Windows 10 1903 Update Blocked by Old Intel Rapid Storage Drivers

Windows 10 1903 Update Blocked by Old Intel Rapid Storage Drivers

Microsoft has placed a compatibility hold on Windows 10 devices that prevents them from upgrading to Windows 10 1903 if they are using older Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers. This is because certain versions of the software could cause Windows 10 to crash or not operate properly in version 1903.

If a Windows 10 user has Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST) driver versions between 15.1.0.1002 and 15.5.2.1053 installed, Windows 10 will not upgrade to version 1903. Instead, a user with this compatibility hold will see a message stating:

"Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST): The inbox storage driver iastora.sys doesn’t work on these systems and causes stability problems on Windows. Check with your software/driver provider for an updated version that runs on this version of Windows"

Microsoft has stated that Intel RST driver versions 15.5.2.1054 or later are compatible and will remove the block and allow the Windows 10 1903 to proceed. For those devices using these drivers, Microsoft recommends that you use version 15.9.6.1044 of the driver even though newer drivers exist.

Windows 10 1903 Update Blocked by Old Intel Rapid Storage Drivers

How to resolve the Windows 10 1903 upgrade block

To upgrade your driver, you should check your hardware manufacturer web site and see if a newer version is available for your computer model. This is the recommended solution by Intel when upgrading your Intel RST drivers as some manufacturers customize the driver for their particular hardware.

If a compatible version does not exist on the manufacturer's site, you can download the latest Intel RST drivers directly from Intel.

As previously stated, Microsoft recommends driver version 15.9.6.1044, but the latest one offered by Intel is currently version 17.5.1.1021 and includes includes functionality and security updates.

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