This week’s Windows news cycle offered a dense mix of operational updates, surprising bugs, and quietly consequential releases: Microsoft pushed Windows 11 version 25H2 into the Release Preview channel as an enablement package, then quietly edited its blog to say the promised ISOs are “delayed and coming soon”; storage alarms around August updates escalated into a broad investigation that vendors and Microsoft now say shows no widespread bricking, even as anecdotal failures persist; and a clutch of must-have utilities — notably PowerToys and the modern file manager Files — shipped major updates that matter to both power users and IT teams. These items matter because they expose the tension between modern, low-downtime servicing models and the operational realities enterprises, OEMs, and enthusiasts rely on for predictable imaging, verification, and recovery.
Windows 11 version 25H2 arrived in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel as Build 26200.5074, but this year Microsoft adopted an enablement-package (eKB) approach: feature binaries have been staged across prior monthly cumulative updates to the 24H2 servicing branch, and the eKB merely flips the runtime switches to activate them. For fully patched 24H2 devices, that means upgrades are typically a single small download and one restart — a much faster and lower-risk path than a traditional rebase. (blogs.windows.com)
What turned heads was a small but important edit to Microsoft’s Release Preview post. The blog originally promised downloadable ISOs “next week”; on September 4 that copy was replaced with a short note: “The ISOs for Windows 11, version 25H2 are delayed and coming soon.” The change is terse but meaningful: ISOs remain the canonical artifact for clean installs, OEM validation, enterprise imaging, WSUS/SCCM offline testing, and repeatable lab baselines. When ISOs are delayed, organizations that rely on them must either postpone certification work or create ad hoc images from patched baselines — which adds operational friction. (blogs.windows.com, neowin.net)
At the same time, August’s cumulative security updates produced two high-profile regressions that forced vendor coordination: a reported set of SSD disappearance/failure incidents that were widely shared on social platforms and a confirmed performance regression with NDI (Network Device Interface) streaming under certain transport modes. Both incidents show how a single monthly update can ripple across hardware firmware, third‑party stacks, and real‑time workloads. (bleepingcomputer.com, support.microsoft.com)
Independent technology outlets reporting on both Microsoft’s advisory and Phison’s validation summarized the same high‑level result: there is no clear, reproducible, platform‑wide linkage between the August update and mass SSD failures. The formal telemetry view available to Microsoft did not show a statistically significant spike in device failures after the updates. (pcworld.com, windowscentral.com)
For streamers and video engineers, the practical takeaway is immediate and simple: change the Receive Mode via NDI Access Manager or temporarily uninstall the update if you require RUDP specifically. For production studios, validate your fallback transport and update runbooks to document the workaround. (bleepingcomputer.com, support.streamlabs.com)
Conclusion
This week’s mix of an enablement-package 25H2 rollout, an ISO delay, high-profile but ultimately unconfirmed SSD allegations, and important third‑party app updates serves as a reminder that modern Windows maintenance is as much about disciplined operational processes as it is about new features. For administrators the action items are concrete: inventory and remediate legacy dependencies, pilot thoroughly, and keep clean‑media baselines sacrosanct. For power users, the updates to PowerToys, Files, and NanaZIP are immediate wins that improve daily productivity and security verification. For everyone, the healthy takeaway is that coordinated vendor investigation works — but rare corner cases still require careful forensic work and conservative rollout plans until verifiable fixes and official media are published.
