- Microsoft has completed its investigation into studies of an SSD-breaking bug
- The corporate mentioned the August replace for Home windows 11 is not accountable
- There are nonetheless studies of drive failures filtering in, although, and a few of us aren’t proud of Microsoft’s conclusion
Microsoft has been investigating studies of the newest Home windows 11 replace breaking some SSDs, and we now have the outcomes of that endeavor – and the corporate discovered the August patch for the OS is not accountable.
Bleeping Pc studies that Microsoft posted a service alert on its admin middle (a hyperlink that may’t be reached for regular Microsoft accounts, solely enterprise accounts) stating the next: “After thorough investigation, Microsoft has discovered no connection between the August 2025 Home windows safety replace and the varieties of laborious drive failures reported on social media.”
Microsoft added: “As at all times, we proceed to watch suggestions after the discharge of each Home windows replace, and can examine any future studies.”
Notice that Microsoft mentions “laborious drive failures”, and it is because the issue has hit laborious disks too, primarily based on studies – though nearly all of incidents have affected SSDs.
Microsoft has labored with its companions in investigating the problem, together with SSD (and laborious drive) makers as you would possibly count on, however collaboratively they’ve turned up no proof of a connection between the newest replace for Home windows 11 24H2 and the reported drive failures.
Certainly, we already heard instantly from Phison, which makes controllers for SSDs which studies have recommended usually tend to be concerned in these failures, refuting that notion, and stating clearly that it could not reproduce the bug (throughout 4,500 hours of testing).
Microsoft additional clarifies that its Home windows 11 telemetry – diagnostic knowledge taken from computer systems working its OS – does not present any proof of a rise in drive failures, both.
Evaluation: coincidence and ‘pure’ drive failures – or one thing else?
Briefly: there’s nothing to see right here, transfer alongside. Based mostly on Microsoft’s investigation – which took some time, so I am assuming went into some depth (Phison’s actually did) – the Home windows 11 August replace will not be chargeable for breaking SSDs or laborious drives (and neither are Phison controllers).
The issue is that there are nonetheless a good few Home windows 11 customers posting throughout on-line boards, similar to Reddit, insisting that they’ve had their SSD sunk by this most up-to-date replace for Home windows 11. Then once more, there are others posting about managing fleets of PCs and seeing nothing with this cumulative replace having been utilized – not even a touch of a drive failure throughout these computer systems.
So, what is going on on? One concept being aired is that it could possibly be coincidence – drive failures occur on a regular basis, and so in any given week, some Home windows 11 PCs will see some breakages on this respect. And since there are studies of the August replace being the issue, of us will assume that it is at fault, when it is not.
Nevertheless, you might actually argue that there are too many studies for this to be a snug conclusion. Moreover, if it was a case of erroneously pinning pure drive failures all the way down to the problem, it will additionally level to older {hardware} being affected – as failures usually tend to occur with aged SSDs – however there are studies of latest (or practically new) drives getting hit by this bug.
There may be one other risk right here that, even given Microsoft’s assertion that there is nothing overtly improper with Home windows 11, there may nonetheless be one thing concerning the August replace – buried deep, maybe – that is someway making a {hardware} fault in sure drives extra prone to happen. In different phrases, this would not essentially be Microsoft’s fault, but it surely would possibly nonetheless relate not directly to the replace.
Nevertheless, with Microsoft and Phison seemingly unable to breed the bug over a complete load of testing, this appears slightly unlikely. Which brings us again spherical to: what is going on on with these studies nonetheless trickling out? There isn’t any clear reply right here, however there are clearly some sad folks posting on-line about their SSD woes.
It is price going again over the obvious reason for the bug, which is initiating a big file copy – like a sport set up, for instance. As Bleeping Pc factors out, the glitch appears to be extra prone to occur in case your drive is over half full (60% or extra). Going by studies, the affected SSD is vanishing off the system – although in some circumstances it returns after a easy reboot (in others, it does not, which is clearly a giant headache).
Home windows 11 House customers can solely postpone putting in a cumulative replace for a short time, so they will get it piped via to their machine ultimately, if they have been attempting to keep away from it. At that time, it is as much as the person consumer how assured they really feel in the event that they need to perform a hefty file operation just like the set up of a chunky sport or app. In the event that they’re nonetheless paranoid, and their drive is sort of full, they may simply need to play it protected for now.
Microsoft notes it might “examine any future studies”, so we might but hear extra from the corporate; however in the intervening time, it seems to need to draw a line below the matter. And for now, we have now to belief the conclusions of Microsoft and Phison – though evidently there are folks on the market who stay skeptical, and really feel that we nonetheless have not acquired to the underside of this episode.
