Windows 10 update's latest bug hits you right in the hard drive

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Annoying Windows 10 update flaw makes the disk utility forgetful

not another Windows 10 update bug
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Death, taxes and Windows 10 update calamities. Yes, we've got another reason why you should wait to get the Windows 10 May 2020 update.

According to a Windows Latest post, the Drive Optimizer tool (fka Disk Defragmenter) is behaving awfully buggy for some users. This is the kind of flaw that reminds us why Microsoft was slow to roll Windows 10 2004 to all users.

The hard drive maintenance tool, widely appreciated as one of the important pack-in applications from Microsoft, typically operates in the background, cleaning up all of your drive's partitions. The kind of routine infrastructure work that you only notice if and when it goes pear-shaped.

And now, after updating to Windows 10 2004, users are reporting that Drive Optimizer is failing to log the status and history of its scans. Therefore, if you look at the app to check its history, you may see signs that no scans were done, even when they were. It could even warn you that your storage is unoptimized, when it is not, driving you batty trying to solve it. 

The good news about this flaw, though, is that Drive Optimizer appears to still be working in the background. You just can't confirm it. 

Windows Latest notes that Microsoft had reported it fixed such an issue in January's Windows 10 Build 19551, stating "Thank you for reporting that the Optimize Drives Control Panel was incorrectly showing that optimization hadn’t run on some devices. We’ve fixed it in this build."

We're hoping that fixing this issue is as easy as figuring out how they solved in v. 19551 and repeating that work in Windows 10 2004.

As I explained yesterday, in a story about external monitors going dark after the update, the best thing you can do if any Windows 10 May update bug is to roll back Windows 10. Before you dive into the settings app to do that (and I don't think this issue is disruptive enough to require it) back up your system with one of our best cloud backup services.

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Henry T. Casey
Henry T. Casey

Henry was a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.