Microsoft has partially addressed known issues impacting Windows 10 devices with certain Conexant or Synaptics audio devices after investigating ongoing errors since May 2020.

Conexant High Definition Audio Driver for DT (Windows 10) Release date: 01-Nov-2019. Last updated: 01-Nov-2019. DETAILS OF CHANGE. Provides security updates. Even being incompatible with the 2004 version, the Conexant drivers did not result in any BSOD (Blue Screen of Death), crash, or any issue what so ever. But I did uninstall the Conexant driver again, placed the same Registry blocker to prevent further attempts to install the driver again by windows update.

Microsoft has also removed some of the safeguard holds blocking the affected systems from upgrading to the latest Windows 10 version.

Issue resolved for two out of four safeguard holds

The known issue impacting computers with Conexant audio drivers has been under investigation since May 2020 when Microsoft released Windows 10, version 2004.

Redmond has resolved the issue for safeguard IDs 25702662 and 25702673 as of December 11, 2020.

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'Please note, if there are no other safeguards that affect your device, it can take up to 48 hours before the update to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2 is offered,' Microsoft says on the issue's Windows Health Dashboard entry.

'We recommend that you do not attempt to manually update using the Update now button or the Media Creation Tool until this issue has been resolved.'

While Microsoft does not recommend circumventing safeguard holds, you can still do that using the Media Creation Tool or a newly included Windows 10 group policy specifically designed to enable users to bypass update blocks.

To work around Windows 10 update installation issues, users are advised to use this update problem troubleshooter or this guided walk-through.

Problems and errors impacting Windows 10 devices under safeguard IDs 25702617 and 25702660 are still under investigation.

Known issue causes BSOD crashes

'Windows 10 devices with affected Conexant or Synaptics audio drivers might receive a stop error with a blue screen during or after updating to Windows 10, version 2004,' Microsoft explains.

'The affected driver will be named Conexant HDAudio Driver under Sound, video and game controllers in Device Manager and have versions 8.65.47.53, 8.65.56.51, or 8.66.0.0 through 8.66.89.00 for chdrt64.sys or chdrt32.sys.'

Impacted computers with Conexant or Synaptics audio devices will not be able to install newer Windows 10 versions until the associated compatibility holds will be removed.

Windows 10 devices affected by this issue include both client (Windows 10 2004 and 20H2) and server (Windows Server 2004 and 20H2) platforms.

Installing updates in Windows 10 can be something of a gamble -- will the latest patches make things better or worse? For people with Conexant ISST audio drivers, there have been numerous issues in Windows 10 May 2020 Update (or Windows 10 version 2004).

Users trying to update these drivers found that the update process would fail or produce errors during or after setup. Having worked with Synaptics, Microsoft has identified a compatibility issue and also provided details of a workaround.

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The workaround comes some eight months after the problems were first discovered. But while Microsoft has offered up something of a solution, it is not something that is going to work for everyone, and a proper fix is still to be released in a future update.

On the Windows 10 support pages, Microsoft explains the problem that some users are experiencing:

Synaptics and Microsoft have found incompatibility issues with certain versions of drivers for Conexant ISST audio driver and Windows 10, version 2004 (the Windows 10 May 2020 Update). Windows 10 devices with affected Conexant ISST audio driver might receive an error or experience issues while installing the update or after the device has updated. The affected driver will be named Conexant ISST Audio or Conexant HDAudio Driver under Sound, video and game controllers in Device Manager and have file name uci64a96.dll through uci64a231.dll and a file version of 7.231.3.0 or lower.

To safeguard your update experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on Windows 10 devices with affected Conexant or Synaptics audio drivers installed from being offered Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows Server, version 2004 until the driver has been updated. If your organization is using Update Compliance, the safeguard ID is 25178825.

The company then provides details of the workaround:

To mitigate the safeguard, you might need to check with your device manufacturer (OEM) to see if an updated driver is available and install it. If updated drivers are not available for your device and you are offered Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2, a small number of devices might roll back to the previous version of Windows 10 when attempting to update. If this occurs, you should attempt to update to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2 again.

Microsoft says that it is continuing to work with Synaptics to come up with a resolution which will follow in due course. The company also says: 'As of January 14, 2021, we are adjusting this safeguard to allow certain devices with the affected driver to update to Windows 10, version 2004 or Windows 10, version 20H2'.

Users are advised against manually updating using the 'Update now' button or the Media Creation Tool until this issue has been resolved.

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