Microsoft released its latest patch, KB5051987, five days ago on Patch Tuesday for Windows 11 version 24H2. The update primarily focused on security improvements but also introduced new features, including a OneDrive addition similar to Apple's Handoff, making transitions between mobile devices and PCs more seamless.

It also brought enhancements to File Explorer, such as the ability to remember previously opened tabs and restore them upon login. Unfortunately, many users have reported issues since the update’s rollout—ironically, one of the most significant problems affects File Explorer itself.

Microsoft's latest update is making File Explorer unusable

As reported by Windows Latest and various communities like Reddit and Microsoft's help forum, many users have encountered a major issue with the KB5051987 patch, causing File Explorer to become unresponsive when attempting to open folders. Some have reported that, in addition to File Explorer failing to launch, they’re unable to open folders from the desktop, save Office files, or even download files. Clicking on a folder icon may display its subfolders, but the contents within remain inaccessible.

Strangely, the application itself doesn't appear to have crashed, as the explorer.exe process is still visible in Task Manager. This suggests the issue is isolated to certain functions within File Explorer rather than the entire application. However, given that one of its core functions is broken, the impact is significant.

File Explorer issues aren't the only problem, though. Some users on Microsoft's help forum and Reddit have also reported that the KB5051987 patch fails to install entirely. The update gets stuck at a certain percentage for hours before eventually displaying an error code.

While these are among the most widely reported issues, others have surfaced as well, including problems with Taskbar preview animations, the camera, and more.

There's a fix, but it isn't ideal

Unfortunately, there isn’t a straightforward fix or a setting you can tweak to resolve the issue directly. Since the KB5051987 patch is a mandatory security update, it will be installed on your PC eventually.

So, if you're experiencing issues and your system has already been updated, your only options are to either wait for Microsoft to release a fix or uninstall the patch yourself. To do this, go to Settings > Windows Update > Uninstall, select the patch, click Uninstall, confirm, and restart your system. To prevent it from reinstalling, you can temporarily pause updates.