Microsoft's Patch Tuesday update KB 3114409, intended to help admins keep Outlook 2010 from starting in safe mode, has in fact done the opposite. Many Outlook 2010 customers report that installing KB 3114409 forces Outlook to start in safe mode.

As of early Wednesday morning, the patch has been pulled, but if you're experiencing odd problems with Outlook 2010 -- it opens in safe mode only (always opens maximized and has no sounds, no reading pane, or other view settings that stick), has broken templates, and much more -- you should look at the KB 3114409 article for instructions on how to remove the patch.

And you should reflect on how a patch this destructive ever made it through internal testing.

For those of you on Windows 10's forced upgrade treadmill, note that Microsoft has pulled the patch, so you won't be forced to install it again.

Judging by the complaints (which started less than an hour after the patch was released mid-day on Tuesday) and reports that the patch had been pulled (which started appearing around midnight eastern time on Tuesday night), it took Microsoft around 12 hours to pull the faulty patch -- yes, 12 hours to pull an obviously bad patch.

If this sounds like déjà vu all over again, recall last month's KB 3097877, a patch that froze Outlook, blocked network logons, and caused other mayhem on Windows 7. Confusingly, Microsoft rereleased that patch after pulling it for a day, using the same KB number as the original botched patch. I'm still getting complaints from Windows customers who don't understand why they have to reinstall a patch that's already been installed.