Windows 11 Update Breaks Shutdown On Some PCs, Here's The Workaround

Users of specific versions of Microsoft's Windows 11 can no longer properly shutdown or enter hibernation, and are instead being forced to restart unless the correct Command Prompt command is made, as part of the latest update to Windows 11 Version 23H2. The versions of Windows 11 impacted by the issue are Windows 11 Enterprise and Windows 11 IoT, and at time of writing by far the bigger issue is the complete lack of hibernation functionality—even with the correct Command Prompt command, the system can only be shut down, not effectively hibernate.

As for users of those versions of Windows 11 who just need to shut down their PCs, one need only open Command Prompt, paste or type in the following command: shutdown /s /t 0, and then hit Enter.

As Microsoft advises in its official documentation of the problem, "There is no work around at this time for entering hibernation. Until this issue is resolved, please ensure you save all your work, and shut down when you are done working on your device to avoid the device running out of power instead of hibernating." Microsoft claims a fix for the issue will be coming in a future update, and points to Secure Launch virtualization-based security functionality as the reason why shutting down and hibernating aren't working as intended.

As far as major bugs impacting Windows updates go, this one is relatively minor, but still one that users of the impacted editions should be aware of. We imagine it'll have the highest impact for the IoT users, since those are more likely to be low-power devices reliant on extended hibernation times when not in use, to remain responsive when needed. Enterprise desktops should be more or less unaffected, though users of Enterprise laptops are sure to be shutting down more frequently until a fix comes through in a patch.