(Don’t use Startup Repair though! Use a restore point! Just use this process to get you to the menu with both options.)īut how did this happen, and how can you prevent it from happening to you?
You should also trying the usual arcane method for summoning the Windows recovery tool, found in the “Use the Startup Repair function” section here. If you’ve suffered from the recent Adrenalin drivers corrupting your Windows install, try this process to hopefully get back on your feet. I selected a restore point from mid-February, loaded it up, and after two agonizingly frustrating days, my test rig was back in action. I went into the advanced options’ troubleshooting menu and selected System Restore, since Startup Repair hosed my PC even worse before. Windows should automatically have created one just before installing the new GPU drivers.Īfter Windows did its thing for a bit, I eventually wound up in the Windows recovery tools menu, able to restart my PC or select advanced options. You want to select the System Restore option and select a restore point from prior to the Windows corruption. Eventually, I managed to hit the power button in the split second between the BIOS options disappearing and the Windows circle appearing, and that managed to kickstart an automatic recovery attempt. Hitting it once the spinning “Windows thinking” icon appeared kept the PC on, but did nothing-my system simply black-screened again. Hitting the power button while the BIOS keypress options were up simply turned off my PC immediately. I’m not sure what caused it to finally catch, but timing seemed to play a part in it. I was told to keep it up, that it would work eventually. Swapping GPUs, trying new monitors, yanking the display cable out at different times, clearing the CMOS, and ensuring UEFI was selected instead of CSM in the BIOS (it was!) all proved fruitless.īut this morning, AMD’s team got back to me with another suggestion: When the BIOS splash screen is up right after turning on the PC, slam the power button to try to coax Windows into forcing an automatic recovery attempt. I could’ve simply slapped in a new SSD with a clean Windows install, but we spent two days going through various troubleshooting fixes while AMD engineers tried reproducing and diagnosing the problem. How to fix Radeon drivers breaking your Windows install In this case, my high-profile headaches managed to help AMD probe the core issue, so I can provide troubleshooting steps that worked for me and happily report that a permanent fix is being investigated. Obviously, being the executive editor of PCWorld may fast-track me for a quick response (though again, AMD representatives are very responsive to driver feedback on social media). I tweeted about my woes and an AMD representative emailed me within minutes. It is a deeply frustrating experience, and one that would be disastrous for a standard PC gamer. Googling the issue surfaced this WCCFTech article from mid-February along with plenty of other coverage, citing numerous user reports of Adrenalin 23.2.1 destroying their Windows installs. Backup your data! #AMD #Driver - CapFrameX February 15, 2023 In desperation I tried replacing the Radeon RX 7900 XT with the RTX 4070 Ti and an Intel Arc A750-GPUs I’ve tested in the past two weeks, that worked reliably-but to no avail.īe careful when you install the latest Adrenalin 23.2.1. My Windows install was hosed so hard that the BSOD crashes didn’t even occur anymore, and I had no chance to try standard Windows troubleshooting efforts. Now, whenever I tried to boot the computer, I saw the little “Windows thinking about it” circle spinning after the BIOS screen for a brief moment, then a return to the infinite blackness. When it was done, the screen went dark and completely unresponsive (while still powered on). Instead of correcting the issue, selecting Startup Repair made it even worse. This time, after two BSOD > reboot cycles, Windows attempted to automatically repair the system after the BIOS splash screen. I yanked out the custom Radeon RX 7900 XT I need to test and replaced it with AMD’s reference Radeon RX 7900 XT. I didn’t have time to troubleshoot it so I powered down the system and tried again the next day. INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE /3u9oQ5f0Kc- Tridashie November 25, 2019 How can I enter safe mode before booting in Windows 10? AFAIK You can do that in Windows 7.