Microsoft is blocking systems with popular Western Digital (Sandisk) solid-state drives from receiving the Windows 11 version 24H2 update and has not advised users to download and install new firmware that has been available for months, reports Neowin. The issue is not officially acknowledged on Microsoft's update health documentation.
The drive in question is a rather popular WD Black SN770, one of the best SSDs on the market. Users with such drives inside their PCs encounter an alert during the Windows 11 24H2 upgrade attempt, saying that their system has hardware that is not ready for this version of Windows and that the update will be offered once the problem is resolved. No further guidance is provided, leaving affected users unable to proceed through regular channels.
The problem appears to originate from a compatibility issue related to how the particular drive model works with its Host Memory Buffer. A firmware update released in October 2024 by Western Digital is said to have addressed the conflict, but Microsoft's update system does not correctly direct users to the appropriate download, according to Neowin. As a result, the installation block remains in place even when the fix technically exists.
One user reported that they were able to resolve the conflict by manually applying the firmware (well, by using the Sandisk Dashboard software). Although Windows provided a link (possibly to a support page), the instructions from Western Digital lacked clarity, and the user had to figure out that they needed to download the SanDisk Dashboard software to update the firmware of their WD Black SN770 SSD. Also, they had to figure out that since Western Digital split into two companies — Western Digital for hard drives and Sandisk for everything NAND-based — earlier this year, SSDs now belong to Sandisk.
Indeed, the correct utility for firmware management is the SanDisk Dashboard application, which you can find on SanDisk's support page. This provides support for a range of drives including WD Green, Blue, Red, WD_Black, and SanDisk SSD Plus M.2, Extreme M.2, Extreme Pro M.2, and Ultra 3D. After the user successfully updated the firmware using this software, which allowed the 24H2 update to install without further issues.
Until the update process can download and install the correct firmware automatically, users with affected WD Black SSDs must rely on the SanDisk Dashboard to obtain the required firmware to unlock access to Windows 11 version 24H2.
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