Microsoft’s recent KB5074109 patch for Windows 11, released on January 13, appears to be causing problems in several games for Nvidia GPU owners. A thread on the official Nvidia forums includes reports of visual artifacts, black screens, and other graphical glitches – the feedback thread is for GeForce Game Ready Driver 591.86, which was released on the 27th of last month.

An Nvidia representative now recommends uninstalling, or rather, rolling back the KB5074109 update if possible, to address some of these issues. We should also point out that Microsoft has released a couple of out-of-band (emergency) patches since then, as well as a new Preview version, though these may still prove to be buggy with the new Nvidia driver.

Nvidia 591.86 driver and Windows 11 KB5074109 update seem to have issues

Following this particular Windows update, Windows Latest reported on black screen issues and freezes, “including those with an Nvidia GPU,” so it seems likely this update is also affecting gaming performance on the latest Nvidia driver (Game Ready Driver 591.86). The new Preview build we mentioned above does include a graphics fix, which “addresses black screen issues in isolated multiuser environments” – it’s not yet confirmed whether this affects the reported game issues for Nvidia users.

In one instance, Nvidia representative Manuel recommends you uninstall this Windows January update altogether. In response to a user having problems with “weird visual shadow artifacts” in Forza Horizon 5, the rep confirms Nvidia is “looking into it,” adding “As far as I know, the only way to resolve it appears to be uninstalling KB5074109”. This response was just yesterday (February 2).

Manuel also touched on an issue with The Ascent, causing a strange black bar at the top of the screen during gameplay. This issue was previously reported on Steam, well before the Windows 11 update, so it probably isn’t related. Regardless, Nvidia is looking into it and is trying to figure out a way to reproduce the graphical bug.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.