For a normal Radeon driver update, use the compatible package from AMD or your PC maker, install it, restart and check the result. You do not need to begin by removing every graphics driver. On a laptop, start with the manufacturer’s support page for the exact model. If the problem began after an update, preserve your route back before trying another package.

A successful installer is only halfway there. The useful question is whether the right driver stayed installed and your game, display or application now behaves as expected.

Choose your starting point

  • Desktop Radeon, routine update: identify the GPU, then use AMD Drivers and Support. Check the package’s supported hardware, Windows version and release notes.
  • Laptop or an all-in-one with customized graphics: check the computer maker’s package first. AMD’s laptop compatibility guidance recommends OEM drivers for the integrated and discrete GPUs. A generic AMD package may be an option, but it should be a deliberate choice with a recovery package available.
  • Unknown graphics hardware: identify it before downloading. A Ryzen processor name alone does not identify a separate Radeon card. Our Windows PC specifications guide shows where to look.
  • AMD Software will not open, or a new driver caused a problem: go to the symptom checks below. Repeated downloads are not a diagnosis.

This guide covers consumer Radeon graphics in Windows. Radeon PRO, Linux, managed work PCs and older products on separate driver branches need their own support route. A graphics driver and an AMD chipset driver are different packages.

Before you change anything: save a usable baseline

Right-click Start → Device Manager → Display adapters. Open the Radeon device’s Properties → Driver tab and record its name, driver version and date. If two graphics adapters appear, record both rather than guessing which one drives each display.

Press Win + R, enter winver and record the Windows version/build. Keep the installer or official download location for a known-working compatible driver, especially an OEM laptop package. Save your work, close games and graphics-heavy applications, connect a laptop to power, and let an already-running Windows update finish first.

Keep the two version labels separate. An AMD Software package number and the longer driver version shown by Windows need not look alike. Compare Windows driver versions in the same place before and after; a date alone is not enough to identify the change.

Do not combine this update with GPU tuning, a BIOS flash and game-setting changes. If something improves or breaks, you want to know which change caused it.

Download the package that fits your hardware

On AMD’s official page, use Search or Browse Drivers and Support by Product for a known model, or the Windows Auto-Detect and Install route on the computer you want to update. The product browser separates graphics, processors and chipsets: selecting a motherboard chipset is not the route to a discrete Radeon driver.

What you should see: a result matching your actual product and an operating-system section compatible with your Windows installation. If the product has an older support branch or your OS is absent, stop and follow that product’s support information; do not force a newer card’s package onto it.

AMD explains its auto-detection and package choices: Recommended packages emphasize certification and stability; Optional packages may add newer fixes or features. Read the release notes for a fix you need, supported products and known issues. A newer number alone does not promise more frames per second or solve every crash.

Download from AMD or the computer maker. Search ads, repackaged installers and paid “driver updater” utilities add no useful compatibility evidence.

Install normally, with the components you need

  1. Run the downloaded official installer. Check the publisher in the Windows permission prompt and let setup check compatibility. Review the license before continuing. If it reports unsupported hardware, investigate the match rather than bypassing the check.
  2. Review the installation choices. AMD’s illustrated installation guide documents Default, Minimal and Driver Only. Default includes the broader software features; Minimal keeps basic controls; Driver Only omits the AMD Software interface. Choose deliberately if capture or tuning controls matter to you. Additional optional software, if offered, is a separate choice.
  3. Leave Factory Reset off for a routine update. It is a removal/reinstallation option, not a necessary performance boost. AMD warns that using it prevents rollback to the previously installed driver. If you need a clean installation to address a diagnosed problem, read that warning and keep a compatible recovery installer first.
  4. Let installation finish. Brief display flicker can occur while the display driver changes. Wait for the completion screen and restart when requested. A persistently blank screen is not a successful completion state.

