AMD fixes bug that freezes up Windows 11 PCs – but there’s still bad news
AMD has fixed a nasty bug in Windows 11 (and 10) that causes all sorts of unpredictable issues, including the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), the cure for which is part of the latest graphics driver.
That would be the Adrenalin version 23.3.1 driver, which like AMD notes (opens in new tab) fixes a bug causing “intermittent driver timeout, system freeze, or BSOD” with “select displays”.
However, the solution is currently only for RDNA 3 GPUs (the RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT). If Newwin (opens in new tab) points out that this issue also affects previous generation AMD video cards (such as the RX 6000 series), and because only RX 7000 cards are mentioned in the driver release notes, the fix should be for older GPUs presumably to come.
Meanwhile, there is a workaround of sorts for those still encountering this bug. Theoretically, the problem is in the Multi-plane Overlay (MPO), which is part of the Windows Display Driver Module (v1.3), and Neowin explains that the problem has been around since January 2023.
The reason for that strong suspicion is that if you disable MPO – unfortunately that requires a registry tweak, which is not for the faint hearted – the problem seems to fix itself (at least in some reported cases).
Analysis: MPO needs serious attention?
One thing to note is that while this bug sounds seriously nasty – and it certainly can be, given the effects listed – at least its worst manifestations, namely those full lockups and BSODs, are relatively rare. (Timeouts are more likely, which are annoying, but not nearly as much of a blow).
Although in an ideal world you don’t want any chance of a hard crash. Since Windows 10, system failures or blue screens have (fortunately) become much rarer. Gone are the days when complete crash and burns were a relatively common experience for Windows users.
When AMD smooths things over for those who don’t own an advanced RDNA 3 graphics card, time will tell. Hopefully, the folks in that boat won’t have to wait long, since the workaround isn’t really for those who aren’t confident enough in PCs to go to the registry and do some tinkering. (One wrong step in the registry can cause very bad things to happen to your PC, so always keep that in mind).
On a broader level, MPO – a feature designed to take some of the load off the GPU and CPU – has had a rather rough time and has been labeled the cause of a host of other bugs and display-related quirks. It seems that some part of Windows needs an overhaul, in short, otherwise we could find more strange bugs, like the one that AMD has (partially) eradicated and manifests itself later.
As a final note, if you are updating to AMD’s driver version 23.3.1, be very careful in the process, as in certain circumstances a rare but really serious problem can occur with the installation, namely your PC getting bricked.