The rollout of the optional Windows 10 updates was resumed in early January with the promise of fixing problems that had been plaguing users. Windows 10 KB4601382 is Microsoft’s latest attempt to fix critical bugs affecting your games, desktop apps, and display monitors with HDR.

Windows 10 KB4601382 optional update was released on February 24 and it comes with important bug fixes, especially for gamers.

Over the past few months, some users have reported game crashes, stuttering or screen flickering after applying unknown Windows updates. Reports suggested that the January update has been causing a host of issues for gamers, many of which do not appear to have resolutions in place.

The optional updates usually come out about once a month and this month’s release is KB4601382, which appears to have fixed key issues. For instance, Microsoft has fixed a long-standing bug where ‘rendering’ issues are observed when playing desktop games.

It’s unclear what caused the screen rendering issues in the first place, but if you’ve found that you’re experiencing these issues then you can consider installing the February update.

KB4601382 key highlights

  • Includes improvements for WinHTTP service.
  • Prepares device for Adobe Flash Player-killer update
  • Fixes screen rendering issue.
  • Fixes video playback flicker issue.
  • Fixes issues with high dynamic range (HDR) displays.

In addition to these changes, Microsoft has fixed an issue where users cannot launch Win32 apps from the command line. Likewise, another annoying video playback issue has been fixed, but Microsoft is still investigating reports of video playback issues in Google Chrome and Edge.

As we mentioned at the outset, this is an optional patch and all of these fixes will be included in March Patch Tuesday update. If you’re not currently experiencing any issues with desktop apps and games, then you can actually skip this patch for now.

For anyone experiencing video playback, gaming and other issues, Windows 10 Build 19042.844 may fix the problem and you don’t have to wait until the second week of March.

You can download Windows 10 Build 19042.844 via the Windows Update settings app or Microsoft Update Catalog.

About The Author

Mayank Parmar

Mayank Parmar is Windows Latest's owner, Editor-in-Chief and entrepreneur. Mayank has been in tech journalism for over seven years and has written on various topics, but he is mostly known for his well-researched work on Microsoft's Windows. His articles and research works have been referred to by CNN, Business Insiders, Forbes, Fortune, CBS Interactive, Microsoft and many others over the years.