The Voicemeeter app is causing Blue Screen of Death misery – here’s what you need to know
Microsoft may have only recently released its major Windows 11 24H2 update, but it’s already becoming infamous for its habit of appearing in the headlines for causing user issues. This time there have been reports of a bug that causes devices to crash and display the blue screen of death (BSoD). This comes after previous reports of issues so severe that Microsoft ultimately blocked the installation of 24H2 on affected devices.
Today we can add another problem to the list: a system crash that apparently occurs on PCs with the Voicemeeter app installed. Voicemeeter is a popular app that allows people to manage their PC’s audio according to NeowinMicrosoft published a note in the official Windows 11 24H2 documentation describing the issue. Unfortunately, it appears that the driver software (which allows the app to ‘talk’ to your system) is incompatible with Windows 11’s memory manager.
This incompatibility results in many users’ systems becoming unresponsive, leading to the dreaded blue screen with the MEMORY_MANAGEMENT error code – a rather annoying bug, as it can mean people’s unsaved work is lost when the PC suddenly restarts.
To prevent this, Microsoft has stopped the rollout of update 24H2 on PCs running Voicemeeter. If you want to continue using the app in Windows 11, you won’t even see the option to update to 24H2 in Windows Update when you check for new updates.
What Windows 11 Voicemeeter users can expect next
It appears that Microsoft is aware of the problem and, as reported by Neowin, is advising users not to force their devices to update to 24H2 using methods such as the Installation Assistant or the Media Creation tool. I’m pretty sure this means Microsoft is working on an update that will provide a fix that will allow users to update to 24H2 and continue using Voicemeeter without any issues.
If you can give up Voicemeeter, you can apparently uninstall the app altogether and the 24H2 update will be available for download again in about 24 hours. So far, it appears that this compatibility issue only affects PCs running 24H2, and earlier versions of Windows 10 and 11 are not affected.
This is yet another potential issue to consider if you want to upgrade to Windows 11 24H2, and you can read about some of the other issues users encountered after trying to update here.
A BSoD is not fatal, but it can be extremely frustrating and annoying. Along with all the other bugs and issues, 24H2 is starting to become quite disruptive for some people. It also brings back bad memories of Windows 10 which suffered from numerous update issues a few years ago.
This distracts from any actual quality and functionality improvements Microsoft made in 24H2. Still, it’s worth staying on top of any issues that arise so you know how to deal with them. It shows how difficult it can be when rolling out major updates to a wide range of software and hardware – and how Microsoft still struggles to overcome those difficulties, even after decades of experience.