Source: Neowin Microsoft Weekly: More on SSD issues, 25H2 ISO delayed, big updates, and more
Background / Overview
Windows 11 version 25H2 arrived in the Windows Insider Release Preview channel as Build 26200.5074, but this year Microsoft adopted an enablement-package (eKB) approach: feature binaries have been staged across prior monthly cumulative updates to the 24H2 servicing branch, and the eKB merely flips the runtime switches to activate them. For fully patched 24H2 devices, that means upgrades are typically a single small download and one restart — a much faster and lower-risk path than a traditional rebase. (blogs.windows.com)What turned heads was a small but important edit to Microsoft’s Release Preview post. The blog originally promised downloadable ISOs “next week”; on September 4 that copy was replaced with a short note: “The ISOs for Windows 11, version 25H2 are delayed and coming soon.” The change is terse but meaningful: ISOs remain the canonical artifact for clean installs, OEM validation, enterprise imaging, WSUS/SCCM offline testing, and repeatable lab baselines. When ISOs are delayed, organizations that rely on them must either postpone certification work or create ad hoc images from patched baselines — which adds operational friction. (blogs.windows.com, neowin.net)
At the same time, August’s cumulative security updates produced two high-profile regressions that forced vendor coordination: a reported set of SSD disappearance/failure incidents that were widely shared on social platforms and a confirmed performance regression with NDI (Network Device Interface) streaming under certain transport modes. Both incidents show how a single monthly update can ripple across hardware firmware, third‑party stacks, and real‑time workloads. (bleepingcomputer.com, support.microsoft.com)
What 25H2 actually is — and why the ISO delay matters
eKB, parity, and the removal of legacy tooling
25H2 is intentionally evolutionary, not revolutionary. The release uses the shared servicing branch with 24H2; features were already delivered as dormant binaries and are now being activated. The public changelog highlights a few practical, operational changes:- Delivery model: enablement package on top of 24H2; fast activation for patched devices. (blogs.windows.com)
- Removals: deprecated components (notably PowerShell 2.0 engine and WMIC) are being removed from shipping images. Administrators should inventory scripts and scheduled tasks that reference PSv2 or wmic.exe and migrate them to supported tooling (PowerShell 5.1/7+ and CIM/WMI cmdlets). (blogs.windows.com)
- Admin controls: Group Policy / MDM CSP options let Enterprise/Education tenants remove selected preinstalled Microsoft Store apps during provisioning. (blogs.windows.com)
For admins: immediate actions (short checklist)
- Inventory scripts, scheduled tasks, and installers for wmic.exe and PowerShell v2 usage; create remediation tickets to migrate to PowerShell CIM cmdlets and PowerShell 7+.
- Enroll representative test machines in the Release Preview “seeker” and validate critical vendor agents (AV/EDR, backup agents, VPNs, GPU and storage drivers). (blogs.windows.com)
- If you absolutely need clean media, build a temporary ISO from a fully patched 24H2 baseline and mark it test-only; don’t use ad‑hoc media in production until Microsoft posts official ISOs. (windowsforum.com)
The SSD controversy: timeline, findings, and remaining uncertainty
What happened, in short
Shortly after Microsoft’s August security rollup (notably KB5063878 for Windows 11 24H2), multiple anecdotal reports surfaced — particularly from Japan and some enthusiast test benches — describing drives that became inaccessible during heavy writes, sometimes reporting the partition as RAW or disappearing entirely from the OS. Early reproductions suggested a pattern: symptoms were more likely when the drive was more than ~60% full and subjected to sustained sequential writes in the tens of gigabytes. These reports named a range of drives and occasionally pointed at particular controller families (Phison, InnoGrit, Maxio) as being overrepresented, but the evidence remained fragmented and anecdotal. (tomshardware.com, windowslatest.com)What Microsoft and vendors found
Microsoft opened an investigation and worked with storage partners. After internal testing and telemetry analysis, Microsoft posted an updated service advisory concluding: “After thorough investigation, Microsoft has found no connection between the August 2025 Windows security update and the types of hard drive failures reported on social media.” That statement was echoed by major controller vendor Phison, which reported an extensive internal test campaign — over 4,500 cumulative testing hours and roughly 2,200 test cycles — and said it could not reproduce the failures in lab conditions. (bleepingcomputer.com, tomshardware.com)Independent technology outlets reporting on both Microsoft’s advisory and Phison’s validation summarized the same high‑level result: there is no clear, reproducible, platform‑wide linkage between the August update and mass SSD failures. The formal telemetry view available to Microsoft did not show a statistically significant spike in device failures after the updates. (pcworld.com, windowscentral.com)
Why the debate isn’t closed
