Microsoft is currently investigating reports by Windows 11 users that an error message reading “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” is causing their PCs to crash with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death, or BSOD for short. User complaints of the issue began appearing after they had supposedly installed an update, version KB5029351.
“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 software company said. “We are presently investigating to determine if this is an issue caused by Microsoft. We will provide an update when more information is available.”
Interestingly, the Windows 11 BSOD issue seems to be somewhat isolated to desktop PCs running on motherboards made by MSI. The Verge’s Tom Warren seemingly confirmed this in his report; his system is an Intel-based system, running on an MSI MPG Z690 and a Core i9-13900KS, the latter being the top-of-the-line for the current Raptor Lake generation. For that matter, there’s also a Reddit thread addressing the issue.
The good news is that, after experiencing the BSOD, Windows 11 recovers and rolls back the patch. For now, Microsoft has pulled the KB5029351 patch from affected systems. It’s still available, just to be clear, and again, the issue with it seems isolated to MSI-based PCs. As for what exactly the cause is, speculation suggests that it has something to do with a recent BIOS update from the Taiwanese brand itself, most likely in anticipation for Intel’s 14th Gen desktop CPUs, otherwise known as Raptor Lake-S Refresh. Simply put, that CPU generation will still be compatible with current Z690 and Z790 motherboards. Hence, the BIOS update to make that viable.
At the time of writing, MSI has yet to comment on the BSOD issue for Windows 11.
