A major technical problem has affected millions of Windows computer systems worldwide, causing sudden shutdowns or restarts. Microsoft Inc. said the error is caused by a recent CrowdStrike update.
According to Microsoft’s service health status update, the preliminary root cause is “a configuration change to a portion of our Azure backend workloads (which) caused interruptions between storage and compute resources, and resulted in connectivity failures…”
The company said these failures impacted “downstream (and dependent) Microsoft 365 services.”
CrowdStrike Engineering — a cybersecurity services firm that works with Microsoft — has identified content deployments related to the issue and has rolled back those changes.
The company has posted resolution steps for affected Windows users.
Workaround
- Boot Windows into Safe Mode or Windows Recovery Environment.
- Go to the C:\Windows\System32\drivers\CrowdStrike directory.
- Locate the file that matches C-00000291*.sys and delete it.
- Boot the host normally.
what did microsoft say
In a detailed thread on X, the software services giant said it is “investigating an issue impacting users’ ability to access various Microsoft 365 apps and services”.
Read | ‘Blue Screen of Death’ errors occurring when Windows system restarts
Microsoft said, “We are working to redirect affected traffic to alternate systems to mitigate the impact more quickly.” They added, “We are still seeing positive trends in service availability while we continue to redirect affected traffic.”
We are working on redirecting affected traffic to alternate systems to mitigate the impact more quickly. More information is posted in the Admin Center at MO821132 and
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024
“We remain hopeful that users will continue to see gradual relief as we work to mitigate this issue.”
Our services are still under continuous improvement while we continue mitigation actions. More information can be found in the Admin Center under MO821132 and
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 19, 2024
Services are “continuously improving while we continue to take remediation action”.
Read | What did Microsoft say on global outage affecting flight and bank operations?
“We are committed to treating this incident with the highest priority and urgency while we continue to address the long-term impact to the remaining Microsoft 365 apps that are down.”
Affected and recovered Microsoft services
Microsoft said affected services may include, but are not limited to, services and software such as PowerBI, Fabric, and Teams, as well as the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.
Read | Flights, markets, banks, stock exchanges: Microsoft outage affects several sectors
It also said that “internal telemetry and customer signals” suggest some services have at least partially recovered. These include Defender, OneNote, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint Online.
Worldwide Windows Outage Impact
Vital services such as police and government have been affected across the world.
In India, SpiceJet has said it is facing “technical challenges”, affecting online ticket booking and check-in as well as other functionalities.
“We request passengers planning upcoming travel to reach the airport earlier than usual to complete check-in at our counters,” the airline said on X.
New airline Akasa Air and industry giant IndiGo have also issued similar messages. Sources told NDTV that flight services at Chennai and Mumbai airports have also started getting affected.
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) July 19, 2024
Globally, Australia’s Virgin Australia said it was “aware of the widespread IT disruption this is causing to airlines and other businesses” and that it had also been affected.
The airline said, “We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible…”
There are reports of flights being grounded in Australia and the United States.
Melbourne Airport is experiencing a global technical issue which is affecting the check-in process for some airlines. Passengers flying on these airlines this afternoon are advised to allow a little extra time for check-in. Please check with your airline for flight updates. pic.twitter.com/pFjOjReMKX
— Melbourne Airport (@melbair) July 19, 2024
In the east, Sydney and Melbourne airports have cited a “global technology issue” affecting their services. Both airports said contingency plans have been activated.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported services at airport in the German capital Berlin were affected, and the BBC reported that airport operators in Spain also confirmed an “incident”.
The technical problem has also affected banks and financial services, with reports that the London Stock Exchange is also experiencing minor problems. The BBC said the United Kingdom’s Sky News network was down.
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