Groundhog Day on PC: Windows 10 update KB5048239 requires installing it again and again

#!MARKER#!Windows 10 update KB5048239, released on November 12, 2024, brings several improvements to the Windows Recovery Environment. According to numerous reviews, the installation of this update proceeds normally and without failures, however, the next time you start Windows Update, the user is again prompted to install it. Repeated attempts to install the update do not solve the problem. Neither restarting the PC nor even reinstalling Windows helps.

Image source: Microsoft

According to Microsoft’s support page, update KB5048239 is for Windows 10 systems with Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) active. WinRE is used to repair systems that can no longer boot properly. The security update is designed to provide improvements and increased protection. Installation requires at least 250 MB of free disk space.

Numerous user reports about this problem on PCs with different configurations began appearing on the official Microsoft forum on January 10, 2025. At the same time, the system remains operational, and tools such as Windows Event Viewer and Norton 360 show that the update was successfully installed.

The specific cause of the problem remains unknown at this time. Standard methods for solving such failures – for example, restarting the PC or reinstalling Windows – turn out to be useless. Lack of disk space has also been ruled out as a possible cause.

Microsoft has not yet commented on this situation. The only real solution at the moment is to ignore the update until a fix is ​​released. However, given that this is a security update, ignoring it is not an ideal solution.