AMD Catalyst 14.9.1 Beta Driver for Windows Available Now

Warsam71

Senior member
Jul 29, 2013
287
0
0
Hello everyone,

Thanks to your cooperation, we’ve resolved the random crashes (or hangs), or the intermittent BSOD on reboot issues after installing Catalyst 14.9 Driver.

These issues were not encountered by everyone; and thanks to your help, we were able to resolve the problems in seven days. We truly appreciate your patience and your willingness to help.

Please click here to download Catalyst 14.9.1 Beta Driver and use Issue Reporting Formhttp://forums.anandtech.com/www.amd.com/report to report any issues or bugs. Also, please make sure to read the Feature Highlights and Known Issues sections to learn more about this version of the driver.

Note you can stay with Catalyst 14.9 Driver (WHQL) if you are not affected by any of the issues resolved with this version of the driver.
 
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psolord

Golden Member
Sep 16, 2009
1,875
1,184
136
Hello,

thanks for the news.

I copy paste from the previous thread


Installing 14.9.1 over the 14.9 resulting in my system freezing after the 6th blanking of the screen (7950 crossfire on P67).

Rebooted, tried again, got a 0x0000003b error (BSOD while installing).

Tried DDU, system froze again after the 6th blanking of the screen.

I re-installed a couple more times and the installation succeeded with only one error regarding hdmi audio but still everything seems to work fine now.

This driver is funny.



The good thing is that I played one hour of Alien Isolation and it played fine.
 

Z15CAM

Platinum Member
Nov 20, 2010
2,184
64
91
www.flickr.com
This is the method I use to Re-Install AMD GPU Drivers.
Hope it helps someone.
------------------------------------------------------

[How to Use DDU].TXT

Extract DDUv13400-[Guru3D.com].exe or latest version to a TEMP folder C: \TEMP and make a Shortcut to Desktop of the EXE.

Copy the New AMD GPU Driver to your Desktop.

Disconnect from Internet.

Ensure 100% DPI.

IMPORTANT: DISABLE X-Fire. This is to keep the GPU BIOS state in Sync with the Enabling of X-Fire.
If it don't react properly and you have a Yellow sign on one of the AMD GPU's in Device Mgr
you can always Shut Down - Shut off the PSU and wait until the MB Powers off and ReBoot
to acquire the proper Sync to load the driver properly and Enable X-Fire.

Disable everything in StartUpMgr except Desktop INI's.

Log Off/On

Use Control Panel CCC Express Uninstall.

REBOOT.

REBOOT into SafeMode "F8*.

Run DDU with Adm Rights to remove all traces of old driver.
Select Graphic Driver as AMD from Drop Down Menu.
Check Remove C: \AMD.
Click Clear and Restart.
Then you reboot,

make sure you are disconnected from the internet
otherwise your machine may try to automatically install MS' back-up drivers.

On ReBoot the System will complain Device Dvr Not installed and request another ReBoot - So REBOOT.

DELETE all AMD and ATi Folders in C: \Programs Files & Common Files
Program Files (86) & Common Files
USER\AppData\/Local and Roaming
ETC...

Do NOT Edit Registry to Delete instances of AMD & ATi entry's as DDU has DONE IT SAFELY.

While still disconnected from Internet,install new driver with Adm Rights.
Select Custom and UnCheck Gaming Evolved App.
Click FINISH - Do Not check allow Web Content.

When the new driver is fully installed, REBOOT as requested.

Be patient until AMD CCC window pops up which Enables X-Fire by clicking "Go" button.

Reopen CCC.
UnCheck allow Web contend and UnCheck Show this page.
Browse to Performance / Crossfire Tab to ensure X-Fire is Enabled.
Leave Page Open and Close CCC.
CCC should now always open on this Page.

Check Device Mgr to see if both 290X's are present and all 3 High Definition Audio Devices are installed correctly (MB Audio or Card and the 2 AMD Hi-Def Audio Devices).

ENABLE Apps in StartUpMgr and change DPI to 113% or 125% (I Use this DPI as I'm 1/2 blind) - Log Off/On.

Reconnect to the internet, Edit START Menu, Clean DeskTop and DDU App in C: \TEMP.

REBOOT and make a Registry BackUp.

NOTE: If your System freezes due to a bad OC when running a Unigine Bench, it's best to shut off the PSU and pull the plug and wait for the MB to Power Down. This will ensure both your GPU's BIOS's reset and the X-Fire Enabled driver load in Sync.

