GoKawiilResearcher finds Video CD copying bug freezes Windows Explorer
A researcher documented a Windows bug triggered by copying files from a Video CD's MPEGAV folder, which causes copy speed to drop to zero and leaves Explorer in a broken state—new files become invisible, parts of the UI glitch, and Explorer cannot be restarted. The only fix is a hard restart, since a normal restart hangs indefinitely at the 'Restarting' screen. The issue was traced to monthly updates released in March 2023 for Windows 11 (KB5023706) and April 2023 for Windows 10 (KB5025221); unpatched versions of Windows 10 and 11 22H2 don't exhibit the bug.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The finding points to a regression introduced by a specific security or feature update rather than a long-standing flaw, which could make it easier for Microsoft to isolate and patch. It also highlights how narrow, low-level file-handling code paths—here tied to legacy Video CD formats—can still cause serious system instability in a modern OS. Until addressed, affected users copying VCD content risk needing a hard reboot, which could also cause data loss for unrelated open work.
- Copying Video CD MPEGAV files can freeze Windows Explorer and require a hard reboot to fix
- Bug traced to Windows updates KB5023706 (Windows 11) and KB5025221 (Windows 10) from March/April 2023
- Alternative methods like Windows Media Player or dedicated extraction tools like VCDGear avoid triggering the issue
Source: clydesnotes.blogspot.com, 2026-09-26
Published there as: “Video CDs Break Windows Explorer”
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