The problems with Windows 11 24H2 continue. We have already seen several bugs that slightly dirty the experience of using this OS. Failures such as crashes, an error that prevents cleaning 8.63 GB of space, or problems with some system components. However, one of the most worrying, and complex, is the one that causes some users to see blue screens after installing this new version. A failure surrounded by a lot of mystery that, in the end, could be resolved.
Since the release of Windows 11 24H2, some users have complained about an increase in the number of blue screens of death displayed by Windows. Such was the concern of users, and of Microsoft, that the patch has even been blocked in certain hardware configurations to mitigate these problems.
After much research, it finally seems that these blue screens only appear when installing the operating system on specific SSD models. And, furthermore, there is already a definitive solution to the problem.
SSDs “incompatible” with Windows 11 24H2
After much research, it finally seems that this problem exclusively affects two brands of SSDs (although, in reality, they are the same): SanDisk and Western Digital. And it affects some specific models of units that make use of the Host Memory Buffer (HMB), a function responsible for controlling access to system memory through a technology called Direct Memory Access (DMA).
Specifically, the problem appears to affect the following units:
- WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 2TB: Serial Number: WDBBDL0020BNC, WDS200T3X0E, Firmware 731130WD
- WD_BLACK SN770M NVMe SSD 2TB: Serial Number: WDBDNH0020BBK, WDS200T3X0G, Firmware 731130WD
- WD Blue SN580 NVMe SSD 2TB: Serial Number: WDBWMY0020BBL, WDS200T3B0E, Firmware 281050WD
- WD Blue SN5000 NVMe SSD 2TB: Serial Number: WDBS3F0020BNC, WDS200T4B0E, Firmware 291020WD
- SanDisk Extreme M.2 NVMe SSD 2TB: Serial Number: SDSSDX3N-2T00, Firmware 731130WD
If the PC has one of these SSDs installed, Microsoft has blocked access to the update, so it will not appear anywhere. However, if you have one of these SSDs, SanDisk has just released a new firmware update that fixes the problems and allows you to use Windows 11 24H2 without blue screens.
Update Firmware to SanDisk/Western Digital SSDs
The update can only be performed from a Windows system. macOS or Linux users will not be able to do this. To do this, the first step will be go to this websitewhere we can find the tool offered by the SSD manufacturer to update its firmware. We download the tool, install it on our computer, and that’s it.
We now have the Dashboard open, and it should look similar to the following.
We can enter the “Tools” section, where a series of tools will appear, among which will be the possibility of updating the firmware of the units. We do not have to download anything else, since this tool will be the one that shows us a message indicating that there is an update, and a button to update.
We follow the steps that the assistant will show us until the end. After restarting the PC, the SSD firmware will be updated, and we should be able to use Windows 11 24H2 without problems.
The update process should not erase data saved within the drive, but it is a critical process. Therefore, it is advisable to close all open programs and processes, and make sure that they are not interrupted in any way. Otherwise, we can not only lose the data on the hard drives, but also the unit itself.
