Some Western Digital SSD drives are causing Windows 11 operating system to crash after the 2024 update.
Reports from Windows Last indicate that there is an issue with the major update for the Windows 11 operating system in 2024 causing system failure and blue screen of death for some users, and the main reason is SSD drives from a specific manufacturer.
After installing Windows 11 24H2, computers running on specific models of Western Digital SSD drives started malfunctioning. This comes after numerous other issues caused by Windows 11 24H2, including driver-related malfunctions, non-deletable update cache files, and disrupted internet connections.
Users have been sharing their experiences in a thread on the Western Digital forum, identifying the following affected SSD drives:
The malfunctions only occur after users update Windows to the latest version: Windows 11 24H2. After the update, affected users with installed SSD drives see the blue screen of death displaying the error message “Critical Process Has Died.”
According to the latest Windows operating system, these malfunctions are currently supposed to be related to incorrect memory drivers that cannot handle 200 HMBs (Host Memory Buffer) for these SSD models. (It is also known that both of these SSD drives have caused issues in the past with the Windows 11 23H2 operating system, but for different reasons.)
What to Do If You’re Affected
According to user reports, this is not a problem that can be fixed by reinstalling Windows 11 or repositioning SSD drives, as neither has resolved the issue. However, there is an alternative solution.
Currently, here’s what you can do if your Western Digital SSD drive is causing Windows 11 24H2 operating system to malfunction: Disable HMB in the Windows registry.
Note: Disabling HMB for all SSD drives can negatively impact performance. However, it will prevent the blue screen malfunction until Microsoft provides a fix.
To disable HMB in the registry, follow these steps:
- In the Start menu, search for
registryand then launch Registry Editor from the search results. - In the Registry Editor, use the left sidebar to navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesstornvmeParametersDevice.
- After selecting the device, you may or may not see HMBAlllocation policy in the right panel. If you don’t see it, right-click anywhere empty in the right panel and select New > DWORD (32-bit value) and name it
HMBAllocationPolicy. - Double-click HMBAllocation policy and set its value to 0.
- Restart your computer.
It is claimed that both Microsoft and Western Digital are aware of the malfunction issue and are working to resolve it, but neither has released any official acknowledgment or communication on this matter so far.
Read more: Crucial Windows 11 settings to change as soon as possible
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and has been translated and adapted from German.
