In August 2023, an optional update for Windows 11 has been causing numerous issues for users. However, one specific problem reported with the update was not caused by Microsoft. MSI, a hardware manufacturer, has confirmed that some users encountered the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error after installing the update. Nevertheless, MSI has provided a fix for this issue.

In an official support document, MSI quietly acknowledged that its Intel 700 and 600 Series motherboard users have been experiencing an error called “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR,” which leads to a Blue Screen of Death and prevents the system from booting to the desktop.

It’s important to note that these issues are not directly related to the operating system update from Microsoft. Instead, they are linked to the MSI BIOS and firmware settings of Intel’s Hybrid Architecture. Hence, users only experienced this problem on MSI systems.

According to MSI, users encountered the Blue Screen of Death error on systems running the following Windows versions: Windows 11 version 22H2 with the preview update KB5029351, version 22H1 with KB5029332, and Windows 10 version 22H2 with KB5029331 (OS Build 19045.3393).

Following investigations conducted by MSI, Intel, and Microsoft, it was determined that the compatibility issues stemmed from Intel’s 13th generation i9 processors when paired with specific versions of Windows. As a solution, MSI has started rolling out a new BIOS update that includes Intel CPU microcode and fixes for the Windows 11 BSOD errors.

MSI has announced that BIOS updates for all Intel 700 and 600 Series models should be available within the week. By the end of September, MSI expects these updates to be available to all users. However, if you are experiencing Windows 11 BSOD errors, it is recommended to uninstall the optional update and wait for the September Patch Tuesday release.

In addition to the aforementioned BSOD issue affecting MSI systems, there have also been reports of another Blue Screen of Death error called “fault in nonpaged area” on non-MSI systems. Users have reported encountering this error and experiencing problems such as File Explorer crashes after right-clicking any option. Uninstalling the update seems to resolve these problems.

It is worth noting that some users have faced difficulties when installing the update itself, with reports of the update failing at 96% and displaying a “Something didn’t go as planned” message. Similar reports can be found on the Feedback Hub, but Microsoft has yet to address these concerns.