Windows 11 users have had a rough few months, and this week, both Nvidia and Microsoft quietly confirmed what many gamers and IT admins already knew: things are not okay under the hood.
Nvidia Steps In To Fix Broken Game Performance
If your games suddenly started running worse after installing the Windows 11 October 2025 update (KB5066835), you’re not imagining it. Nvidia has confirmed that this update can cause lower in-game performance on some GeForce GPUs.
To tackle this, Nvidia has released a GeForce Hotfix Display Driver 581.94, based on the recent 581.80 Game Ready driver. The only change in this hotfix is:
“Lower performance may be observed in some games after updating to Windows 11, October 2025 KB5066835.”
In other words, Microsoft broke it, and Nvidia is trying to un-break it.
What You Should Do If Your Games Feel Slower:
- Download GeForce Hotfix 581.94 from Nvidia’s website or via the Nvidia app
- Install the driver and reboot your PC
- Test your usual games and see if frame rates and smoothness improve
- If problems persist, report them to Nvidia and consider temporarily rolling back to an older driver
Nvidia warns that hotfix drivers get limited testing, so if your system is fine, you can wait for the next full WHQL driver, where this fix will be integrated.
Microsoft: “Almost Every Major Windows 11 Core Feature Is Affected”
While Nvidia is firefighting on the gaming side, Microsoft has finally acknowledged a much deeper problem: core Windows 11 components have been unstable for months.
In a new support article, Microsoft admits that after installing cumulative updates released on or after July 2025 (KB5062553) for Windows 11 version 24H2 and 25H2, the following can break – especially on freshly provisioned or virtual desktop (VDI) environments:
- Start menu (StartMenuExperienceHost)
- Taskbar
- File Explorer (explorer.exe)
- Search
- Settings app (SystemSettings)
- Other XAML-based interface elements and “immersive shell” components
Reported issues include:
- Explorer.exe and shellhost.exe crash
- Taskbar not appearing even though Explorer is running
- Settings refusing to open
- Apps are crashing when trying to load XAML views
The cause is that XAML and shell-related packages (such as MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS and Microsoft.UI.Xaml.CBS) are not fully provisioned when users first log in.
Microsoft’s Temporary “fix”: PowerShell and Patience
There’s no proper patch yet. Instead, Microsoft suggests two workarounds, primarily aimed at IT admins:
- Re-register broken system packages manually using PowerShell with the Add-AppxPackage command.
- Use a logon script that delays the launch of Explorer until all required shell packages are ready.
In other words: for now, the “fix” is scripting your way around Windows 11’s own provisioning problems.
Big Picture: Windows 11 Feels Fragile
Between:
- Game performance tanks after a routine update
- Start menu, Taskbar, Explorer, and Settings are breaking on freshly updated machines
- NVIDIA is shipping emergency drivers to patch around OS changes
…it’s clear that Windows 11’s update quality is under severe strain. Microsoft says it’s working on a permanent solution, but for users and admins, the message is simple:
- Gamers: install Nvidia’s 581.94 hotfix if KB5066835 hurts your performance.
- IT admins: watch Microsoft’s guidance on XAML and Shell issues closely, and maybe test future updates on sacrificial machines first.
