Recent Windows 11 update isn't behind gaming SSD failures, says Microsoft

Microsoft has responded to reports that a recent Windows 11 security update has caused gaming SSDs to fail. According to the company, a "thorough investigation" left the company in no doubt that its recent KB5063878 security update isn't the cause behind these mysterious drive failures.

Despite those earlier Windows 11 SSD failure reports, Microsoft hasn't been able to replicate the issue on its own Windows 11 PCs. That leaves plenty of unanswered questions, especially with regards to identifying the cause behind the issue. While plenty of drives have so far not been listed as affected, such as Samsung 990 Pro and WD Black SN7100 that you can find on our best gaming SSD guide, there's still cause for concern until the reason for the problem is resolved.

Microsoft issued this news via a statement made in a service update, and since reported by Tom's Hardware. The statement confirmed that the company found "no connection" between the KB5063878 update in August and the "types of hard drive failures reported on social media." Despite working with hardware manufacturers, it hasn't been able to replicate the issue itself, either.

This error causes some gaming SSDs to disappear from Windows during periods of heavy data writes. Restarting your PC does, in most cases, cause the drive to reappear, although not in every instance, and with data loss almost guaranteed to occur due to the drive's sudden disappearance.

As we reported at the time, initial data suggested that gaming SSDs with Phison data controllers were seemingly the most affected. Phison was unable to replicate the issue either, however, while other reports suggested that SSDs using rival chips were also seemingly affected.

As of now, there's no clear answer as to what might be causing this issue. If you're running Windows 11, keep an eye on your SSD health, especially when you're writing a lot of data to it, such as when you're installing a new game. If you're worried, make sure to keep your important data backed up using cloud storage or by using an external hard drive to avoid data loss that you can't recover from.

You can check out our choice of the best external gaming SSD if you want to grab a fast and portable drive to keep your data on hand.

Having trouble with your gaming PC? If you've been affected by this issue and you believe you know why, feel free to start a conversation in our Discord server with staff and other readers.