After BSOD, Microsoft pulls Windows 11 24H2 for some PCs with SSD (WD, Sandisk)
It’s been barely two weeks since the Windows 11 24H2 rollout started for the stable channel, and multiple bugs have already appeared. After WD SSDs, Sandisk SSD users are facing BSOD after installing the latest version update. As a result, Microsoft has confirmed to Windows Latest that it’s blocking the update for some users with specific SSD models.
We discussed this problem a couple of days back when it appeared for some WD users. As per our tests and reports, certain SSDs may need up to 200MB of host memory buffer, and Windows 11 23H2 handled it properly by offering only 64GB of memory buffer. With Windows 11 24H2, Microsoft started granting 200MB, as needed by the SSDs, but this caused Critical Process Died BSOD.
This can be fixed by setting “HMBAllocationPolicy = 0”, but you’ll no longer need to modify the Windows Registry, as Sandisk/WD has released new firmware to fix the issue. In addition, Microsoft told us it has paused Windows 11 2024 Update on devices with older firmware versions.
“Microsoft is blocking systems with affected models from upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 until the firmware is updated,” Microsoft told Windows Latest.
Here are the following SSD models officially recognized by Sandisk that encounter the BSOD:
- WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 2TB
- WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD 2TB
- WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD 2TB
- WD Blue SN5000 NVMe SSD 2TB
- SanDisk Extreme M.2 NVMe SSD 2TB
How to fix the Windows 11 24H2 SSD BSOD issue?
Since it has become a widely reported problem, Microsoft will prevent you from installing the update until you update the SDD firmware.
Sandisk has released the latest version of firmware that is compatible with Windows 11 24H2.
All you need to do is download the Western Digital Dashboard tool and then download and flash the latest firmware on your SSD. Sandisk recommends you back up all your data before flashing the new firmware because there is a risk of data loss.
It is a simple solution that should have been released before the 24H2 rollout began. We don’t know who is to blame here, the device manufacturers or Microsoft. Surprisingly, 24H2 has been in the Insider program for a year, and some very popular SSDs don’t have the latest firmware yet.
If you own another brand SSD and experience the same issue, try out the following registry hack to disable HMB allocation. But create a registry backup before doing so:
- Open a new Notepad window and paste the following code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorPort] "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,\ 00,5f,00,35,00,30,00,34,00,31,00,26,00,52,00,45,00,56,00,5f,00,3f,00,3f,00,\ 20,00,36,00,37,00,31,00,30,00,38,00,38,00,36,00,34,00,00,00,00,00
- Press Ctrl + S and name the file SSD.reg. Select All files and click on the Save button.
- Navigate to the save location and double-click on the file.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to import the registry file.
- Restart your PC.
Windows 11 24H2 sounds exciting, but we advise you to wait until Microsoft fixes the seven existing bugs, some of which appeared in the first week of its release. Most of them are firmware issues and will vanish when the manufacturers release the latest drivers.
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