A recent update for Windows 10, patch KB5001716, has been reportedly failing to install for some users - and something pretty odd is going on here, apparently.
KB5001716 is actually an update for Windows Update across all versions of Windows 10, which Microsoft says does the following: "When this update is installed, Windows may attempt to download and install feature updates to your device if it is approaching or has reached the end of support for your currently installed Windows version. Feature updates offer new functionality and help keep your device secure."
Some folks are getting an error when trying to install the update, but the strange bit is the reason why they are getting this error message - because the update has already been installed on their Windows 10 PC.
Essentially, Windows Update keeps trying to install KB5001716 and coming up with the same error repeatedly, which is an annoying situation, as you can imagine.
Windows Latest reports that in their case - and the same thing has happened to others - the patch installs fine the first time, as the March 2024 version. But after that Windows 10 keeps trying to reinstall an older version (from October 2023), which fails.
Gremlins manifesting when installing Windows updates aren't exactly rare, but this sort of going well off the rails is (thankfully).
The good news is that it doesn't actually do any harm to keep attempting the reinstall - it's just annoying.
Microsoft has been working on a solution, and it should be imminent - in fact, one comment on a Reddit thread complaining about this problem suggests it has just arrived today.
Take that with a pinch of salt, but hopefully it's a positive indication that the fix is indeed inbound for all Windows 10 users if not right now, then very soon indeed.