Windows 11 Update: 24H2 (Dec 2024)

By Don Trauger – Kennett

This article is meant for those residents that are more aggressive with additional control of their PC’s. Namely, Techies. It concerns a specific area of the computer called Windows Update. Available since October 1, 2024, Windows 11 Update 24H2 is the next major update. It’s not just a normal update, it consists of a complete operating system swap. It’s a huge update and it has major problems. Defining the characters of update 24H2, 24 means the year and H2 means the second half of year. It’s been available for automatic download since October 1, 2024. During that time, it has accrued at least 7 major faults starting with blue screens and failures to install. To check to see if you have it: Select Start, Select Settings, Select Windows Update, Select Update history. The 23H2 update precedes it and works fine as it is also updated automatically. If you find you have 24H2 installed and your computer is working normally, leave it alone. Don’t uninstall it. That can lead to additional problems. If your computer is acting up with 24H2 installed and the problems are minor, don’t uninstall it. Live with the minor problems and hope that Microsoft will correct the issues quickly. If you don’t have 24H2, one thing that may help to delay the download and installation of 24H2 is to turn Off, “Get the latest updates as soon as they are available” This will delay the download and installation of update 24H2. In fact, for normal updates the delay may only be a few days but for feature updates, like 24H2, it may be several weeks or longer. You can increase the delay even further for all updates by selecting Pause updates. It’s best to set this up a few days before the 2nd Tuesday of the month. That is when Microsoft starts its next round of updates. Choose a period typically 4-5 weeks in advance of the next 2nd Tuesday. Don’t let your delay extend past the next 2nd Tuesday of the month. In my opinion it’s more important to delay updates and protect yourself from Microsoft’s mistakes like 24H2 than it is to protect yourself from threats from the Internet. Your maximum delay is restricted to about a month but it gives Microsoft the time to issue fixes.