Windows update fails when exiting VS Code to apply update, requires uninstall and reinstall

[danielshue]

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes/No Yes

Version: 1.110.0-insider (user setup)
Commit: d565dc1
Date: 2026-02-09T08:33:29.182Z
Electron: 39.3.0
ElectronBuildId: 13168319
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.21.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT arm64 10.0.26220

On Windows, Visual Studio Code consistently fails to apply updates when using the built in “Restart to Update” flow. The update dialog reports a failure and suggests antivirus or runaway processes, but restarting the machine does not resolve the issue. The only reliable workaround is to uninstall VS Code and reinstall the latest version.
This has occurred multiple times across updates.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Visual Studio Code on Windows
2. Wait for VS Code to prompt that an update is available
3. Choose the option to exit or restart VS Code to apply the update
4. Observe the update failure dialog

Expected Behavior
VS Code exits and successfully applies the update without user intervention.

Actual Behavior
VS Code displays an error dialog stating that the update failed. Retrying after restarting Windows does not help. The update only succeeds after fully uninstalling and reinstalling VS Code.

Error Dialog
The dialog shown during update failure says:
Failed to install Visual Studio Code update.
Updates may fail due to anti virus software and or runaway processes. Please try restarting your machine before attempting to update again.
Please read the log file for more information:
C:\Users\DANSHU~1.RED\AppData\Local\Temp\vscode-inno-updater-1771728732.log

Workaround
Uninstall Visual Studio Code and reinstall the latest version manually.
Restarting Windows does not resolve the issue.

[YTKme]

I am getting the same issue with VS Code Insider 1.110. But I don't get the error message, the application just exits and never restarts. But when I manually open VS Code Insider again, the update did not install and update message still comes up.

[danielshue]

I was able to resolve this issue by uninstalled everything and doing a clean install - including every extension.

[YTKme]

I was able to resolve this issue by uninstalled everything and doing a clean install - including every extension.

This is a solution, but wanted to understand what was the actual root cause? I did some searching and also asked ChatGPT, it seem like there might also be a cause from being a System Install and a User Install?

I also tried clearing the caches, and also unable to find the updater.exe in the directory for the update as well?

[danielshue]

I wanted to reopen this because I am still able to reproduce the issue with the latest pre release build. One additional data point that may help narrow this down. When the Azure Resources extension is disabled, the update succeeds. When the extension is enabled, the update fails consistently.

Environment details:

• VS Code: Pre release
• Azure Resources extension: Enabled causes failure, disabled allows update
• Platform: Same machine and profile in both cases

Happy to collect logs or try specific builds if that would be useful. Thanks for taking another look.

[danielshue]

System Install and a User Install?

@YTKme - My install is a User Install

[YTKme]

When the Azure Resources extension is disabled, the update succeeds.

I actually thought this might have cause the issue, so I disabled all the extension and tried updating, but I didn't have any luck. I also didn't have the Azure Resources extension.

Also as a side note @danielshue, your original report you stated you got an error, but for me, I didn't even get an error, mine just closed and never reopened nor updated.