Microsoft Removes Update Block For Windows 10 NVMe SSD Devices

Microsoft has removed a safeguard hold blocking Windows 10 updates on systems affected by a known issue causing blue screen of death (BSOD) crashes when users plugged in a Thunderbolt NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) Solid State Drive (SSD).

Impacted devices also display a “DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6). An illegal DMA operation was attempted by a driver being verified.” stop errors.

The known issue affects Windows 10 devices with at least one Thunderbolt port and any currently available version of the driver file stornvme.sys.

After discovering the BSOD issue, Microsoft added a compatibility hold to prevent impacted devices from being offered Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2 upgrades.

“Your PC has hardware that isn’t ready for this version of Windows 10,” the update block message reads. “Windows Update will automatically offer you this version of Windows 10 once the issue has been resolved.”

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Safeguard hold removed

Microsoft fixed the Windows 10 BSOD crash issue on December 1st with the release of the KB4586853 non-security cumulative update preview for affected computers running Windows 10 versions 2004 and 20H2.

The preview update is an optional one and users can install it by downloading manually from the Microsoft Catalog or by opening Windows Update and clicking the ‘Check for updates’ button.

After fixing the known issue behind it, Microsoft removed the safeguard hold as of December 11, 2020.

“Please note, if there are no other safeguards that affect your device, it can take up to 48 hours before the update to Windows 10, version 20H2 or Windows 10, version 2004 is offered,” Microsoft says on the known issue’s entry.

On Friday, Microsoft has also partially fixed a known issue affecting Windows 10 computers with certain Conexant or Synaptics audio devices.

The company has addressed the problems behind two of the safeguard holds associated with this known issue (safeguard IDs 25702662 and 25702673).

Issues impacting Windows 10 devices under safeguard IDs 25702617 and 25702660 are still under investigation.

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