July 20, 2024 at 11:28AM
A faulty CrowdStrike Falcon update caused widespread outages by crashing Windows systems worldwide and rendered Windows 365 Cloud PCs unusable. Microsoft provided instructions for affected Windows devices and recommended troubleshooting steps, but recovery for Windows 365 Cloud PCs is limited. CrowdStrike is actively working with affected customers, and Microsoft is investigating mitigation options.
From the meeting notes, it is evident that a faulty CrowdStrike Falcon update caused widespread outages by crashing Windows systems worldwide, leading to significant disruptions for organizations and services across various industries such as banking, airlines, healthcare, and entertainment.
The impact extended to Windows 365 Cloud PCs, with affected devices getting stuck in reboot loops and rendering them unusable. Recovery options vary for different Windows devices, with more limited or time-consuming solutions for Windows 365 Cloud PCs due to their virtual nature.
Microsoft recommends specific troubleshooting steps for affected Windows 365 Cloud PCs, including restarting the affected virtual machines via the Azure Portal and restoring from an Azure Backup before the occurrence of the faulty update, with the risk of potential data loss.
There are also alternative measures such as using Azure CLI or Azure Shell to repair the OS disks offline by deleting the problematic kernel driver file and reattaching the original VM.
Moreover, customers experiencing ongoing issues are advised to seek additional assistance from CrowdStrike, and Microsoft continues to investigate additional mitigation options.
Furthermore, the meeting notes highlight a major Microsoft 365 outage caused by an Azure configuration change, impacting various Microsoft 365 apps and services, including Microsoft Defender, Teams, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint Online, among others. Although mitigation measures were applied, some customers still experience issues accessing and using certain services like Microsoft Teams and the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Overall, the meeting notes provide a comprehensive overview of the significant disruptions caused by the faulty CrowdStrike Falcon update and the subsequent impact on Windows 365 Cloud PCs, as well as the separate Microsoft 365 outage.