kernel problem

This event normally requires no action unless Windows Update is actually failing; it reports that a Windows Update tracing session could not start because a session with the same name already existed, not that the Windows kernel crashed.

What the entry means

• Kernel-EventTracing is the Windows component reporting the event, rather than evidence of a damaged kernel.
• Microsoft.Windows.WindowsUpdate.RUXIMLog is an Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) session. ETW sessions collect diagnostic events from Windows and applications.^1^
• Error 0xC0000035 is STATUS_OBJECT_NAME_COLLISION, meaning “The specified name already exists.”^2^
• In this case, Windows attempted to create Microsoft.Windows.WindowsUpdate.RUXIMLog while a tracing session with that name apparently already existed.
• RUXIM components are included with the Windows Update service-component update KB5001716 on applicable Windows 10 and Windows 11 versions.^3^

This event has been reported repeatedly over several years. There is no public Microsoft advisory identifying it as a specific October 2026 known issue.^4^

What to do

1. Open Settings → Windows Update.
2. Select Check for updates.
3. If updates download and install normally, leave the Event Viewer entry alone. Do not delete registry entries, disable tracing services, or uninstall update components merely to remove this log entry.
4. Check Update history for an actual failed update. The Event ID 2 entry by itself does not establish that an update failed or explain an unrelated performance problem.

If Windows Update is failing

On Windows 11:

1. Open Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters.
2. Find Windows Update, select Run, and complete the prompts.
3. Restart the computer and test Check for updates again. Microsoft recommends the Windows Update troubleshooter as the initial diagnostic for update failures.^5^

If Windows Update remains broken and this exact RUXIMLog error continues, an in-place upgrade repair is the case-specific fallback reported for this event. It reinstalls Windows while retaining files, although a backup or restore point should be created first. Run the current Windows installation assistant or media-creation tool as administrator, choose Upgrade this PC now, and retain personal files and applications.^6^

If the PC is freezing, restarting, showing a blue screen, or experiencing game-performance problems, investigate those symptoms separately using their timestamps and corresponding System or Application events. This trace-session collision alone does not establish their cause.

References

1. Event Tracing for Windows
2. 2.4.46 FileShortNameInformation
3. KB5001716: Update for Windows Update Service components
4. Microsoft.Windows.WindowsUpdate.RUXIMLog is failing to start causing an ...
5. [Windows 11](https://support.microsoft.com/windows/deployment/updates-lifecycle/troubleshoot-problems-updating-windows#most-common-windows-update-problems)
6. Startup Error in Event Viewer Session "Microsoft.Windows.WindowsUpdate.RUXIMLog" failed to start with the following error: 0xC0000035 - Microsoft Q&A