Windows 11 Moment 5 (KB5035942) causing install issues, BSOD, black desktop screen

At the end of February, Microsoft rolled out the Moment 5 feature update for Windows 11 through the KB5034848 update. These updates are referred to as Configuration Updates by Microsoft.

Last week, the KB5035942 update was released as an optional update for all Windows 11 users. Despite this, numerous users have reported encountering installation problems, and those who have successfully installed and set up the update are now facing black screen issues upon startup.

Upon discovery of multiple posts on the Microsoft Community forum, we became aware of the issues users were experiencing with the installation of the update.

User OnlyAlex22 stated that they were unable to confirm the successful installation of KB5035942. As of now, this query has been upvoted by 11 others who appear to be facing a similar issue. They have expressed their concerns in a thread on the Microsoft community forum, stating:

KB5035942 and KB5036035 were both available as updates on my Windows 11 PCs. I installed them on two devices successfully, but on one device KB5036035 got stuck at down

loading 98% for hours. KB5035942 installed fine.
As the second KB got stuck, I restarted the device and it said ‘installing updates’ and then I noticed KB5036035 was available again and downloaded and installed fine with a further restart.
The problem is, I cannot find KB5035942 listed in Windows Update history as installed today like on all my other PCs or available to uninstall.
I can see though that it has I think been installed through reliability history.
How do I know if this KB has been installed correctly and do I need to be concerned that it’s not showing in Windows Update history or available to uninstall?

Another user, Margaret Foster1, also encountered a similar issue in a separate post:

I have Windows11 23H2 and kb5035942 will not install it keeps saying something went wrong and no worries we are undoing the install? I have tried to install manually and it says it is already installed but the update notification still remains and say a restart is required.

According to user J9b_361, the installation of the update was unsuccessful and resulted in an error code of “0x80188309.”

According to user Nikhil Katiyar_CH’s comment, the system can also experience a Blue Screen.

With the latest release of KB5035942, we have observed that most of the machines are getting prompted for ‘Automatic Repair”, or “Blue Screen Error”. The count of crashed machines is increasing with each installing the update.

Currently, this query has been upvoted by eight other individuals at the time of writing.

In the meantime, certain individuals who successfully install the update may encounter a black desktop screen.

Windows Update KB5035942 is causing Startup problems

After installing KB5035942 the computer restarts and then the screen goes blank. Only the mouse is visible.
I uninstalled this update and it installed again in the Widows update. I tried using wushowhide but it did not appear on the list of updates to hide.

In a comment, Josh H states that he is also a user.

Black desktop background after KB5035942 preview update

My workstation updated overnight. The first time logging in, after a while my desktop background image renders, but if I do things like create a drag-select box, that region of the desktop gets repainted as a black background. The black desktop behavior persists after a reboot. After rebooting and logging in, my desktop background image has yet to display at all.

Assuming there are no major bugs, Microsoft plans to release the Moment 5 update to all users alongside the April “Patch Tuesday”update, which was previously only used to address Windows issues on Windows 11 23H2. It is hoped that Microsoft can resolve any problems that some users may be experiencing with installing the optional Moment 5 update before it becomes mandatory for all users.

If you have recently installed KB5035942 on your Windows 11 computer, please share in the comments below your experience with the installation, whether it was successful or if it caused any issues.