This is particularly usefull if you ever get notice that NO AMD Drivers are installed on a ReBoot.

------------------

In regards to this 14.9.1b driver there is with out a doubt something strange the way this driver responds
to any configuration of the VDDC off-set with an OC'g program such as TRIXX that can land you into a quagmire with X-Fire - Can't say about a Single Card though.
 
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SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,001
126
Anyone know if these beta drivers will work on Vista? Last Vista release was 13.12!


What card do you have? I went to amd.com, I chose Vista 64 and a 7970 as my card, it gave me 14.9 as the download. I'd give it a try, not sure why 14.9 would work on Vista 64 for a 7970 but not an R9 280 card. R9 290 cards (and others) are GCN 1.1, so it may be different. But odd to me that an R9 280X doesn't get the same drivers as a 7970.
 

jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
11,679
1,944
126
Hope to have better luck with these. Glad they made a quick turnaround when the problem was discovered.
 

Tarvaln

Senior member
Apr 28, 2004
310
2
81
I unfortunately have to report that I'm having the same issues with the 14.9.1 beta drivers as the 14.9 drivers.

When I'm in crossfire any game I run either DX or Mantle will hard freeze my PC.

Running AMD Evolved sometimes also freezes my PC.

In single GPU mode everything runs fine.

Specs in sig.
 

Brekyrself

Senior member
Sep 29, 2008
330
0
71
www.swapwheels.com
What card do you have? I went to amd.com, I chose Vista 64 and a 7970 as my card, it gave me 14.9 as the download. I'd give it a try, not sure why 14.9 would work on Vista 64 for a 7970 but not an R9 280 card. R9 290 cards (and others) are GCN 1.1, so it may be different. But odd to me that an R9 280X doesn't get the same drivers as a 7970.

7950's.

No matter what direction I go on their site it shows only 13.12 and all the 14.x drivers show only win7/8 compatibility.

You can either hover over drivers and support selecting vista 64 or I even drill down in their boxes and both give 13.12. No matter what card I select for Vista, 13.12 is the only option.
 

Phynaz

Lifer
Mar 13, 2006
10,140
819
126
And the broken drivers are still up as the latest general release.

That's messed up.
 

Warsam71

Senior member
Jul 29, 2013
287
0
0
And the broken drivers are still up as the latest general release.

That's messed up.

Hello Phynaz (everyone),

We left Catalyst 14.9 Driver up on our site since Catalyst 14.9.1 Beta is for customers who had experienced random crashes or BSODs after installing 14.9.
 

Phynaz

Lifer
Mar 13, 2006
10,140
819
126
Hello Phynaz (everyone),

We left Catalyst 14.9 Driver up on our site since Catalyst 14.9.1 Beta is for customers who had experienced random crashes or BSODs after installing 14.9.

Your millions of customers are still exposed to the random crashes and BSODs.

That's bad business.

Sounds like AMD is more concerned with saying "Look, we have new WHQL drivers!" than with the customer experience with AMD products. How much trouble is AMD causing their casual (general public) customers by distributing software to them that has severe known defects.
 
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SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,001
126
7950's.

No matter what direction I go on their site it shows only 13.12 and all the 14.x drivers show only win7/8 compatibility.

You can either hover over drivers and support selecting vista 64 or I even drill down in their boxes and both give 13.12. No matter what card I select for Vista, 13.12 is the only option.


I just tried it, you're right. I swear it was going to 14.9 yesterday.
 

Black Octagon

Golden Member
Dec 10, 2012
1,410
2
81
Just tried these Betas. I can honestly say that they are the first Catalyst drivers to give me problems since the 7970 first came out (and I've installed nearly all of them: betas, WHQLs, you name it).

What I experienced was the monitor not detecting any graphics input source when windows starts. Uninstalled from safe mode and reverted to 14.9 WHQL and now am back on the horse.

Weird, given that this beta seems largely designed to fix stability issues with the WHQL
 

UaVaj

Golden Member
Nov 16, 2012
1,546
0
76
amd is always broke - one way or another.

my quad 290x cannot play bf4 in eyefinity (5760x1080) without direct x low memory crash. oddly single display (1920x1080) works fine.

any fix for this ?
 

GrumpyMan

Diamond Member
May 14, 2001
5,778
262
136
First time I've had problems with Catalyst Control Center crashing, even after installing the patch and having cleaned out all drivers to the VGA level. Granted I have an older card, 6950, but this is the first time this has ever happened.....booooo.
 

psolord

Golden Member
Sep 16, 2009
1,875
1,184
136
I noticed something new with this driver.

