Microsoft and Good Enough Engineering: The MSI BSOD Triviality
August 30, 2023
My line up of computers does not have a motherboard from MSI. Call me “Lucky” I guess. Some MSI product owners were not. “Microsoft Puts Little Blame on Its Windows Update after Unsupported Processor BSOD Bug” is a fun read for those who are keeping notes about Microsoft’s management methods. The short essay romps through a handful of Microsoft’s recent quality misadventures.
“Which of you broke mom’s new vase?” asks the sister. The boys look surprised. The vase has nothing to say about the problem. Thanks, MidJourney, no adjudication required for this image.
I noted this passage in the NeoWin.net article:
It has been a pretty eventful week for Microsoft and Intel in terms of major news and rumors. First up, we had the “Downfall” GDS vulnerability which affects almost all of Intel’s slightly older CPUs. This was followed by a leaked Intel document which suggests upcoming Wi-Fi 7 may only be limited to Windows 11, Windows 12, and newer.
The most helpful statement in the article in my opinion was this statement:
Interestingly, the company says that its latest non-security preview updates, ie, Windows 11 (KB5029351) and Windows 10 (KB5029331), which seemingly triggered this Unsupported CPU BSOD error, is not really what’s to blame for the error. It says that this is an issue with a “specific subset of processors”…
Like the SolarWinds’ misstep and a handful of other bone-chilling issues, Microsoft is skilled at making sure that its engineering is not the entire problem. That may be one benefit of what I call good enough engineering. The space created by certain systems and methods means that those who follow documentation can make mistakes. That’s where the blame should be placed.
Makes sense to me. Some MSI motherboard users looking at the beloved BSOD may not agree.
Stephen E Arnold, August 30, 2023
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