Microsoft: January Windows security updates break audio playback

​Microsoft has confirmed that the January 2025 Windows security updates are breaking audio playback on some systems with external DACs (digital-to-analog converters).

DACs are commonly used at home, in professional music studios, and in portable music players to improve audio quality, process signals, or convert digital audio into analog signals for playback through speakers or headphones.

As the company further explained in updated support documents, this known issue impacts Windows 24H2 (KB5050009), Windows 10 22H2 (KB5049981), Windows Server 2019 (KB5050008), and Windows Server 2016 (KB5049993) when using DACs with USB 1.0 audio drivers.

"You are more likely to experience this issue if you are using a USB 1.0 audio driver based DAC (Digital to Analog converter) in your audio setup. This issue might cause USB audio devices to stop working, preventing audio playback," Microsoft said.

"Resulting from this issue, the Device Manager might display the error 'This device cannot start. (Code 10) Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API'."

Redmond has yet to explain what causes these audio problems and to add the known issue to the Windows release health dashboard. The company is currently investigating the issue and working on a fix, with more details to be provided when available.

Until a fix is released, Microsoft advises affected users to connect their audio devices to the PC without using a DAC to work around the issue.

"Users can avoid this issue by avoiding the use of an external DAC in the connection process and directly plugging your audio device to your PC," the company said.

Microsoft is also working on resolving a similar known issue that affects only Windows 24H2 systems and unexpectedly causes game audio to increase to full volume when using Creative Sound BlasterX G6 USB DAC sound systems.

Earlier this month, Redmond also removed Assassin's Creed Windows 11 upgrade blocks, which prevented compatibility issues that caused crashes, freezes, and audio problems. It also fixed a bug that caused some Windows Server 2022 systems with two or more NUMA nodes to fail to start up.