The rigorously sequestered, rock-solid-reliable PC I exploit to check graphics playing cards turned utterly and totally hosed this week. I couldn’t even get the system besides into Home windows restore mode to attempt to troubleshoot it. The wrongdoer? A uncommon battle in the way in which Home windows interacts with AMD’s newest WQHL-certified Radeon drivers, Adrenalin 23.2.2. Some fast Googling revealed that this has been occurring to a small handful of different customers since Adrenalin 23.2.1 landed in mid-February, with equally devastating results.
This expertise could be an absolute catastrophe for anybody who isn’t the manager editor of a pc publication with a deep rolodex available (although AMD representatives are very attentive to driver suggestions on social media). However fortuitously, I used to be capable of work intently with AMD on on the difficulty.
AMD engineers not solely managed to diagnose the potential root explanation for this unique subject, but additionally found a just-as-exotic troubleshooting workaround that helped revive my PC. A everlasting repair is being investigated, however affected customers can hopefully use this workaround to restore their programs with out resorting to a full-blown recent Home windows set up.
Right here’s what occurred, how it occurred, how one can keep away from it, and how one can repair it if an identical catastrophe strikes your PC.
How AMD’s Radeon drivers broke my Home windows set up
I obtained a brand new customized Radeon RX 7900 XT for testing this week, so I went about my common strict course of for ensuring the PC is up-to-date and able to benchmark. Earlier than swapping in a brand new graphics card or new drivers, whereas my present secure setup continues to be intact, I carry out a number of steps to make the system as “like new” as doable, to keep away from potential points brought on by swapping in numerous GPUs from completely different manufacturers. (The system {hardware} stays static, with minimal software program put in past benchmarking instruments, to make sure consistency.)
It is a rig from AMD’s Radeon RX 7900-series reveal, not my check system.
Adam Patrick Murray / IDG
I already had a GeForce RTX 4070 Ti set as much as give Nvidia’s superior RTX Video Tremendous Decision a whirl. With it put in, I manually up to date Home windows 10. Then, I powered down the system and changed the 4070 Ti with the Radeon RX 7900 XT. It booted up usually. I then used Home windows 10’s Add and Take away Applications instrument to uninstall all Nvidia software program from my PC and rebooted. Commonplace stuff. I then used the incredible DDU Uninstaller instrument to make sure that Nvidia’s bits had been actually and utterly eradicated, and rebooted. The whole lot went positive.
Then the issues began.
I opened up Chrome, navigated to AMD’s web site, and downloaded the WQHL-certified Adrenalin 23.2.2 drivers that the location really helpful for a 7900 XT. Then I put in the motive force, checking the field to carry out a “factory reset” clear set up relatively than an upgrade-in-place. It seems that checking that field, finished along with a silent Home windows replace occurring within the background with out my information, in all probability led to my rig’s downfall.
The whole lot went effectively—till the software program stated I wanted to reboot my PC to complete the motive force set up. After restarting, my system hit the MSI BIOS splash web page like regular, however the second it tried loading Home windows it instantly suffered a Blue Display screen of Dying, flashing the “Inaccessible Boot Device” error code proven within the picture within the tweet under (which is unrelated to this AMD subject). Ugh. The system then began an infinite cycle of BSOD > reboot > BSOD > reboot with out kicking off computerized restore makes an attempt or presenting me the standard Home windows troubleshooting choices.
I didn’t have time to troubleshoot it so I powered down the system and tried once more the following day. Identical deal. I yanked out the customized Radeon RX 7900 XT I want to check and changed it with AMD’s reference Radeon RX 7900 XT. This time, after two BSOD > reboot cycles, Home windows tried to routinely restore the system after the BIOS splash display screen. Success! …or so I believed. However I used to be terribly, terribly flawed.
As an alternative of correcting the difficulty, deciding on Startup Restore made it even worse. When it was finished, the display screen went darkish and utterly unresponsive (whereas nonetheless powered on). Now, each time I attempted besides the pc, I noticed the little “Windows thinking about it” circle spinning after the BIOS display screen for a short second, then a return to the infinite blackness. My Home windows set up was hosed so exhausting that the BSOD crashes didn’t even happen anymore, and I had no probability to attempt customary Home windows troubleshooting efforts.
In desperation I attempted changing the Radeon RX 7900 XT with the RTX 4070 Ti and an Intel Arc A750—GPUs I’ve examined up to now two weeks, that labored reliably—however to no avail.
Googling the difficulty surfaced this WCCFTech article from mid-February together with loads of different protection, citing quite a few consumer studies of Adrenalin 23.2.1 destroying their Home windows installs. It’s a deeply irritating expertise, and one that will be disastrous for the standard PC gamer. I tweeted about my woes and an AMD consultant emailed me inside minutes. Clearly, being the manager editor of PCWorld could fast-track me for a fast response (although once more, AMD representatives are very attentive to driver suggestions on social media). On this case, my high-profile complications managed to assist AMD probe the core subject, so I can present troubleshooting steps that labored for me and fortunately report {that a} everlasting repair is being investigated.
Learn how to repair Radeon drivers breaking your Home windows set up
I may’ve merely slapped in a brand new SSD with a clear Home windows set up, however we spent two days going via numerous troubleshooting fixes whereas AMD engineers tried reproducing and diagnosing the issue. Swapping GPUs, making an attempt new screens, yanking the show cable out at completely different occasions, clearing the CMOS, and guaranteeing UEFI was chosen as a substitute of CSM within the BIOS (it was!) all proved fruitless.
