Microsoft Addresses Windows 11 Taskbar and Explorer Crashes, Fixes Game Stuttering Issues

Noteworthy Fixes in Windows 11 Optional Update

This week’s optional update for Windows 11 introduces significant improvements, most notably addressing an issue where explorer.exe crashes triggered by specific notifications. These crashes could affect both the taskbar and the Start menu. According to Microsoft, this issue is resolved in KB5070311 (Build 26200.7309 / 26100.7309).

While Microsoft has not disclosed the exact cause behind this problem, we have encountered it personally on one of our PCs, where the taskbar intermittently vanishes due to crashing. Interestingly, this incident occurred without the receipt of a new notification, although we did have several unread alerts in the Notification Center. It remains unclear if these unread notifications were a contributing factor.

As noted in the release notes for the optional update that rolled out on December 1, Microsoft stated, “After the latest updates, explorer.exe might stop responding (leading to the taskbar becoming unresponsive) after certain notifications.” This fix may be tucked away in the extensive list of changes, and users might overlook its significance.

Addressing Stuttering on High-Resolution Monitors

In addition to the above fix, Microsoft has acknowledged that some applications and games might experience stuttering upon launch, particularly for users with very high-resolution monitors. However, this stuttering is isolated to the launch process and does not affect overall frame rates during gameplay.

For context, when applications or games start, they often query Windows 11 for the optimal resolution, refresh rate, or mode supported by the user’s monitor. While this process continues to function correctly, it can occasionally cause temporary stutters when launching on high-refresh-rate or high-resolution displays.

Following the recent update, users with high-end monitors should find that launching specific games, switching resolutions, or utilizing certain display management tools is more seamless, with minimized micro-stutters.

Additional Fixes in Build 26200.7309

The Windows 11 Build 26200.7309 also brings two important bug fixes:

A correction for the issue where some PCs failed to adjust brightness accurately or would reset to their original brightness settings.
A fix for the “unsupported graphics card detected” error message that could mistakenly appear even when using a compatible GPU while playing games or running applications.

Despite these positive changes, it’s important to note that Build 26200.7309 may introduce minor glitches, such as white flashes appearing in File Explorer and the ‘password’ icon disappearing from the login screen. While the improvements present a compelling case for an upgrade, it may be prudent to wait until December 9 for the more stable December 2025 Patch Tuesday update, which is likely to address these issues.

Patch Tuesday updates are generally more reliable and will help resolve the white flashing problem.

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