Windows 10 Anniversary Update running PCs crash when Amazon Kindles are connected

Microsoft is working on an update to address an issue wherein the device running Windows 10 Anniversary Update crashes when Kindle Voyager or Paperwhite e-readers are plugged in. The company did not provide any details as to how widespread the problem is, but said only a small number of Kindles are displaying the unexpected behaviour.

"We are aware of an issue with a small number of Kindle Voyager and Paperwhite e-Readers causing an unexpected behavior when plugged into Windows 10 devices after installing the Anniversary Update. We are currently working on an update to address this issue," reads a statement on the Microsoft community.

The crashing issue shot into the limelight after users, who install the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, reported it on several forums including the Microsoft community and Amazon forum. Microsoft rolled out the Anniversary Update featuring firmware version 1067 and OS build 14393.10 earlier this month starting with PC users. Two weeks later, the company made the update available for Windows 10 Mobile users.

According to users, their Windows system crashes immediately when a Kindle Paperwhite or Voyager is connected. A blue screen of death (BSOD) appears with a QR code. Neither rebooting the system nor using different USB cable has helped users overcome the issue.

"I recently the summer anniversary update for Windows 10 on both my laptop and my desktop which went without any errors. Today I plugged in a Kindle Paperwhite and it immediately crashed my laptop to a blue screen with a QR code regarding the sys_part_mgr or something similar," complained a user on the Microsoft community.

"I figured it might be a driver issue even though my laptop is fairly new so I plugged it into my desktop and got the exact same thing. A blue screen of death. Just for more info's sake it is a Kindle Paperwhite being plugged into usb 3.0 ports on a HP laptop and Dell desktop both running the latest windows," he added.

Not only on HP and Dell laptops, a user, named Rick Hale, who owns a Lenovo ThinkPad 11e, experienced a similar issue. Here is what he said. "I'm using a Lenovo ThinkPad 11e running Windows 10. Previously, mounting my Kindle Paperwhite worked fine and I've used that a lot for transferring books to it," said Rick.

"On Tuesday, I upgraded to the Anniversary Edition of Windows 10. Last night, for the first time since the upgrade, I mounted my Kindle by plugging it into a USB 2 port. I immediately got the blue screen with the QR code. I rebooted and tried several different times, even using a different USB cable, but that made no difference," he added.

This issue is another notable problem that appeared after the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, suggests a Guardian report. Recently, users came across a webcam freezing issue. A workaround is available to resolve the problem.

Another user named Pooka on Windows Ten Forums said: "I've had a Kindle Paperwhite for a few years no and never had an issue with connecting it via USB. However, after the recent Windows 10 updates, my computer BSOD's and force restarts almost as soon as I plug my Kindle in. Other storage devices I've tried (phone and PSVita) haven't had the same problem."

"The error message on BSOD states "system thread exception not handled" and refers to partmanager.sys," he said.