 10, version 2004 and 20H2 and corresponding Windows Server versions
- KB5001566: Out-of-band-Update for Windows 10, version 1909 and Server, version 1909
- KB5001568: Out-of-band-Update for Windows 10, version 1809 and Server, version 1809 (Enterprise/Education/LTSC)
- KB5001565: Out-of-band-Update for Windows 10 , version 1803 and Server, version 1803 (Enterprise/Education)
For all updates, the support articles state that the out-of-band update addresses an issue that can cause a blue screen when trying to print with some apps on certain printers. It is a non-security update, which includes the following fix.
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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.
This is exactly the error described above. To install the update, users can go to the Settings app and go to the Update & Security -> Windows Update categories and click the Check for Updates button. Then the update should be found and offered for installation. The unscheduled update is also manually downloadable from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
- KB5001567: Windows 10 Version 2004/20H2
- KB5001566: Windows 10 Version 1909
- KB5001568: Windows 10 Version 1809 (Enterprise/Education/LTSC)
- KB5001565: Windows 10 Version 1803 (Enterprise/Education)
However, Microsoft does not provide the update in WSUS. If necessary, the update would have to be imported manually. For me, the final question is whether the unscheduled update also solves the problems with certain label printers (label printing incomplete or blank), the crashes of certain applications and the errors described in the following blog posts in the user comments when handling graphics or pdf files. Perhaps those affected could leave a comment.
Addenum: Still printing issues
While the out-of-band updates fixes the BSOD printing issues on many affected systems, I received feedback from readers, that the BSOD issue wasn't fixed. And even more, there are printing errors during printing graphics (JPEG, TIFF etc.) – the image wasn't printed complete. I guess, there is also a GDI bug, that causes this behavior. A summary of glitches may be found at Windows 10: Still printing issues after update installation (March 2021).
Similar articles
Windows 10 Updates KB5000802/KB5000808 causes BSOD when printing in win32kfull.sys – pulled?
News about the printer issues (BSOD) after March 2021 update
Microsoft provides workaround for Windows 10 patchday printer issue (BSOD)
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Got a bunch of Dymo label printers printing blanks after the update last week. Tried installing KB5001567 on one remotely but user reports Dymo is still printing blank. Still uninstalling KB5000802 for now.
Got a similar feedback from my German readers. The bug is known by Dymo – the advice is "uninstall the update".
I have a KY306ci. So I've tried the latest universal driver and device specific driver and neither work. Our print server continues to bluescreen. The patch installed on client devices doesn't work.
Update, using HP universal print driver for Kyocera stops the bluescreen