Microsoft has paused the Windows 11 24H2 update for some SSDs due to BSOD issues. Western Digital and SanDisk have released a firmware update to resolve this issue.
SSD problems
New problems with Windows update
Recently it became known about the appearance of a “blue screen of death” (BSOD) on computers with certain SSDs when installing Windows 11 24H2. The problem initially affected Western Digital drives, but has now affected SanDisk devices as well.
Microsoft's response
Microsoft has confirmed the issue and has taken action. The company has temporarily blocked the installation of the Windows 11 24H2 update on systems with problematic SSDs until their firmware is updated.
Causes of BSOD
The root of the problem lies in the requirements of some SSDs for the system memory buffer size. If previously Windows 11 23H2 allocated 64 GB, then version 24H2 began to provide 200 MB, which complies with SSD specifications, but leads to the appearance of a “blue screen of death”.
Solution from SSD manufacturers
SanDisk and Western Digital responded quickly to the situation and released a firmware update for the affected SSD models. Users can install it through the proprietary Western Digital Dashboard utility by selecting the "Tools" section. It is recommended to back up your data before updating.
Technical details
To fix the problem, changes were made to the Windows registry:
"HMBAllocationPolicy"=dword:00000002
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\stornvme\Parameters\Device]
"HostMemoryBufferBytes"=hex(7):56,00,45,00,4e,00,5f,00,31,00,35,00,42,00,37,00,\
26,00,44,00,45,00,56,00,5f,00,35,00,30,00,31,00,37,00,26,00, 52,00,45,00,56,\
00,5f,00,3f,00,3f,00,20,00,36,00,37,00 ,31,00,30,00,38,00,38,00,36,00,34,00,\
00,00,56,00,45, 00,4e,00,5f,00,31,00,35,00,42,00,37,00,26,00,44,00,45,00,56,\
Glossary
- BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) - a critical error in the Windows operating system that causes the computer to reboot
- SSD (Solid-State Drive) - solid-state drive, data storage device based on memory chips
- Western Digital - American company, manufacturer of computer equipment and electronics
- SanDisk is an American company specializing in the production of data storage devices
- Microsoft is the largest transnational software company
Links
Hashtags
Save a link to this article
Discussion of the topic – Critical crash: Microsoft blocks Windows 11 24H2 for WD and Sandisk SSDs
Microsoft has suspended Windows 11 24H2 updates for WD and Sandisk SSDs due to critical bugs. Western Digital has released a microcode patch to resolve the issue.
Latest comments
8 comments
Write a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are checked *
Liam
Wow, it looks like Windows 11 24H2 and SSD are not very friendly. Has anyone already encountered this problem? 🤔
Sophie
I have a WD SSD and have already updated the firmware via Dashboard. The process went smoothly and there were no problems. I recommend that all owners of these discs do the same! 👍
Juan
Sophie, thanks for the advice! But I’m wondering whether it’s worth rushing to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2? Maybe it's better to wait until all the bugs are fixed? 🤷♂️
Helga
I think Microsoft did the right thing by blocking the update for problematic SSDs. It's better to be safe than to deal with data loss later. By the way, does anyone have experience using Sandisk SSD with the new firmware?
Giuseppe
All this fuss with updates is a waste of time. I'm still on Windows 7 and doing great. No blue screens for you, no problems with SSD. And here you are suffering with every new release.
Liam
Giuseppe, I understand your position, but still new versions of Windows bring a lot of useful things. For example, improved security and support for modern hardware. Although I agree that you need to be more careful with updates 😅
Olena
But I’m thinking, maybe this is a sign to think about switching to a larger capacity SSD? 200 MB of buffer is not that much by modern standards. Maybe the manufacturers are deliberately pushing us to upgrade? 🤑
Pierre
Olena, interesting idea! But I wouldn't rush to conclusions. Most likely, this is just a bug that will be fixed soon. In the meantime, you can wait with the update if the current system works stably 🧐