Microsoft's latest version of Windows has been available since last month. As always, Windows 10 version 20H2 (October 2020 Update) is rolling out in stages. As is also becoming customary, the update is causing its fair share of problems as it reaches users, including a new blue screen issue.
However, over the first few weeks of availability, Windows 10 version 20H2 has been less problematic than other recent feature updates. In fact, Microsoft has until today reported just five known issues with the build.
Perhaps the relative stability of Windows 10 version 20H2 out of the box has to do with the fact this is a light feature upgrade. It does not come with a long list of new features. Instead, Microsoft has used this second-half-of-the-year-update to stabilize Windows 10.
That said, this week the company says a new known issue has emerged. Specifically, Windows 10 is surfacing a stop error when users plug in a Thunderbolt NVMe SSD into a PC. While it is not happening to all users, some report the following blue screen error:
“DRIVER_VERIFIER_DMA_VIOLATION (e6) An illegal DMA operation was attempted by a driver being verified.”
Microsoft Response
While any problem with a new Windows build is undesirable, this is not the most worrying issue. Of course, it only affects users with a Thunderbolt port on their PC. Secondly, the issue is avoidable by not using a NVMe SSD for the time being. That is admittedly frustrating and inconvenient.
Microsoft says it is working with Intel (the driver manufacturer) to solve this problem. A fix will come during an upcoming update, maybe as part of November Patch Tuesday next week. Microsoft adds there is now a compatibility hold on devices with affected drivers.