iMac 2017 Bootcamp Windows 10 Updates Causing Crash on Startup

iMac18,3 using a Windows 10 bootcamp partition experiencing constant crashes on startup after Windows updates are installed.


I purchased my machine back in September of 2017 and used a Windows 10 bootcamp partition for a few months. A few weeks ago, near the end of the year, I tried to reboot into Windows after turning off my machine the previous night. Windows 10 will begin the boot up process, but crashes after a minute or so and restarts the machine until it boots into safe mode after 3 failures.


I reinstalled Windows 10 using the same ISO image I used back in September, and Windows 10 worked for a few days until the same problem occurred. I reinstalled Windows again, but this time I downloaded the latest ISO image from the Microsoft website. After installing Windows and booting into the Windows desktop, I responded to the prompt to install the bootcamp drivers and then restarted the machine in order to activate them. This time, Windows immediately began experiencing the startup crashes rather than working for a few days with the older ISO.


Once I confirmed this, I installed Windows 10 again, this time using the 3 month old ISO and forcing Windows 10 not to install any updates by using Airplane mode to ensure Windows never connects to the internet. This installation has been working for a week and a half using this method of stopping Windows updates. My conclusion is that something in the new updates for Windows 10 is conflicting with the Bootcamp drivers and causing the operating system to crash on startup.


I was able to find one other poster that described this exact same situation on a late 2017 iMac using Windows 10. Any help is welcome, I am eager to see this problem resolved.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017), macOS High Sierra (10.13.2)

Posted on Jan 18, 2018 7:19 PM

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7 replies

Jan 18, 2018 7:47 PM in response to Loner T

The problem is that Windows forces updates on you for their security updates, and with Windows 10 there is really no way around that. I disabled automatic updates, but the security update seemed to do the trick. The only way to stop that from happening is to disconnect from the internet entirely.


It doesn't seem like there is much of a choice here, if you install Windows 10 on a bootcamp partition on my machine and use the internet, it will break and there's no way to fix it using readily accessible means. The fact that Windows will install when using the latest ISO and then start crashing after installing the bootcamp drivers and restarting also seems to indicate some interaction between the new Windows updates and the bootcamp drivers is to blame, which could require Apple's participation in a possible fix.

Jan 19, 2018 9:23 AM in response to Loner T

Yes, but it’s due to a security update requiring a general update to the operating system to function. Even if I turn off automatic updates, if I let my system connect to the internet in a few minutes a screen pop up for downloading a general update happens. In their words, “Windows security updates require the latest version of Windows.”

Jan 18, 2018 9:05 PM in response to Loner T

The Windows Updates are not installing GPU drivers though, those are downloaded direct from AMD and they have not been causing problems for me. It is only after the Windows update that the problem occurs, so if it is the GPU driver, it is the GPU driver plus something in the newest Windows updates.


Otherwise, if I download the latest GPU driver from AMD after a clean install and make sure Windows never updates, everything works fine.

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iMac 2017 Bootcamp Windows 10 Updates Causing Crash on Startup

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