Microsoft has discovered the source of a mysterious bug that is causing Windows 10 to hang on Lenovo laptops.

[German]Microsoft had already admitted compatiblitiy issues with some Conexant audio drivers under Windows 10 version 2004/20H2 in May 2020. These may lead to problems (bluescreens) with Synaptics audio devices. In December 2020, two problems were fixed.

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This information can be found in the Windows 10 status area and was already announced for Windows 10 version 2004 as of May 27, 2020. As of December 11, 2020, there was an update to the entry in question, which now reads as follows:

Synaptics and Microsoft have found incompatibility issues with certain versions of drivers for Conexant or Synaptics audio devices and Windows 10, version 2004 (the Windows 10 May 2020 Update). Windows 10 devices with affected Conexant or Synaptics audio drivers might receive a stop error with a blue screen during or after updating to Windows 10, version 2004. The affected driver will be named Conexant HDAudio Driver under Sound, video and game controllers in Device Manager and have versions 8.65.47.53, 8.65.56.51, or 8.66.0.0 through 8.66.89.00 for chdrt64.sys or chdrt32.sys.

I guess what’s new is that the exact driver names and driver versions are highlighted in bold in the entry. Also the fixed/open device IDs are known.

For organizations that used Update Compliance, the four previous protection IDs are 25702617, 25702660, 25702662 and 25702673. I had seen a note from colleagues the other day that the upgrade stoppers for device IDs 25702662 and 25702673 had been lifted.

Microsoft and Synaptics are still working on a solution for protection IDs 25702617 and 25702660 and plan to provide an update in one of the next [Windows] releases. For this reason, Microsoft is maintaining the set compatibility lockout for Windows 10 devices with affected Conexant or Synaptics audio drivers. Affected machines will not be offered the upgrade to Windows 10 2004/20H2 until the driver is updated. The compatibility issues and upgrade lockout affect the following client and server platforms:

• Client: Windows 10 version 20H2, Windows 10 version 2004.
• Server: Windows Server version 20H2, Windows Server version

Microsoft advises against manually upgrading to the new Windows 10 versions via the Update Now button in Windows Update or the Media Creation Tool (MCT) until corrected drivers are available. The only thing left to do is to wait until this problem is fixed.

[German]Microsoft has announced a workaround for the Conexant audio driver issue that has been nagging users of Windows 10 version 2004 and later. The problem has been on the agenda since May 2020.

The Conexant Audio driver issue

There are drivers for Conexant ISST Audio or Conexant HDAudio from the vendor Conexant, but they have been causing problems since the release of Windows 10 version 2004. The information can be found in the Windows 10 status area and was already announced for Windows 10 version 2004 on May 27, 2020.

In the Know Issues section of Windows 10, Microsoft states that Windows 10 devices with affected Conexant ISST audio driver may display an error or experience issues while the update is being installed or after. Microsoft further states that it affects Conexant ISST Audio or Conexant HDAudio drivers listed in Device Manager under Sound, Video and Game Controllers with file names uci64a96.dll to uci64a231.dll and file version 7.231.3.0 or lower.

Affected are Windows 10 version 2004 to 20H2 as well as Windows Server 2004/20H2. Microsoft had therefore temporarily stopped the rollout on machines with these drivers. Then, in October 2020, there was a partial fix from Microsoft, which I had addressed in the article Windows 10 2004/20H2: Issues with Conexant audio drivers partial fixed.

Workaround for driver issues

In the Know Issues section of Windows 10, Microsoft has now published a supplement in the form of a workaround as of January 22, 2021. There, Microsoft writes that they have relaxed the upgrade freeze as of January 14, 2021 to allow certain devices with the affected driver to update to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2. Microsoft also recommends in the Workaround section that affected users check with their device manufacturer (OEM) to see if an updated driver is available. Apparently, Conexant has updated its drivers and is already providing them to OEMs. If a new driver is available, install it to surround the issues and avoid an upgrade stop.

If updated drivers are not available for a device and you are offered Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2, Microsoft said a small number of devices may roll back to the previous version of Windows 10 when trying to upgrade. In that case, Microsoft’s recommendation is to try again to update to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2. (via)

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