AMD confirms bug in Radeon GPU drivers that can corrupt Windows installations

AMD confirms the existence of a GPU driver bug that can corrupt Windows installations. The company says the bug occurs in an “extremely small number of cases.” The bug is in the February Adrenalin driver releases.

AMD confirms the reports to tech website PCWorld. There, a Windows installation was damaged beyond repair after the website encountered the bug. The bug is said to have been introduced in Adrenalin 23.2.1 in mid-February and is also in the newer 23.2.2 release. After the bug, PCWorld was unable to start its Windows installation. Sporadic reports have been circulating for some time about users experiencing a corrupt Windows installation following a Radeon driver update.

AMD tells PCWorld that this is a rare problem. The company says the bug could occur if a PC update occurs during the installation of the Adrenalin drivers. AMD is investigating the bug. In the meantime, it is recommended to install or pause all system updates before updating their drivers. Also, users are advised to disable the ‘factory reset’ option during a driver update. AMD hopes to come up with a permanent solution ‘as soon as possible’.

PCWorld resolved the issue at AMD’s suggestion by forcing a Windows system restore. That’s what the website did by pressing its PC’s power button after the bios options disappeared, but before the Windows circle appeared. It took the website according to its own fifteen attempts. It is also possible to completely reinstall Windows.

Users are advised to disable the ‘factory reset’ option.