The source of crashing issues introduced to Windows 11 in a recent update has now been identified, new reports suggest.
According to cybersecurity company Sophos, the “blue screen of death (BSOD)” problem encountered after installing Windows 11 KB5013943 has to do with a selection of drivers, some of which are required by antivirus applications.
Initially, the company published a blog post highlighting two temporary workarounds, but has since rolled out a fully fledged fix that should solve the problem outright, at least for Sophos customers.
Windows 11 blue screen of death
The latest Windows 11 BSOD issue emerged on May 10 with the release of the automatic KB5013943 security update, which was intended to remedy a number of bugs and vulnerabilities in the platform.
However, as an unwelcome side effect, the update is causing the operating system to crash and certain apps to refuse to launch. Sophos even suggested the Windows 11 update could make devices unbootable.
Some users have said the infamous blue screen appears for only a second or two, making it impossible to read the error code, while others have been met with codes such as “APC_INDEX_MISMATCH”.
Although users of other antivirus and malware removal software may continue to struggle with the problem until Microsoft rolls out a patch, Sophos customers may find the issue is now resolved.
As described in the blog post, users should receive a restart prompt in Sophos Home once the automatic update has taken effect, but can check whether the update has been installed by navigating to C:\Windows\System32\drivers and right clicking on hmpalert.sys. In the Properties window under the Details tab, the product version should read: 3.8.4.46.
Unfortunately, the issues caused by KB5013943 are the latest in a line of problems encountered by Windows 11 users after installing updates rolled out by Microsoft.
Only last week, for example, the company was forced to advise against installing a separate update (KB5012643), which is preventing users from launching into various applications, including collaboration and video conferencing service Microsoft Teams.
Via WindowsLatest
