Video CDs Break Windows Explorer
A bug introduced in early 2023 Windows updates causes Windows Explorer to freeze and destabilize the OS when copying files from Video CDs.
summary is enough A neat bug investigation into a legacy format that can be fully grasped from a quick summary.
summary
An author discovered that copying files from Video CDs in modern Windows 10 and 11 triggers a severe bug that freezes Windows Explorer and prevents clean reboots. Investigation reveals the bug was introduced via monthly updates in early 2023 and stems from how Windows handles VCDs' non-standard ISO9660 filesystem emulation. Microsoft has left the bug unaddressed since it was reported through the Feedback Hub. While a niche issue given the format's age, it highlights lingering fragility in legacy OS code paths.
key points
- Copying VCD contents using standard Windows file copy routines causes the transfer to hang indefinitely and locks up Explorer.
- Testing showed the bug was introduced in Windows 11 update KB5023706 and Windows 10 update KB5025221.
- Third-party copying tools or dedicated ripping utilities bypass the issue entirely.
who should read it
Windows systems administrators, developers, and retro-computing enthusiasts.
discussion positive
consensus
Commenters are amused by the survival of an obscure 90s format and universally cynical about Microsoft's Feedback Hub serving as a non-responsive black hole.
pushback
Some commenters point out that standard workarounds like killing Explorer via Task Manager fail because the underlying kernel call hangs.
That odd behaviour and "can't even do a safe restart" state sounds very familiar to those who have used Win9x; and there, it's usually the result of some memory corruption in the kernel.
The bug first appeared with the monthly updates 2023-03 (KB5023706) for Windows 11 and 2023-04 (KB5025221) for Windows 10. The initial releases of Windows 10 and Windows 11 22H2 with no updates do not have this bug
...and everything older likely doesn't either, especially from the time when VCDs were far more commonly used.
Pulling the files off (and ignoring errors, the way Windows does) loses that.
I …
It links the observed kernel hanging behavior to historical memory corruption issues characteristic of older Windows versions.
Generated by an LLM from the article and thread. Check the sources before relying on it.