MSI just fixed a massive problem affecting Intel’s best CPUs

By Monica J. White Published September 6, 2023

Windows 11 blue error crash screen. — Microsoft

There’s some good news if your PC has been struggling with the Blue Screen of Death — you can stop troubleshooting and simply download a new update from MSI. Following a recent Windows Update, many users started to experience the issue and couldn’t even boot up their PCs. The problem was quickly narrowed down to a combination of some of the best Intel processors and MSI motherboards, but now, a fix has been found.

The issue was initially reported last month and started popping up immediately after a new Windows Update has been released. After installing the KB5029351 update, users started getting blue screens with the error code “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR.” Afterward, the PC would attempt to restart, but the blue screen would just pop right back up and make it impossible to boot the computer. Luckily, the update would eventually uninstall itself and the PC would once again be useable, but there was still clearly a problem here.

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MSI and Microsoft worked closely together over the past couple of weeks in order to find the cause of the BSOD. Tracking down the problem led them to Intel’s 13th-Gen processors, but only of the high-end i9 kind, such as the Core i9-13900K. In addition, the problem only affected users who were running Windows 11 builds 22H2 (2221.2215) and 22H1 (22000.2360) or Windows 10 22H2 (19045.3393).

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It’s not just the Windows Update that may have played a part, though — MSI itself has been issuing BIOS updates for its motherboards in preparation for Intel’s upcoming Raptor Lake refresh. Somehow, this added up to an issue with Intel’s hybrid architecture that affected some users and sent them on a BSOD loop.

If this has been happening to you, the best way to fix the problem is to head over to MSI’s official website and download the BIOS update for your motherboard. MSI also has a handy guide on how to flash the BIOS, and you can check out our own tutorial for some extra help.

Only users with an Intel 700 and 600 motherboard run into this problem, so if you’ve got an older system, you have nothing to worry about. However, if you’re using one of MSI’s best motherboards and your model is not listed yet, you might need to wait for updates to be rolled out over the course of the month. As a temporary workaround, you can always go back to an older version of Windows Update or use an older version of MSI’s BIOS to prevent the blue screens from happening.

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Monica J. White

Computing Writer

Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…

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