Could PC Suffer Catastrophic Failure from a Windows 11 24H2 Update?

Is a Flawed Windows 11 Update Secretly Wrecking Your Expensive SSD?

A recent Windows 11 update may cause serious problems for some solid-state drives (SSDs), especially on computers using the Japanese language version, but a fix is available. This guide explains the issue in simple terms and shows you exactly how to protect your computer.

The First Warning Signs

In the middle of August 2025, Microsoft released a security update for Windows 11, known as KB5063878. Soon after, computer users in Japan began reporting a very serious problem. They found that their computers were having trouble saving large amounts of information to their SSDs. An SSD, or solid-state drive, is the fast storage device inside most modern computers where your files, photos, and the Windows operating system itself are kept.

Users explained that when they tried to copy big files, like videos or large project folders, the process would fail. Even worse, some people experienced data loss, meaning their important files were gone for good. These reports were concerning because they seemed to happen consistently under the same conditions. It appeared that this new Windows update was somehow hurting the very hardware meant to store information safely. The early stories all pointed to a specific update and a specific, troubling outcome.

Mixed Signals from Tech Companies

As more people talked about these SSD problems, the news reached Microsoft. The company announced it would look into the reports to see what was wrong. Another company, Phison, also got involved. Phison makes important parts that go inside many SSDs, and their parts were mentioned in the early reports. Both Microsoft and Phison ran extensive tests. They tried to recreate the problem that users in Japan were describing.

After their investigations, both companies made an official announcement. They said they could not find any evidence that the update KB5063878 was causing SSDs to fail. In their controlled tests, everything worked normally. This created a lot of confusion. On one hand, you had many computer users sharing stories of data loss and broken drives. On the other hand, the companies responsible for the software and hardware said they could not find a problem. This left people wondering what was truly happening and if their computers were safe.

Clues from Computer Users Around the World

Even though Microsoft and Phison could not confirm an issue, the user reports did not stop. In fact, they started coming from other parts of the world. A blogger in Germany noted that all the reports seemed to trace back to Japanese versions of Windows. This was a very important clue. It suggested the problem was not with all computers, but perhaps only with computers set up in a specific way.

Other users shared their own experiences, adding more pieces to the puzzle.

• One person mentioned that a popular tech YouTuber, JayzTwoCents, was able to create the problem on his own computer, showing it was a real issue.
• Another user in Germany, named Lars, described a strange situation at his workplace. He set up six brand-new, identical computers for a customer. A few days later, four of them would not start up properly. The computers could no longer find their SSDs. This was especially interesting because these computers were using Samsung SSDs, showing the problem was not limited to the Phison parts mentioned earlier.
• Someone else claimed they could trigger the SSD problem on their computer simply by installing the Japanese language pack onto their non-Japanese version of Windows.

All these stories, when put together, strongly suggested that the problem was real. The common thread was the Japanese language connection. It was not just a random coincidence affecting a few people; it was a specific issue that could be triggered under certain conditions.

Understanding the Real Problem: A Simple Mix-Up

The evidence pointed to a technical mistake related to how different languages are handled by computers. Think of it like writing systems. The English language uses a simple set of characters, or a single-byte alphabet. Other languages, like Japanese, use thousands of complex characters. To handle these, computers need a different system, known as a double-byte environment. It’s like having a bigger alphabet to include all the unique characters.

The main theory is that the Windows update from August, KB5063878, accidentally included the wrong file system. It seems it distributed the simpler, single-byte system meant for English to computers that needed the more complex, double-byte system for Japanese. When a Japanese computer with the wrong file system tried to write large amounts of data, it caused a critical error. The system was trying to use the wrong rules to store the information. This conflict resulted in data corruption and, in the worst cases, physically damaged the SSD, rendering it useless.

Identifying the Problematic Updates

The investigation by users uncovered that two specific updates were at the center of this issue. If you have a computer running Windows 11 version 24H2, it is important to know their names.

• KB5062660
• KB5063878

The greatest danger occurred when users would write a lot of data—many gigabytes at once—during or immediately after these updates were installed. This continuous writing activity on a system with the wrong file system software could cause the SSD to fail permanently. This means the computer would no longer be able to start, and the drive itself would be broken beyond repair. The advice from the community became clear: if these updates were on your system, you needed to remove them to avoid potential damage.

The Quiet Fix from Microsoft

While Microsoft never officially announced the cause of the problem, it appears they did release a fix. This solution came in a later update called the Preview Update KB5064081, released on August 29, 2025. This update is believed to “silently” correct the error. It contains the proper, double-byte file system required for Japanese versions of Windows.

Installing this new update, KB5064081, resolves the underlying issue. It also includes all the security patches from the previous, problematic updates. This means that by installing it, your computer will be both secure and safe from the SSD bug. The information about this fix spread through community forums and social media, as users who installed it confirmed that their SSD problems went away.

How to Secure Your PC and SSD

If you are concerned that your computer might be affected, you can take simple steps to check your system and apply the fix. Here is a straightforward guide to protect your PC.

Step 1: Check Your Update History

First, you need to see which updates are installed on your computer. You can do this by going to Settings, then to Windows Update, and looking at your “Update history.” Look for the names KB5062660 and KB5063878.

Step 2: Uninstall the Problematic Updates

If you find either of those two updates in your history, you should uninstall them. In the “Update history” screen, you will find an option to “Uninstall updates.” Click it, find the updates by name, and remove them.

Step 3: Restart Your Computer

After the updates have been uninstalled, you must restart your computer. This is a critical step that ensures the old software is completely removed.

Step 4: Install the Safe Update

Once your computer has restarted, go back to Windows Update. Check for new updates. Your system should find and install the preview update KB5064081. This update contains the fix and will make your system safe.

By following these steps, you can remove the potentially harmful software and replace it with the corrected version from Microsoft. This will protect your SSD from damage and ensure your data remains safe.