Windows 10 May 2019 update breaks Sandbox security feature for some Insiders

Windows Sandbox is intended to help Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise users test untrusted code and websites in a secure environment

The Windows 10 Sandbox, a key security feature introduced with Microsoft's May update for the operating system, appears to be broken for a number of Windows Insider users.

Microsoft says the Sandbox may fail to work on some systems where users installed the KB4497936 Cumulative Update.

"Windows Sandbox may fail to start with 'ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND (0x80070002)' on devices in which the operating system language is changed during the update process when installing Windows 10, version 1903," Microsoft admitted in a recent update.

Earlier, several users complained about the issue on Twitter and also posted screenshots of the error message.

AI & Machine Learning Live is returning to London on 3rd July 2019. Hear from the Met Office's Charles Ewen, AutoTrader lead data scientist Dr David Hoyle and the BBC's Noriko Matsuoka, among many others. Attendance is free to qualifying IT leaders and senior IT pros, but places are limited, so reserve yours now.

Microsoft said it is working on a solution, which security specialists believe may be released with the first or second cumulative update of June.

Microsoft Sandbox is a virtualised desktop environment, which enables users to run suspicious, untrusted files or apps on their systems without compromising the security of the systems. With Sandbox, users can open a potentially harmful website and test whether a visit to that website would cause any malicious code to be executed on the computer.

The Sandbox feature was only introduced with version 1903, the May update, and for Windows Pro and Enterprise customers only. That means Windows Home users don't (yet) need to worry about the malfunctioning feature.

Moreover, the issue affects only participants of Windows Insider programme, who had earlier signed up to get pre-release builds of the operating system.

The Insider programme comes with three "rings" - Fast, Slow and Release Preview - and provides different levels of update frequency to users. The latest issue impacts all three ring types.

The damaged Sandbox feature isn't the only issue that Microsoft is currently having with its version 1903, May update. Some users have also complained that their machines running some specific AMD RAID drivers could not update due to compatibility issues.

According to Microsoft, certain AMD RAID drivers on PCs powered by Ryzen or Ryzen Threadripper processors are not compatible with the Windows 10 May 2019 update.

The company has advised affected users to install the most up-to-date version of the AMD RAID drivers on their systems. Then, users should restart their machines before re-starting the update process.

Delta is a new market intelligence service from Computing to help CIOs and other IT decision makers make smarter purchasing decisions - decisions informed by the knowledge and experience of other CIOs and IT decision makers.

Delta is free from vendor sponsorship or influence of any kind, and is guided by a steering committee of well-known CIOs, such as Charles Ewen, Christina Scott, Steve Capper and Laura Meyer.

Ten crucial technology areas are already covered at launch, with more data appearing and more areas being covered every week. Sign-up here for your free trial of the Computing Delta website.