However this morning, AMD’s workforce acquired again to me with one other suggestion: When the BIOS splash display screen is up proper after turning on the PC, slam the ability button to attempt to coax Home windows into forcing an computerized restoration try. I attempted it 4 occasions to no avail. I used to be instructed to stick with it, that it would work finally. And after fifteen complete tries, it did!
I’m undecided what prompted it to lastly catch, however timing appeared to play a component in it. Hitting the ability button whereas the BIOS keypress choices had been up merely turned off my PC instantly. Hitting it as soon as the spinning “Windows thinking” icon appeared saved the PC on, however did nothing—my system merely black-screened once more. Ultimately, I managed to hit the ability button within the break up second between the BIOS choices disappearing and the Home windows circle showing, and that managed to kickstart an computerized restoration try.
You wish to choose the System Restore possibility and choose a restore level from previous to the Home windows corruption. Home windows ought to routinely have created one simply earlier than putting in the brand new GPU drivers.
IDG
Success!
After Home windows did its factor for a bit, I ultimately wound up within the Home windows restoration instruments menu, capable of restart my PC or choose superior choices. I went into the superior choices’ troubleshooting menu and chosen System Restore, since Startup Restore hosed my PC even worse earlier than. I chosen a restore level from mid-February, loaded it up, and after two agonizingly irritating days, my check rig was again in motion.
In the event you’ve suffered from the latest Adrenalin drivers corrupting your Home windows set up, do that course of to hopefully get again in your toes. You must also making an attempt the standard arcane technique for summoning the Home windows restoration instrument, discovered within the “Use the Startup Repair function” part right here. (Don’t use Startup Restore although! Use a restore level! Simply use this course of to get you to the menu with each choices.)
However how did this occur, and how are you going to forestall it from occurring to you?
Learn how to keep away from Radeon drivers breaking your Home windows set up
AMD tells me it took dozens of makes an attempt to recreate the difficulty of their labs on account of its excessive rarity. On a name, one consultant truly known as me “patient zero.” The corporate offered me with the next assertion whereas its investigation is ongoing:
“We have reproduced an issue that can occur in an extremely small number of instances if a PC update occurs during the installation of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, and we are actively investigating. We recommend users ensure all system updates are applied or paused before installing the driver, and that the “Factory Reset” possibility is unchecked in the course of the AMD driver set up course of. We’re dedicated to resolve points as shortly as doable and strongly encourage customers to submit points with AMD Software program: Adrenalin Version through the Bug Report Software.”
It’s value noting that my model of Home windows 10 was up to date previous to trying the Adrenalin Software program set up, however the Recreation Bar or another a part of Home windows could have been silently updating within the background to kickstart this catastrophe.
DO NOT click on “additional options” and test the “factory reset” field till the core subject is mounted!
AMD
As a workaround, merely don’t test that manufacturing facility reset field if you happen to’re putting in new Radeon drivers. There’s no cause to take action if you happen to’ve already acquired a working Radeon GPU arrange and are merely updating to the newest drivers anyway. Easy as that. It labored for me after my check system was revived and I now have Adrenalin 23.2.2 put in and dealing like a attraction.
A damned disgrace
It’s a damned disgrace this occurred. Most excruciatingly for myself and different avid gamers who had their Home windows set up deeply damaged, after all, but additionally for AMD.
I’ve been a vocal advocate for the intense driver and software program enhancements AMD has been making over the past half-decade or so. Individuals slammed the iffy state of Radeon drivers for years. AMD listened and poured large funding and energy into sprucing them up. Now, Workforce Crimson’s drivers are even higher than Nvidia’s common Recreation Prepared drivers in some ways, and in June 2022 AMD felt assured sufficient about its software program to declare that it presents “industry-leading stability” with “99.95% of users experiencing no crashes when AMD Software is installed.”
There’s little question that AMD’s driver stability and total stability at the moment are proper up there with the perfect of them after years of intense refinement. That is an especially uncommon edge case—although it’s occurring to sufficient those who I felt compelled to write down about my woes. It certain sucks being in that 0.05%! However points this catastrophic damage the trigger to rebuild Radeon software program’s picture, regardless of how uncommon they’re. No matter whether or not Home windows or AMD is accountable ultimately, this expertise is the kind of factor that will instantly make many PC avid gamers swear off Radeon GPUs without end, and inform all their pals why. And that’s a disgrace.
A number of Radeon GPUs maintain spots in our roundup of the perfect graphics playing cards. I’m not going to take away them regardless of my private catastrophe. This extreme subject isn’t widespread, solely occurring in ultra-rare circumstances, whereas AMD presents actually compelling worth up and down the stack with Nvidia climbing GeForce costs via the roof. And sure, AMD’s drivers are certainly rock-solid the huge majority of the time. This specific situation may have been catastrophic with out AMD’s direct assist, however no software program is ideal—particularly within the advanced PC ecosystem—and whereas I acquired caught in a deeply irritating scenario, there’s solely a microscopic probability of it affecting you. (And hopefully this text can assist you if it does.)
Most individuals don’t test the manufacturing facility set up field anyway. Simply be certain you don’t both till a everlasting repair is launched.
