Gosh, Microsoft just released (18 March 2021) an optional update to fix the blue screen of death caused by "certain" printer drivers....actually caused by a bug in a Win 10 update released earlier this month which has compatibility issues with certain printer drivers.

When an update appears as an "Optional" update depending on the problem it's suppose to fix I may or may not install it.  Sometimes I decide not to install it and just wait for the monthly cumulative update.   

But I decided to install this update and got the same problem "many" other folks are seeing.....that is, getting a fail to install error of 0x80070541 error.   See below webpage article for more info on this update error.   In the article you'll see installing the update manually from the Windows Catalog should fixe the error. 

However, when I tried to down the appropriate update MSU file from Windows Catalog using Chrome like I've done numerous times over the years for certain updates it would never start downloading.  Tried a half dozen times with no joy.   I saw on another webpage where people were having this same problem in trying to download the update from Windows Catalog unless they used "Edge" which is MS browser.  So, I tired downloading the update with Edge and sure enough it quickly downloaded.

OK, I finally got the update manually downloaded....I start the install and it installs without issue.  Windows Update now show the update installed successfully.  

Microsoft, oh Microsoft, you sometimes give me headaches with your updates that are suppose to fix bugs, but the update to fix an earlier update comes with its own issues. 

https://www.windowslatest.com/2021/03/19/windows-10-kb5001649-update-fails-to-install-with-0x80070541-error/

 

Same for my Asus  laptop and my hybrid tablet , so a common Windows problem once more ....

even latest Edge is in use ....

I ran the update by mistake on its first day out, I usually wait a week or so.  I ran it from the settings window.  It took a very long time to install, even while not using the machine, around 2 hours.  After "click to restart now" it took maybe 20 minutes to shutdown.

I have Win Home 20H2, the update is KB5000802

 

Same for me on my Lenovo laptop (it installed fine on my dell). Microsoft will likely correct the issue or rollout another update. Unless you were plagued with the issues it was supposed to correct then no problem. 

Don't install updates!!! wait at least 1 week or 2 weeks, even Windows Update has an option now to suspend all updates up to 4 weeks. It's there for a good reason.

Off-topic post reported and removed.

 

I needed the update to fix a problem when graphics would not print correctly. About 1/2 of the page (in the middle) was blank.

I also went to the Windows Update Catalog, tried to download it but it didn't download initially. I then used a right mouse click and chose my usual download manager - 'Free Download Manager' and all went perfectly from there.

A few hours ago I got around to checking my other two Lenovo laptops...see if they could install the update from Windows Update; however, neither showed it as an optional update for installation.  I clicked Check for Updates several times and each time both computers came back saying no updates to install.  

So, I then thought to myself that due to the install issues being experienced by many that that MS had removed the update "or" changed the method of update to manual download from MS Catalog vs also providing it as a update thru the normal Windows Update process.  

So, I go check the MS update site.  The update is still showing and it also shows it's available for update thru the normal Windows Update process....see below MS weblink/snapshot.   

At this point I figure MS has indeed removed the update's availability from the normal Windows Update process but just failed to update the documentation (below) showing update availability methods. 

I went ahead and download the update from the MS Catalog for my other two laptops and manually installed the update which went successfully....each computer updated in approx 3-5 minutes just like my first Lenovo laptop mentioned in my opening post. 

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/march-18-2021-kb5001649-os-builds-19041-870-and-19042-870-out-of-band-ebbe0617-3a63-467a-aaaa-2a4c68a6de33

When you look at the MS update history/support website KB5001649 shows as an "out-of-band" update along with a very similar update KB50011567 a few days earlier.   See snapshot at bottom.  And below weblink explains what an out-of-band update is. 

https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/out-of-band-patch#:~:text=An out-of-band patch,second Tuesday of every month.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/march-18-2021-kb5001649-os-builds-19041-870-and-19042-870-out-of-band-ebbe0617-3a63-467a-aaaa-2a4c68a6de33

I got so sick of my lightly-used 1 year old Dell Inspiron i3 laptop getting bogged down with updates etc that I replaced the Win10 OS with Chromium.  It runs like a champ now.  Before with Win10 it seemed like every time I went to use it the CPU was running at >75% doing Win10-related BS making the computer unusable.

 

Apparently MS has halted rollout of KB5001649 due to installation problems...you can still download/install it manually from MS Catalog but it's no longer being offered in the normal Windows Update....just like I described in a post yesterday when I went to install it on two laptops but it was no longer being offered under Windows Update.   See news article below.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-halts-rollout-of-windows-10-kb5001649-emergency-update/

Microsoft halts rollout of Windows 10 KB5001649 emergency update