Home windows 11 (and 10) customers are affected by a very disagreeable bug that successfully bricks the PC, placing it in a boot failure loop, and it’s brought on by the most recent variations of AMD’s graphics driver, the corporate has confirmed.

PC World (opens in new tab) reported on this one (by way of Tom’s {Hardware} (opens in new tab)), particularly govt editor Brad Chacos who was unlucky sufficient to expertise the bug on his gaming PC.

The issue has been present in AMD’s Adrenalin 23.2.1 driver, and the newest 23.2.2 driver, and leaves the person with a corrupted system.

The prevalence of this glitch is uncommon, although, and it depends upon two components. Firstly, when putting in the brand new AMD GPU driver, the choice for a clear set up (‘manufacturing facility reset’) have to be chosen. You then additionally have to be unfortunate sufficient for Home windows to kick in and carry out an replace within the background whereas putting in the Adrenalin driver.

Because of the truth that it’s not going for Home windows Replace to resolve to fireside up simply on the mistaken second, it appears the bug is uncommon, which is no less than one thing.

Nonetheless, this may occur when Home windows is about to replace robotically (relatively than scheduling an replace), and if it does, it seems to be the case that the 2 replace processes taking place concurrently (with a clear AMD driver set up, as famous) causes extreme havoc.

Chacos was left in a scenario the place as an alternative of Home windows booting, a Blue Display screen of Loss of life error got here up, then the pc rebooted, and the identical factor occurred once more, in a loop. Urgh…

AMD advised PC World: “We’ve got reproduced a difficulty that may happen in an especially small variety of cases if a PC replace happens through the set up of AMD Software program: Adrenalin Version, and we’re actively investigating.

“We advocate customers guarantee all system updates are utilized or paused earlier than putting in the motive force, and that the ‘Manufacturing unit Reset’ choice is unchecked through the AMD driver set up course of. We’re dedicated to resolve points as rapidly as doable and strongly encourage customers to submit points with AMD Software program: Adrenalin Version by way of the Bug Report Instrument.”

Evaluation: Higher secure than sorry

So, as AMD suggests, if you will replace your graphics driver, make sure you don’t go for that clear set up choice (‘Manufacturing unit Reset’) till AMD has cleared up this example. Additionally, ensure any Home windows driver updates are already utilized (or updates are paused) earlier than you go forward with putting in the AMD driver.

Following both of these guidelines ought to imply you’re going to be wonderful, however making certain each are noticed is clearly the most secure factor to do on this scenario. And warning positively appears to be the precise strategy right here, given what occurs to PCs that get hit by this explicit bug.

The way in which out of the boot failure loop, as Chacos factors out, is to get into Home windows restoration mode, however doing so apparently includes a difficult little bit of timing. It’s good to hit the PC’s energy button within the fleeting second between BIOS choices disappearing and the Home windows loading circle showing – and it took Chacos no fewer than 15 makes an attempt earlier than getting the timing proper. The message is to persevere, however once more, that is one other disagreeable side of this bug.

Whereas uncommon, given the gravity of this gremlin, hopefully AMD (and Microsoft) will likely be working to rapidly clear up this one. It’s not precisely clear the place the fault lies right here, however as Tom’s and PC World level out, this has been an issue for some time now – and there’s no approach Home windows ought to be kicking in an replace, when one other replace is already underway, as a result of clearly that’s a recipe for chaos.

Fingers crossed for a swift decision, then, and we wouldn’t blame of us for not taking the workaround introduced and easily holding off putting in the brand new AMD driver for some time till a full repair is carried out. As Chacos additionally observes, his PC was up to date to the most recent model of Home windows 10 earlier than going forward with the Adrenalin driver set up – it might have been the case that one thing else, just like the Sport Bar, simply occurred to run a conflicting replace.