What you should see afterward: the desktop returns, Windows recognizes the expected Radeon device, and AMD Software opens if you installed a mode that includes it. With Driver Only, the missing AMD Software interface is expected.

Verify the update before calling it fixed

Use the same checks before and after. A quick verification can catch a wrong package or a driver that Windows replaced again.

  • Reopen Device Manager → Radeon → Properties → Driver. Record the installed version and check for a warning on the device.
  • Open AMD Software if you chose Default or Minimal. Check that it opens without a compatibility warning.
  • Check your normal resolution and refresh rate, each connected monitor, and sleep/wake behavior if that was relevant to the problem.
  • Repeat the task that prompted the update: the same game scene, video playback or application action. Keep settings unchanged. Record whether the original symptom returned.

Copy this record into a note, or use Save as PDF to keep the guide available during a restart:

PC/laptop model and GPU(s):
Windows version/build:
Problem and a repeatable way to trigger it:
Before: Windows driver version / date:
Downloaded package: source / package version:
Installation mode:
After restart: Windows driver version / date:
Monitors, refresh rate and original task checked:
Result / exact error message:
Known-working package or rollback available:

If the update does not work

Error 202 or 206: Windows is updating or needs a restart

Finish the pending Windows update or restart, then retry the compatible package. AMD lists these conditions in its installation guide. Starting several installer sessions will not clear a pending system update.

Error 205: Windows may have replaced the driver

Check the version now installed before retrying. AMD’s error 205 guidance addresses Windows reverting the display driver and provides a targeted device-installation-settings procedure. Follow that procedure only for this condition; it is not a reason to permanently disable Windows updates.

“AMD Software is not compatible” with the installed driver

This is different from deliberately choosing Driver Only. Compare the installed driver with the software package. AMD’s PA-300 page provides its official Software Compatibility Tool for this mismatch. If you use an OEM package, also check the PC maker’s matching software rather than mixing packages at random.

Error 173 or 182: detected hardware does not fit the package

Recheck the device name, product support branch and OS. The AMD installation guide distinguishes no detected AMD graphics hardware from unsupported hardware/configurations. Do not uninstall working drivers simply to persuade an incompatible installer to proceed.

A new crash or display problem appeared after updating

If the previous version worked, try the available Windows rollback route: Device Manager → Display adapters → Radeon → Properties → Driver → Roll Back Driver. Microsoft documents the procedure, including the need for administrator permission. Follow any restart prompt. If the button is unavailable, Windows cannot offer that rollback through this control; use your known-working compatible package or the OEM’s recovery guidance.

Cleanup is an escalation, not the first update step. For a persistent installation problem, AMD Cleanup Utility is AMD’s graphics/audio removal tool; it does not remove AMD chipset drivers. AMD recommends Safe Mode and requires a restart after cleanup. Read the current instructions and have the replacement package ready before using it. Do not add DDU as a routine extra step.

If the display stays unusable, both the new and known-working packages fail, or the PC is managed by an employer, stop repeating installs and use the computer maker’s support route. Keep your version record and exact error; it is more useful than “latest driver installed.”

Common questions

Must I uninstall the old driver before every update?

No. Begin with a normal compatible update. Removal, Factory Reset and cleanup tools belong to a specific recovery problem, with the recovery package and consequences understood first.

Should I update a working PC immediately whenever a driver appears?

Read why the release exists. A fix for your game or application may justify updating; an unrelated feature may not be urgent. Avoid replacing a stable setup immediately before work you cannot interrupt. Keep your Windows security-update policy separate from this graphics-package decision.

Does AMD Software being missing mean installation failed?

Not if you selected Driver Only. Check the device and driver in Windows. If you wanted the AMD interface, select a compatible package and an installation mode that includes it.

Will a driver update fix every low-FPS problem?

No. A driver cannot remove every CPU, memory, temperature or game-engine limit. Verify the specific symptom first; do not buy a new GPU or keep reinstalling drivers solely because an installer completed without an error.