Hot Take This workaround can prevent AMD drivers from bricking your Windows PC

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

What you need to know

• An issue that can occur when installing AMD Adrenalin drivers can cause a PC to crash and then fail to boot.
• The issue is rare and only affects a subset of systems that had a PC update occur during the installation of an Adrenalin driver.
• AMD has shared a workaround for the problem and is working on a permanent fix.

Some Windows PCs with AMD graphics crashed and were unable to boot after attempting to install AMD's Adrenalin 23.2.1 driver. The problem seems to be limited to an extremely small number of systems, but we now have a better idea of the root cause of the issue.

AMD released its Adrenalin 23.2.1 drivers in mid-February. Unfortunately, complications related to the driver updates caused systems to crash and then brick. In other words, PCs affected by the issue would stop working entirely. Wccftech gathered together several reports of PCs running into issues. The Adrenalin 23.2.2 seems to have the same issue.

PCWorld Executive Editor Brad Chacos detailed his system getting bricked. Chacos, who spoke with AMD about the situation, explained that a Windows update running in the background at the same time as a driver update caused his PC to crash and fail.

"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" option is unchecked during the AMD driver installation process," said an AMD spokesperson to PCWorld.

"We are committed to resolve issues as quickly as possible and strongly encourage users to submit issues with AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition via the Bug Report Tool."

AMD is looking for a permanent fix for the issue. Until then, a simple workaround can prevent the installation of Adrenalin drivers from bricking your PC. When you install those drivers, do not check the "factory reset" box.

This workaround can prevent AMD drivers from bricking your Windows PC

Some PCs got bricked when trying to install AMD's latest Adrenalin drivers.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[silversurfer]

Today, AMD released a new version 23.3.1 No issues after installation here on my laptop

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.3.1 Release Notes | AMD

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Today, AMD released a new version 23.3.1 No issues after installation here on my laptop

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.3.1 Release Notes | AMD

The workaround is in place, but the issue itself is not fixed yet:

Factory Reset has been temporarily disabled as precautionary measure while we address isolated installation issues that have been reported during PC upgrades.

 

[show-Zi]

It seems to me that the use of Display Driver Uninstaller may be affected to a small degree.

 

[zkSnark]

My laptop has Intel Graphics and extra AMD Radeon Graphics Video Card. Since, I don't play games on this laptop, do I need to install Adrenalin?
Does my PC utilize this AMD Graphics for browsing too? Or is it used only for gaming purposes?

 

[show-Zi]

My laptop has Intel graphics and extra Amd GPU. Since, I don't play games on this laptop, do I need to install Adrenalin? Does my PC utilizes this extra Amd GPU for browsing too? Or is it used only for gaming purposes?

The laptop gpu's are working in tandem, with the AMD taking care of the processing and the Intel graphics outputting it. If it's a laptop, it's better to check the manufacturer's website for driver updates.