As if we needed another reason to hold off on downloading the latest patches before they’ve been tested by a considerable number of people, Microsoft’s most recent Windows Update comes with an unfortunate side effect — it causes blue screens for some users. The blue screen shows up right at boot, citing the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” error as the stop code. Here’s what we know, and more importantly, how to make sure this doesn’t affect your PC too.
The issue started popping up right after the latest Windows 11 update, KB5029351, which brought the operating system up to version 22621.2215. The build addresses some issues and brings minor improvements, such as adding a new hover behavior to the search box gleam and improving the reliability of the Search app. Once users install the update and restart their PC, the computer may bring up a blue screen right at boot, making it pretty impossible to do something about it. Fortunately, the update uninstalls itself after a few failed attempts of booting the PC. Microsoft acknowledges the problem and says that it’s working on a fix. For the time being, if you’re affected by this problem, Microsoft recommends launching the Feedback Hub by selecting Windows key + F. Next, choose Summarize your feedback > Explain in more detail. You’ll be asked to describe the problem and replicate it, although the latter is not really doable in this case.
It’s worth noting that this is an optional update only available to users who run Windows 11 builds 22H2 and 21H2, as well as Windows 10 22H2. It doesn’t get installed automatically, which is a blessing, although some users may still receive it without knowing what they signed up for. In order to be able to download this patch, you’d have to find it in the Windows Update settings and choose to get it from there.
The cause of these blue screens is still unknown, but as noted by PCWorld, this Reddit thread is filled with users who are reporting the issue. They have one thing in common — they all appear to have one of Intel’s top processors from the Raptor Lake generation paired with an MSI motherboard. Seeing as motherboard vendors are readying themselves for the upcoming Raptor Lake refresh and the first BIOS updates are starting to roll in, there could be some kind of a conflict between the update and this particular hardware combo.
This isn’t the first time that a fresh Windows Update is causing trouble. Not too long ago, following an update, many users experienced a massive decrease in SSD speeds. The lesson here is that it’s usually a good idea to give it a few days before downloading optional, non-critical updates, to save yourself the headache and time spent troubleshooting.
Microsoft is officially half a century old and what a half a century it’s been. It went from being a small scale software company to dominating the world of personal computers, to today where it’s worth over $3 trillion — or at least it was until some recent tariff shenanigans. It’s not the only name in the game any more, with Google’s Android platform the most popular operating system on devices, but Microsoft’s Windows still forms the backbone of the professional and gaming worlds, and that’s not the only pie it has its fingers in. From trying to wrestle control of the AI hype train, to endeavours in Quantum computing, Microsoft is looking to form the zeitgeist of the next 50 years. Let’s take a look at some of its big wins over the past few decades, and what it might do in to secure some more in the years to come.
The Start Menu has been the central element in Microsoft Windows for nearly three decades. Though loved initially for its resourcefulness, the Menu went through some debatable — I call them abhorrent — changes with Windows 8, but eventually returned to occupying less space in the interface with Windows 8.1, and then Windows 10 and 11. Despite the rescuing, it is still reeling under the damaging changes in the form of recommendations and random automatically populating lists that reduce it to a mere glorified search interface. However, Microsoft may now be looking to resolve these issues and bringing back a more simplified interface with an upcoming update. Microsoft is testing a new interface for Start Menu on Windows 11, reducing the existing clutter of randomly interspersed apps and files. X user @phantomofearth, renowned for testing new features in Windows Insider builds, gave us a good look at the new interface in a detailed video walkthrough.
The infamous Blue Screen of Death — oft-shortened to BSOD — is changing, and many fans aren’t happy with its new look. While seeing the BSOD was never a good thing, the long-time version displayed a fair amount of information regarding the cause of the crash or error. And in a way, sentimentality also plays a role. The BSOD has been a part of Windows since 1990, although it has changed its look a couple of times over the years.
Now it looks like the BSOD is changing to the…well, the BSOD. The black screen of death. In Windows 11 24H2, the iconic frowning emoji is gone, replaced with a much more straightforward screen: a black background with the words, “Your device ran into a problem and needs to restart.” It has a progress counter beneath, and a few lines at the bottom detailing the stop codes as well as what failed.
