Reports emerging from the Western Digital community forum since October 8 indicate that a considerable number of users of Western Digital NVMe SSDs are experiencing persistent Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) following the Windows 11 24H2 update. This issue appears to stem from a misconfigured NVMe Host Memory Buffer (HMB). The models most frequently affected include the WD Blue SN580 and WD Black SN770, both of which utilize HMB technology.
The Host Memory Buffer allows NVMe storage drives to leverage system RAM as an additional cache, typically around 64MB. However, the recent update has been observed to allocate as much as 200MB, leading to significant instability for users.
Fortunately, there is a silver lining for those affected. A simple Registry edit, preferably performed in Safe Mode, can limit HMB allocation back to the intended 64MB or disable it altogether, effectively resolving the issue. It is also important to note that users of Western Digital SATA SSDs are not impacted by this particular problem, as HMB and related settings are exclusive to NVMe drives.
How To Fix NVMe SSD Crashing in Windows 11 24H2
- Open the Start Menu and type Regedit to access the Registry Editor.
- Navigate to “HKEYLOCALMACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlStorPort”.
- Create a subkey named “HmbAllocationPolicy” if it does not already exist.
- Set the DWORD value to 0 to disable HMB entirely, or 2 to revert it to the default 64MB allocation.
While disabling HMB may result in a more noticeable performance drop than simply reducing the allocation to 64MB, either approach is advisable for Western Digital NVMe drive users facing these issues, as they represent the most viable solutions available.
In addition to the registry modification, some users have found success by reverting the Windows 11 24H2 update entirely. Although the registry edit is likely the most straightforward fix, rolling back the update may be a suitable option for those encountering multiple issues with the latest version, particularly if performance has significantly declined post-fix.
It is also worth mentioning that this problem may not be limited to Western Digital NVMe drives alone, as HMB is not a feature exclusive to the brand. The misconfiguration appears to originate from within Windows 11 itself rather than from Western Digital. While current reports predominantly involve Western Digital drives, users of other NVMe drives experiencing BSODs after the Windows 11 24H2 update may find the aforementioned fixes beneficial.
