Windows 11 Update Prompting Blue Screen Of Death Error

A recent Windows 11 update is causing some systems to crash with the dreaded ‘Blue Screen of Death’ error.

Windows 11 update KB5029351 was released earlier this week, containing the regular monthly security patches and other “improvements”. However, it seems the update is causing system running selected MSI motherboards to crash with an “unsupported processor” error message.

The Verge’s Windows watcher, Tom Warren, reports that he’s seen the blue-screen error on one of his own systems, which was running a 13th-generation Intel Core i9 processor on an MSI motherboard.

Affected users are seemingly able to roll back the Windows 11 update and restore a working system.

Microsoft’s Response

Microsoft has issued a status update, saying it’s aware of problems with the latest Windows update. “Microsoft has received reports of an issue in which users are receiving an “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” error message on a blue screen after installing updates released on August 22, 2023 (KB5029351) and then restarting their device. KB5029351 might automatically uninstall to allow Windows to start up as expected,” the statement reads.

The status update encourages affected users to log the problem with Microsoft’s Feedback hub, so the company can further diagnose the issue.

“We are presently investigating to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft,” the statement adds. “We will provide an update when more information is available.”

Warren reports that MSI recently pushed out BIOS updates ahead of Intel’s 14th Generation processor launch, which might be the cause of the current problem.

Pause Windows 11 Updates

Windows 11 users who haven’t already downloaded this month’s patch can pause the update, although there are reports that it’s no longer being offered to systems with affected MSI motherboards.

To pause Windows updates in Windows 11:

1. Open the Settings app
2. Select Windows Update from the pane on the left-hand side of the screen
3. In the Pause Updates section choose “pause for 1 week” from the dropdown menu, which should give Microsoft enough time to iron out the wrinkles