Issue Overview
Users with certain Western Digital NVMe SSDs are experiencing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) crashes after installing the Windows 11 24H2 update. The issue is caused by changes in how Windows handles Host Memory Buffer (HMB) allocation in the new update.
Important: CyberPowerPC systems with a 2TB SSD installed, recently purchased after June 2024 at major retailers with Windows 11 24H2 pre-installed in new systems should follow the steps below to update their firmware to prevent potential issues.
Affected Hardware
- WD Black SN770 - 2TB
- WD Black SN770M - 2TB
- WD Blue SN580 - 2TB
- WD Blue SN5000 - 2TB
- Sandisk Extreme NVMe drives - 2TB
Symptoms
- Frequent Blue Screen of Death crashes with "Critical Process Died" error
- Event Viewer errors related to:
- storNVMe
- "The driver detected a controller error on \Device\RaidPort1" or "RaidPort2"
- System instability and BSOD loops
- Failed fresh Windows installations
Root Cause
The issue stems from Windows 11 24H2's handling of Host Memory Buffer (HMB) allocation:
- Previous versions of Windows 11 allocated 64MB of HMB
- Windows 11 24H2 allows up to 200MB of HMB allocation
- The increased allocation causes instability with affected drives
Solutions
Official Solution: Firmware Update
Western Digital has released firmware updates to address this issue.
- Download and install Western Digital Dashboard
- Follow Western Digital's firmware update guide here.
- If system is unstable:
- Boot into Safe Mode to run the offline installer, OR
- Create a bootable Windows Installation USB and reinstall Windows
Roll Back to Windows 11 23H2
If experiencing severe stability issues:
- Right-click Windows logo in taskbar and select Settings
- Navigate to Windows Update and then select Advanced options
- Click Recovery
- Click "Go back" under Recovery Options
-
Follow on-screen prompts
Important Notes
- Disabling HMB may impact SSD performance
- This issue may affect other NVMe drives using HMB technology
- Microsoft is reportedly working on a solution and may pause the 24H2 update rollout for affected configurations
- Western Digital SATA SSDs are not affected by this issue
Additional Information
The Windows 11 24H2 update has also been reported to cause other issues:
- Installation problems
- Creation of an 8.63GB undeletable cache file
For the latest updates on this issue, check the Western Digital support forum or Microsoft's Windows release health dashboard.
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