Windows 11 Update Leads to BSoD Crashes

Microsoft is looking into claims a Windows update is causing the dreaded Blue Screen on Death (BSoD) on some machines. The company says it doesn't yet know if Windows itself is the cause.

The Blue Screen of Death is the informal name for a system crash in which Windows has a problem so significant that it can no longer operate safely. In earlier versions of Windows, users had to manually restart their computer before attempting a fix. Today, Windows can automatically reboot in some situations.

User have been reporting seeing the blue screen with the usual message that "Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart. We'll restart for you." They are also seeing a Stop code (which specifies the problem) of "UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR". (Source: xda-developers.com)

Motherboard Problems

Based on information shared by affected users, it may not be the processor at fault. Instead, the common factors is an MSI-brand motherboard. That's a printed circuit board which houses key components such as processors and memory and allows them to communicate with one another and peripherals such as a keyboard.

The most likely explanation is that a recent Windows update conflicted with an MSI update to the motherboard's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). That's a very simple piece of software that's the first thing to run when a computer is switched on. It controls some core functions, but its main purpose is to load and run an operating system such as Windows from a specified hard drive.

The problem appears to affect users who have downloaded the August preview update for Windows 11, codenamed KB5029351. It affects both Windows 10 and 11.

Windows Fixes Self

The (comparative) good news is that this Blue Screen of Death is proving less damaging than in the past. Affected users have reported that they've "solved" the problem by doing nothing letting Windows automatically reboot. After a cycle of several crashes and reboots, it appears Windows fixes itself by removing the update in question.

For now, Microsoft is only saying "We are presently investigating to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft. We will provide an update when more information is available". (Source: theverge.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Have you had this problem? Did it fix itself? Does Microsoft do enough to check its updates don't conflict with common PC components and applications?