Microsoft is introducing “hot patching” with the Windows 11 24H2 update, allowing for seamless installation of security patches without restarting your PC.
Windows PC updates are laborious processes that may result in data loss due to the computer’s automatic reboot. It appears that Microsoft has resolved this problem with hot patching, which eliminates the need to restart the computer in order to apply an update.
According to Windows Central, the Windows 11 24H2 update, which will be available in the second part of the year, will include new features and capabilities in addition to the ability for users to apply security fixes without having to restart their computers. Microsoft will now apply the same methodology for Windows 11 that it has been using for some time to distribute upgrades to Windows and Xbox servers.
This capability will be activated on Windows 11 PCs with X86 processors first, and in 2025 it is expected to be enabled on PCs with ARM processors as well. Monthly security updates will be the main use case for this technology; major OS upgrades, which contain bug fixes and new features, still require a PC restart to install. Microsoft does provide an expected installation time for Windows 11 OS, which allows customers to know how long the upgrade process will take. Additionally, the business has included over 150 new features to Windows 11 OS.
By employing technologies like Cumulative Updates, which assist in applying security updates to the operating system through Virtualization Based Security (VBS), which entails “patching the in-memory code of running processes without the need to restart the process,” Microsoft is able to accomplish this feat despite the potential performance impact, particularly on gaming PCs.