Windows 10 20H2 and 2004 upgrades blocked over Intel Thunderbolt 'DMA violation'

[steven36]

Microsoft says Intel's Thunderbolt interface has a compatibility problem with the two latest versions of Windows 10.

 

 

Microsoft has warned Windows 10 users that they might be blocked from upgrading to Windows 10 versions 2004 or 20H2 due to a compatibility issue with Intel's Thunderbolt NVMe SSD. 

 

Whenever Microsoft releases a new feature update – even minor ones, like Windows 10 20H2, which is basically the same as version 2004 – hardware drivers invariably run into compatibility issues. 

 

This time, Intel and Microsoft have found that a compatibility issue with these two versions of Windows 10 causes a nasty blue-screen error when plugging in an external NVMe SSD via Thunderbolt.

 

Microsoft warns that on either version of Windows 10 users might see a blue-screen error stating: 'DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6) An illegal DMA operation was attempted by a driver being verified.'

 

DMA refers to Direct Memory Access, which Thunderbolt has when plugged in, allowing a device to transfer data to and from memory without using the processor. 

 

Microsoft says in a new support note explaining the compatibility hold that Windows 10 devices affected by this error will have at least one Thunderbolt port.

 

 

"To safeguard your update experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on Windows 10 devices with affected drivers or firmware from being offered Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2," it says. 

 

According to Microsoft's Windows hardware developer notes, DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6) relates to Driver Verifier DMA Verification, which monitors the use of DMA.   

Microsoft and Intel are working on a fix that should arrive in an upcoming release, Microsoft said. 

 

It's not clear why the error has emerged for Windows 10 version 2004 only now. According to a user report on Microsoft's answers page, one of the organization's Lenovo P53 Notebooks suddenly hit the blue-screen DMA error on September 16.  

 

"One of our Lenovo P53 Notebooks threw this blue screen today, out of nowhere (the user was typing in notepad). It is not reproducible," the user wrote, adding that the driver verifier was disabled. The notebook, running Windows 10 2004, was connected to a Lenovo ThinkPad Thunderbolt 3 Dock Gen 2. 

 

Security concerns over Thunderbolt's DMA have prevented Microsoft from supporting Thunderbolt on its Surface PCs. However, in Windows 10 1803, Microsoft implemented kernel Direct Memory Access (KDP) protection for Windows 10 OEM laptops with Thunderbolt 3 to protect against attacks requiring physical access.

 

Source

 

[steven36]

Windows 10 20H2 crashes when connecting Thunderbolt NVMe SSDs

 

 

 

Microsoft says that devices running Windows 10 2004 or Windows 10 20H2 might crash with blue screens of death (BSODs) when users plug in a Thunderbolt NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) Solid State Drive (SSD).

 

Affected devices will also display a "DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6). An illegal DMA operation was attempted by a driver being verified." stop error.

Safeguard hold added to block upgrades

Windows 10 devices with at least one Thunderbolt NVMe SSD and one Thunderbolt port are the ones impacted by this new known issue.

 

Microsoft has also added a new compatibility hold to prevent affected devices from being offered Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2 upgrades.

 

"Your PC has hardware that isn't ready for this version of Windows 10," the update block message reads. "Windows Update will automatically offer you this version of Windows 10 once the issue has been resolved."

Intel and Microsoft are currently working on a fix for this known issue, with an update to address the problem to be made available with an upcoming Windows 10 release.

 

Until a resolution for the Thunderbolt NVMe SSD compatibility issue will be offered with a future update, Microsoft urges affected users to "not attempt to manually update using the Update now button or the Media Creation Tool until the safeguard is removed."

 

Compatibility hold message (Microsoft)

 

Other 20H2 known issues under investigation

Redmond is also currently investigating an issue leading to missing system and user certificates after updating managed Windows 10 systems using outdated installation media via update management tools, physical media, or ISO images.

 

Windows 10 computers with some Conexant, Synaptics, or Conexant ISST audio drivers are also experiencing issues with the May 2020 and October 2020 Windows 10 updates — both client (Windows 10 2004 and 20H2) and server (Windows Server 2004 and 20H2) platforms.

 

Microsoft has added two additional safeguard holds to block users of such devices from experiencing blue screens or errors during or while upgrading the OS.

Redmond is currently working with Synaptics on a resolution for these two additional issues. They are planning to provide a fix with an upcoming Windows 10 update.

Source