I enabled crossfire and tried running Ryse Son of Rome, just to check if crossfire was working. Well it was not, which is ok, since the game is very new, but the real fun started when I tried to disable crossfire. I don't want the second card firing up when not needed.

In my astonishment I found out the system was freezing when I tried to disable it. I had to try three times and it froze in all of them. Only the fourth I was lucky and the system disabled crossfire successfully.

To be fair this is a 2.5 years old Win7 X64 I am running and maybe the system needs a format. But still, the problems started after the 14.9. It cannot be such a coincidence.
 

jackstar7

Lifer
Jun 26, 2009
11,679
1,944
126
Feel like I need to report that this broke my machine so thoroughly that I couldn't even see my bios screen properly until I physically took out my gfx cards and had the display use my mobo connection.

Thankfully I still had 14.4 around which I knew was sound.

And I realized what I would like from a driver (aside from working properly), is that I'd like my card to be able to run multiple monitors without needing to keep VRAM maxed. If they can figure out a low power state that allows for multi-monitor connections, I will get back aboard this crazy train. In the meantime, I'm thinking it might be easier to ditch these and grab a 980 for my main and a 750 or something for my other monitor, since I know nV doesn't have its multi-monitor support working the way I'd prefer either.
 

MisterLilBig

Senior member
Apr 15, 2014
291
0
76
14.9 has been freezing my computer when starting to watch videos online, no matter if its HTML5 based or Flash based, I use Firefox and a R7 260X on Win8.1. Also, I'm losing my HDMI signal if I turn the monitor off and leave the PC on.

Had this same issues with all the Beta drivers after 14.4 WHQL, meaning, 14.4 WHQL was working fine for me.

I'll get this 14.9.1 driver for awhile and see how it goes.
 

Z15CAM

Platinum Member
Nov 20, 2010
2,184
64
91
www.flickr.com
I run X-Fire 290X's OEM Elpida's at 1105x1500x+0.150x50% through TRIXX 24/7 with XSPC RAZOR WB's through a 280x60x140 Coolgate rad with Noctua's in Push/Pull, 2 series PMB Pumps using a Koolance RP 401X2 optic bay reservoir. MY Fractal Midi ARC2 Fan Controller is pegged at 7v (QUIET) with GPU temps as low as 32C at idle and never exceeding 52C when Benching. I run a QNIX 2510 2560x1440 Res Samsung PLS display thru a very thick Dvi-D cable at 60 to 120Hz - Believe me when I say my Display Screen is FAST.

JackStar7 - Please read my DDU post - It might help you ;o)

This AMD 14.9.1b Dvr works for me but I've issues with TRIXX controlling the VDDC voltages when you instruct a CHANGE of Voltage for the app to do it. Seems the App will not reduce Voltage when you apply it in a session - App or Driver Issue? I'm working on this and will attempt to report back and will report to AMD Driver Personal. - Whatever.
 
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Techhog

Platinum Member
Sep 11, 2013
2,834
2
26
Feel like I need to report that this broke my machine so thoroughly that I couldn't even see my bios screen properly until I physically took out my gfx cards and had the display use my mobo connection.

Thankfully I still had 14.4 around which I knew was sound.

And I realized what I would like from a driver (aside from working properly), is that I'd like my card to be able to run multiple monitors without needing to keep VRAM maxed. If they can figure out a low power state that allows for multi-monitor connections, I will get back aboard this crazy train. In the meantime, I'm thinking it might be easier to ditch these and grab a 980 for my main and a 750 or something for my other monitor, since I know nV doesn't have its multi-monitor support working the way I'd prefer either.

... Or you could use the GPU just sitting there on your CPU for the second monitor.
 

Pariah

Elite Member
Apr 16, 2000
7,357
20
81
... Or you could use the GPU just sitting there on your CPU for the second monitor.

You don't purchase a 7990 like the user you quoted did to run a second monitor with integrated graphics. The 14.9 drivers fubar'd my multi-monitor setup. Every time my monitors shut themselves off, when I go to wake them up, my primary monitor will not detect a video signal, and my second monitor becomes the primary. The only way to fix it is to reboot the system. AMD needs to fix this immediately. These cards have been out way too long to be introducing major problems like these with a new WHQL driver release. It's been months since the last one. I guess the increased development time wasn't because of any sort of testing.
 

MisterLilBig

Senior member
Apr 15, 2014
291
0
76
I did also experience a quick 2-3 second black screen on the 14.9 WHQL. I have never seen that before.