KB5101650 / KB5121003: Thunderbolt 4 NVMe causes WHEA PCIe errors, bugcheck or hang, rollback fixes

Your controlled rollback comparison is strong evidence of an update-sensitive regression, but WHEA event 17 is a corrected PCIe hardware-error report; it does not prove that the USB-C Connection Manager change is responsible. The surprise removals and bugchecks justify formal escalation.

Keep the Feedback Hub submission and add the WHEA event XML, minidumps, PCI bus/device/function, msinfo32 export, BIOS version, Thunderbolt driver, and enclosure firmware. Install only ASUS-approved BIOS, chipset, and Thunderbolt updates plus current enclosure firmware, then repeat the same reproduction test. A Microsoft support case should reference the Feedback Hub item and bad-build/good-build comparison.

Remaining on the known-good build with updates paused can be temporary containment, but it leaves security fixes unapplied. Avoid permanent rollback. Ask Microsoft or ASUS for a confirmed mitigation and retest the next servicing update before reconnecting production storage. Maintain a separate backup because surprise removals can corrupt active files even when SMART remains clean.