Lab null results and broad telemetry do not completely invalidate every field report. Two important caveats remain:- Telemetry sensitivity limits: telemetry is good at detecting voluminous, population-wide anomalies. Very rare, configuration-specific failure modes (unique combination of controller firmware, motherboard BIOS bugs, driver versions, thermal states, and storage fullness) may not trip aggregated telemetry thresholds. (windowsforum.com)
- Reproducible benches vs. production evidence: some independent testers produced repeatable recipes that triggered disappearing-drive behavior in their setups; these benches are not trivial to dismiss and require forensic correlation to determine whether they reflect corner cases, defective batches, or misattributed causation. (tomshardware.com)
How to interpret the evidence
- The highest-probability conclusion right now is that the August cumulative update is not the root cause of a widespread bricking wave. Microsoft and controller vendors with access to broad telemetry and lab resources were unable to reproduce the mass-failure scenario. (bleepingcomputer.com, tomshardware.com)
- However, the possibility of rare cross‑stack faults — small numbers of drives, specific firmware revisions, and precise host conditions — remains plausible and requires continued triage and vendor collaboration. Treat the no link found outcome as a de‑escalation for population-wide risk, not an absolute proof that every anecdote is false. (windowsforum.com)
The NDI streaming regression: confirmed and fixable
One concrete regression Microsoft acknowledged relates to NDI (Network Device Interface) streaming. After KB5063878/K B5063709, some streaming setups that use NDI’s default Reliable UDP (RUDP) receive mode saw dropped frames, choppy audio, and uneven performance — particularly when Display Capture was enabled in OBS or similar apps. Microsoft’s release health guidance and NDI support docs identify the precise manifestation and give a clear workaround: switch NDI’s Receive Mode to TCP or UDP (legacy) until Microsoft ships a fix. This mitigation avoids RUDP and has been recommended by NDI, Streamlabs, and other streaming vendors. (support.microsoft.com, docs.ndi.video)For streamers and video engineers, the practical takeaway is immediate and simple: change the Receive Mode via NDI Access Manager or temporarily uninstall the update if you require RUDP specifically. For production studios, validate your fallback transport and update runbooks to document the workaround. (bleepingcomputer.com, support.streamlabs.com)
Notable third‑party updates that matter to power users and admins
PowerToys 0.94: usability and accessibility upgrades
Microsoft released PowerToys 0.94, a substantial quality-of-life update that brings a searchable Settings page, hotkey conflict detection, and a new “Gliding cursor” accessibility option in Mouse Utilities — a feature that enables single-key cursor movement and clicking for users who require alternative input models. The release also modernizes installer tooling (migration to WiX 5) and lays groundwork for an upcoming v0.95 feature that will allow scheduled theme switching (light/dark) — a small but long-requested capability in Windows. These changes improve both discoverability and accessibility for long‑time PowerToys users. (github.com, windowscentral.com)Files 4.0: a major file‑manager milestone
The open-source Files project shipped v4.0, delivering an Omnibar (combined path/search), Dual Pane mode, expanded cloud drive connectors, and cryptographic verification tools (Compare Hashes, Signatures tab) surfaced in the Properties dialog. These are changes that materially improve security and day‑to‑day productivity for power users and sysadmins who routinely validate installers and images. The release is community-driven, available via GitHub, and represents a significant feature leap from prior versions. Consider evaluating Files 4.0 for lab workstations and admin toolkits where its visibility into signatures and hashes accelerates incident triage. (github.com, windowscentral.com)NanaZIP 6 Preview and other small wins
Archive utility NanaZIP reached a 6.0 preview, adopting more XAML UI elements for a native Windows 11 look, adding Extract-on-Open, updated zstd decoder choices, and expanding file associations. These incremental but user‑focused updates reflect the ongoing modernization of the Windows ecosystem by independent maintainers — valuable for technicians and power users who depend on lightweight archivers. (neowin.net, github.com)Risk assessment and recommended mitigations
The current state of affairs is a classic mix of operational wins and practical exposures:- Strengths
- The eKB model reduces downtime and simplifies servicing for modern, patched fleets. It aligns with enterprise priorities of minimizing reboot windows and streamlining patch pipelines. (blogs.windows.com)
- Vendor and Microsoft triage on the SSD reports moved quickly, and public updates restrained speculative panic, while Phison’s exhaustive testing provided confidence there’s no mass-failure wave. (tomshardware.com)
- Utility ecosystem updates (PowerToys, Files, NanaZIP) enhance accessibility, security verification, and productivity — areas that show steady community and Microsoft investment. (github.com)
- Risks
- The eKB model concentrates risk into activation-time interactions. If dormant features alter runtime behavior, drivers, EDR, or automation can fail in production after the switch is flipped. This is a real operational risk for environments with a long tail of legacy scripts. (windowsforum.com)
