After updating to Windows 11 24H2: Auto-HDR causes games to crash

After updating to Windows 11 24H2: Auto-HDR crashes games 154 comments

After updating to Windows 11 24H2: Auto-HDR causes games to crash

Photo: Microsoft; Sony / Editing: Sven Bauduin

The new major Windows 11 24H2 update continues to cause problems for gamers: games converted from SDR to HDR using the Windows Auto HDR feature either become unresponsive or display “incorrect colors.” Microsoft is pulling the update for Auto-HDR users, but a bug fix is still pending.

Summary :

Microsoft recognizes the problem

The list of known issues with Windows 11 24H2 on the internal support page is growing. The newest member: If the player enables Auto-HDR to convert the signal from older SDR titles to HDR titles, games crash or produce incorrect colors. First reported by overclock3d.

After installing Windows 11, version 24H2, you may experience issues with gaming if AutoHDR is enabled on your device. You may notice that the game colors are incorrect in some display configurations. You may also notice that some games become unresponsive.
Microsoft

Fix pending

There is still no bug fix, which is why Microsoft is temporarily suspending delivery of the 24H2 update if Auto-HDR is enabled. The company is following the same strategy as two weeks ago, when the update conflicted with and caused problems with Ubisoft games: the update was initially suspended during the installation of certain games. However, Ubisoft has now delivered some fixes and Windows 11 is once again compatible with most Ubisoft titles.

Next Steps: We are working on a resolution and will provide more information as it becomes available.
Microsoft

Tip: RTX HDR as a replacement

If you are already on 24H2, we recommend that you disable Auto-HDR for the time being until Microsoft has fixed the problem. However, users of an Nvidia graphics card can use RTX HDR as an alternative. With this function, Nvidia also supports the conversion from SDR to HDR for games that do not yet have their own HDR mode. The function can be activated in the new Nvidia app or in the old GeForce app and is applied by the GPU developer as a filter, achieving the same or better effect than the Microsoft product.

24H2 is not going smoothly

However, this detour is only necessary because the release of the long-awaited update on 24H2 is not going smoothly. The Ubisoft game crashes are Microsoft’s biggest misstep for gamers, but overall they’re just the tip of the iceberg: the update has been rolling out since early October, but two days later it caused problems for Alder Lake users and Easy-Anti-cheat caused crashes, a display bug caused indelible files, some Western Digital SSDs caused system crashes, and WD quickly issued a patch. CrowdStrike users are also facing a risk of Office application crashes.

It’s no surprise, then, that Microsoft advises against forcing the update manually using the Media Creation Tool or an ISO: the updater automatically prevents an automatic update if known issues arise.