[German]Users who have updated their compatible devices to Windows 11 24H2 may suffer from crashes if NVMe SSDs from Western Digital and Sandisk are installed. Both SSD manufacturers have now released firmware updates to prevent these crashes of the new operating system.
Crashes with NVMe SSDs from WD and Sandisk
Without SSDs, Windows 11 can no longer be run properly. However, anyone who installs Windows 11 24H2, which will be released to interested users on October 1, 2024 (see Windows 11 24H released (Oktober 1, 2024)), may run into problems if SSDs are installed.
The NVMe SSDs from Western Digital cause crashes (blue screens) under Windows 11 24H2. Windows Latest, for example, has pointed out this problem here. The problem affects NVMe SSD models that do not have their own DRAM as buffer memory. Model examples are SN580, SN770, as Bolko mentioned in this German comment.
According to the manufacturer, the models affected are WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 2TB, WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD 2TB, WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD 2TB, WD Blue SN5000 NVMe SSD 2TB and Sandisk Extreme M.2 NVMe SSD 2TB. In the Western Digital forum, a workaround in the form of a registry entry is revealed in this thread.
Windows Latest reports in this article that Microsoft has suspended the distribution of the update to Windows 11 24H2 if the affected NVMe SSDs are installed in the devices. The article also provides a registry hack for other SSD models if they are affected by the BlueScreens. The information that the upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 has been suspended can also be found in the following linked support article on the firmware update.
SSD firmware updates from WD and SanDisk
In the meantime, Western Digital and SanDisk have released firmware updates for their NVMe SSDs, as Bolko notes in this comment. This firmware is supposed to fix the BlueScreens due to the host memory buffer problem in Windows 11 24H2.
In the support post Internal SSD Critical Firmware Update Available for Solving BSOD on Windows 11 24H2 Update, SanDisk explains that the firmware update fixes an issue with the HMB (Host Memory Buffer) for certain models of Western Digital and SanDisk SSDs where the NVMe SSD drive can cause a BSOD on Windows 11 24H2.
The affected SSD models are listed in the support article. To install the new firmware, the Western Digital Dashboard for Windows is required, which can be downloaded and installed from the relevant support page. The steps for updating the firmware are then described on the linked support page. Without this firmware update, the upgrade to Windows 11 24H2 is blocked, according to the article.
At this point, the question crossed my mind: "Windows 11 24H2 has been in development for almost a year and is supposedly being tested by millions of Windows Insiders. And no one has noticed the problem with the BlueScreens on the NVMe SSDs mentioned above?". Something is going colossally wrong with the Insider Program – and Microsoft is then throwing alpha software to the people for general use.
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