- Rare cross‑stack storage failures remain plausible. Even if telemetry shows no population-wide spike, small clusters of problematic hardware or firmware could still cause customer‑facing incidents. Treat field reports seriously and collect diagnostics through official channels when they occur. (windowsforum.com)
- Official ISOs were delayed; until Microsoft publishes canonical media, imaging/OEM/validation pipelines should treat unofficial ISOs as strictly test-only and avoid promoting them to production baselines. (windowsforum.com)
- Use a staged pilot: Release Preview seeker → WUfB piloting → wider WUfB rollout only after official ISOs are published and vendor driver signoffs received. (blogs.windows.com)
- Replace WMIC and PSv2 usage in scripts now — scan, remediate, and test in a non-production ring. (blogs.windows.com)
- For storage concerns, mandate firmware and driver baselines for NVMe and SATA devices, capture SMART logs, and collect event traces when failures occur to facilitate vendor triage. Consider thermal mitigation for high‑throughput NVMe parts. (tomshardware.com)
- Document streaming fallbacks: If your studio uses NDI with RUDP, update runbooks to switch to TCP/UDP and test the impact on latency and quality. (docs.ndi.video)
The verifiable facts — and what is still speculative
The items below are the most load-bearing claims from the last week; each is cross-checked against public sources:- Windows 11 version 25H2 is in Release Preview and delivered as an enablement package on top of 24H2. (blogs.windows.com)
- Microsoft edited its Release Preview blog post to state the 25H2 ISOs are “delayed and coming soon.” This edit is verifiable and operationally meaningful. (blogs.windows.com)
- Microsoft’s investigation found no connection between the August 2025 security update (KB5063878) and the types of drive failures reported on social media, and partner Phison reported it could not reproduce the failures after 4,500+ hours of testing. These official vendor and platform statements materially de‑escalate the population‑level risk. (bleepingcomputer.com, tomshardware.com)
- The NDI performance regression caused by the August updates is a confirmed Microsoft known issue with a documented workaround: change NDI Receive Mode away from RUDP to TCP or UDP. (support.microsoft.com, docs.ndi.video)
- PowerToys 0.94 and Files 4.0 are official releases with substantive feature lists (searchable settings, Gliding cursor, Omnibar, Dual Pane, signature/hash verification), and they are available now for users and administrators to evaluate. (github.com)
Final assessment and practical guidance
This week’s cadence reinforces a few durable lessons for anyone responsible for Windows endpoints:- Microsoft’s servicing model is optimized for modern, patched fleets — it pays dividends in reduced downtime and smaller installs, but it also raises the operational bar for validation discipline. The enablement-package model is strategically sound but demands better script hygiene, driver validation, and coordinated vendor testing. (blogs.windows.com)
- When an update triggers community alarm bells, the best responses are methodical: collect diagnostics, file tickets through official channels, and resist substituting social-media anecdotes for structured telemetry and lab reproduction. Microsoft and vendors have now publicly denied a platform-level causal link for the SSD reports, but they — and the community — must continue to hunt for rare cross‑stack failures. (bleepingcomputer.com, tomshardware.com)
- For power users and IT teams alike, this is a good week to review automation for legacy dependencies (WMIC, PSv2), pilot the 25H2 eKB in small rings, and evaluate the latest productivity upgrades (PowerToys 0.94 and Files 4.0) in sandboxes. Treat unofficial ISOs and ad‑hoc imaging solutions as emergency-only; wait for Microsoft’s official media for production baselines. (github.com, windowsforum.com)
- Scan and remediate legacy tooling dependencies (WMIC, PSv2).
- Stand up a Release Preview pilot ring for functional verification, including vendor agent testing and driver certification checks.
- Preserve official imaging and baselining processes; do not replace them with community ISOs unless strictly isolated from production.
- Monitor vendor advisories (storage, GPU, NICs) and Microsoft’s Release Health updates; apply mitigations (NDI Receive Mode change, thermal mitigation for NVMe) where recommended. (blogs.windows.com, docs.ndi.video, tomshardware.com)
Conclusion
This week’s mix of an enablement-package 25H2 rollout, an ISO delay, high-profile but ultimately unconfirmed SSD allegations, and important third‑party app updates serves as a reminder that modern Windows maintenance is as much about disciplined operational processes as it is about new features. For administrators the action items are concrete: inventory and remediate legacy dependencies, pilot thoroughly, and keep clean‑media baselines sacrosanct. For power users, the updates to PowerToys, Files, and NanaZIP are immediate wins that improve daily productivity and security verification. For everyone, the healthy takeaway is that coordinated vendor investigation works — but rare corner cases still require careful forensic work and conservative rollout plans until verifiable fixes and official media are published.
Source: Neowin Microsoft Weekly: More on SSD issues, 25H2 ISO delayed, big updates, and more
