Windows users with AMD processors complain about problems after Meltdown patches

People with AMD processors, mostly older models, are complaining that Microsoft’s Meltdown and Specter patches are preventing their systems from starting. A Windows reinstallation doesn’t seem to have any effect either.

In several threads on the Microsoft forum, affected users write that their systems no longer start after installing the patches and that only the Windows logo is displayed on startup. Then the systems would not boot any further. The messages appear to be coming from users with older AMD processors, such as Athlon, Sempron, and Opteron.

It can also be concluded from the messages that users do not get their systems to work even after a reinstallation of, for example, Windows 7 or 10. In a Reddit thread, one of the affected users says that running some commands from the “Repair your computer” menu solved the problem by removing the affected update package.

Microsoft released the patches following the disclosure of details about the Meltdown and Specter vulnerabilities last week. Of these, Meltdown only affects Intel CPUs, but Specter also affects AMD processors. The update in question is KB4056892.