March 13, 2019 Microsoft has patched the performance degradation bug with the latest update: KB4489899.
On March 1, 2019, Microsoft rolled out Windows Update KB4482887 to address a heap of OS issues, however, in the patching process, as is becoming Microsoft’s signature style, inadvertently created a few more. Multiple user reports indicated the patch negatively impacted gaming performance in Destiny 2 and Call of Duty, causing significant mouse stuttering and graphics degradation.
However, Microsoft has now patched out the bug with update KB4489899, released on March 12, 2019, known to the tech world as ‘Patch Tuesday’. This update “addresses an issue that may degrade graphics and mouse performance with desktop gaming when playing certain games, such as Destiny 2, after installing KB4482887.”
The original KB4482887 patch implemented various bug fixes and improvements. The most notable of which is the Spectre variant 2 “Retpoline” mitigation for use with older AMD or Intel processors. It’s worth noting, however, that, contrary to popular belief, Retpoline was not to blame for the performance degradation, as users must manually activate it on compatible systems.
The latest update implements the following fixes.
- Addresses an issue in Microsoft HoloLens with tracking and device calibration that has affected some users.
- Addresses an issue that may cause users to receive “Error 1309” while installing or uninstalling certain types of MSI and MSP files.
- Addresses an issue that may degrade graphics and mouse performance with desktop gaming when playing certain games, such as Destiny 2, after installing KB4482887.
- Security updates to Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Scripting Engine, Windows Shell, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers, Windows Server, Windows Linux, Windows Hyper-V, Windows Datacenter Networking, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Wireless Networking, the Microsoft JET Database Engine, Windows Kernel, Windows, and Windows Fundamentals.
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You can find the full list of bug fixes and improvements over at Microsoft’s official patch update page. As always with Microsoft’s star-crossed updates, it’s probably best to wait for the first wave of guinea pigs to install the update as and when it becomes available before following suit yourself. You never know when Windows might start deleting entire directories again.