This has not been a year of trouble-free installations of Windows 10 updates, but it appears that the upgrade woes are far from over with the new KB4586781 cumulative update.

The update, which was distributed to Windows 10 users in November, brings a series of security improvements and fixes to Microsoft's ever-evolving operating system. However, for some applications, strange error messages appear, installation fails, and laptops freeze.

One such error encountered when applying an update, reported by Windows Latest, reads: "Some update files are missing or have problems. We will retry to download the update later. Error code: (0x8007000d)".

People who have encountered errors or crashes with the KB4586781 cumulative update have received variations of this message. Some also report that the update takes a long time to install, and error messages appear.

"Still stuck on 1909. An update will come sometime in the future. It's crazy that Big Sur came out yesterday and my Mac was already updated, but my Windows computer is still waiting for the second latest update," said one Reddit user.

However, the update seems to be causing other problems as well, such as messing with user settings, as another Reddit user noted: "The recent Windows update at work wiped out all user settings, dozens of desktop shortcuts, and made my user login accounts as if they were starting from scratch, which pissed me off. I decided to go home and save my crappy day for Monday."

I installed the KB4586781 cumulative update on my 2018 HP Spectre x360 15 and it seems to be working fine now. However, before it installed, the 2-in-1 laptop suddenly blue screened. Upon rebooting, it transitioned to the standard screen when Windows 10 installs an update, before booting fully to the desktop.

While we cannot say for sure if the update caused this BSOD, it seems very likely that the crash was not just a coincidence. Such a problem has occurred before on this machine when a new Windows 10 update was applied. Fortunately, no data was lost due to this crash, but it was still a nuisance to deal with in the middle of the workday.

If you are concerned about such updates, you can turn off automatic updates or pause the installation of the KB4586781 cumulative update until a more stable version is released. Keep in mind, however, that this update applies several important security features to Windows 10, and failure to install the update may result in loss of access to these features.

The overall situation and the fact that other 2020 Windows 10 updates have caused problems suggests that Microsoft needs to apply a bit more quality control and testing to future Windows 10 updates.