Can't update AMD driver on Bootcamp

Absolutely I would be more than happy to share the process of what I do with you.

For M200 series, FirePro and M370X cards the process is somewhat more straightforward than for M300 series users as M300 cards use unique software device settings not found in official AMD drivers.

So anyway for the more straightforward process with the M200 series, FirePro and M370X cards you guys can try this out for your own cards if you enjoy tinkering with AMD's drivers. After downloading the latest driver from the AMD website and opening the .exe file which extracts the required files to Your PC -> AMD, the rest of what you need to do is as follows....

1) We need to make the installer actually be able to run in bootcamp with displaying an error, so we go into Config -> InstallManager.cfg and add the line 'EnableFalcon=true' as a separate line.

Most of the rest of the work now involves editing the .inf found in Packages - > Drivers - >WT6A_INF, normally starting with a 'C' (then an '0' for Windows 10 users e.g. 'C0308528').

2) Open this file up, and now we need to map your graphics card to the code. First, open up device manager then in the dropdown menu expand 'Display Adapters' and open the current AMD graphics adapter by double-clicking. Then in the window that open go to 'Details' and in the drop down menu select 'Hardware IDs'. Copy the first line into clipboard (for M295X it reads 'PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6938&SUBSYS_013A106B&REV_00'.

3) You will notice the 'DEV_6938' bit which identifies the card by its architecture number. Control-F the number (i.e. 6938) in notepad in the .inf file until you get to the first mapping which should look something like this -> '"%AMD6938.1%" = ati2mtag_Tonga, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6938&REV_00'. Replace the 'PCI' and onwards bit with your copied PCI line obtained from device manager. So in the case of the M295X it now looks like this -> '"%AMD6938.1%" = ati2mtag_Tonga, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6938&SUBSYS_013A106B&REV_00'. For the M390X it should end up looking something like this -> '"%AMD6821.3%" = ati2mtag_R577, PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_6821&SUBSYS_0149106B&REV_83'

4) OK so now we need to remove any code that AMD has added to stop individual cards of a particular brand from installing, including mac graphics cards. To do this, Control-F the first portion of the line on the right after the equals sign e.g. for the M295X it's 'ati2mtag_Tonga' and search until you get to a section called '[ati2mtag_(insertarchitecturehere)]' e.g. '[ati2mtag_Tonga]' or '[ati2mtag_577]' in the case of the Macbook Pro with M370X. At the bottom of this section you will see 'ExcludeID=PCI...' with a list of graphics cards the installer will refuse to install the driver to. You will see it also includes the mac cards. Delete all these 'ExcludeID' lines at the bottom. Now the driver will no longer come up with the 'No supported AMD graphics card detected' error.

5) For Windows 10 users, we need to delete the Anniversary edition section as it causes an unnecessary amount of issues without adding any further compatibility or stability (from my own testing) for the anniversary edition. To do this, Control-F 'Manufacturer' in the .inf file in notepad, which should take you to the '[Manufacturer]' section. You then need to delete 'NTamd64.10.0...14310,' which represents Windows 10 Anniversary edition, leaving all the other ones after it intact which represent Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 etc. Then, Control-F '[ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.10.0...14310]' and delete everything from that line onwards (including that initial line) to the end of the file, which you will see is an awful lot of code to delete but it is completely unnecessary even for Anniversary users as the standard W10 code works just fine too for them.

As I've said this process only works for the older cards, and I've noticed for FirePro users sometimes hard resets being reported using this process, but it is certainly stable for M200 series and M370X users. The process is the same across all versions of Windows, except for the removal of Anniversary code (see step 5) for Windows 10 as it is not needed.

For M300 users I strongly recommend you download my drivers instead of trying to get it working yourself @ bootcampdrivers.com

Run Apple Software Update from within Boot Camp. Yesterday (October 9th 2016) I had to run it three times before it eventually updated with a new version of the Graphics Drivers. I was previously using the AMD drivers from AMD directly for the FirePro GPUs on my Mac from their web site. No AMD / Windows updates would take for the reason you state as the updates were looking for Windows versions of the AMD card not the Apple variant. I assume this new update is to correct that. After update all is well and on my new Mac Pro Catalyst is working fine still (using both GOUs) and I see >60 f.p.s. in GTA V running full screen at 2540 x 1440.

ejcii wrote:

Please be informed that the latest AMD drivers are not intended for use on AMD products running in Apple Boot Camp platforms. Users of these platforms should contact their manufacturer for driver support, please refer the release notes of the driver where this statement has been mentioned.

This is what I expected from AMD. They are very clear. They will not support Apple+AMD GPUs.

There are several people that have modified INF files to 'force' WHQL drivers on BC/Windows. Some GPUs may work, but the performance is unpredictable and unsupported. I have not seen Apple refuse service yet, but they may do so in the future. All Game Manufacturers must should explicitly identify minimum software versions and specific GPUs which they can support.

If you do this to a car, you void your manufacturers warranty when you substitute modified parts.

BC6 is Bootcamp 6 drivers which support W10. If Apple Software Update does not provide an update, you should stay with the current version.

The AMD GPUs in Macs are not the same as standard PC AMD GPUs. They are Apple modified versions in most cases. You can force the W10 versions, by modifying .inf files, but it can lead to worse behavior.

Are there specific issues that you are trying to resolve, other than just a number in the version field?

skorolev wrote:

fresh install windows in mac os Boot Camp Assistant, after ferst reboot - disable internet, after finish install Windows, error 43.

There are significant differences between the FirePro and the Radeons. Remove Windows, re-install and on the screen before you choose the Windows partition, disconnect all network connections physically. Do not use Wireless networks. Test the Mac as standalone, create a System Restore point. There is an Apple Update for the AMD 2xx/3xx which does fix some crashing issues. Does the AMD driver recover after error 43?

Not true they do support them, specifically they support the Macs with AMD GPUs with links on their web site. I updated my Windows boot drive from there and everything works great (see above post). I think the problem is,mas all we Mac users know, Windows puts out stupid and incorrect error messages all the time and people need to just switch off the auto update for AMD drivers when running on a Mac in Windows as it has no idea you are running on a Mac and therefore very specific hardware. Just check the AMD Mac support page once in a while for the updates that will work on a Mac.

I checked and AMD are same as latest Apple software update within Windows so easiest way is to go here (see link at end) from within Windows, make sure you select correct Mac. The Crimson drivers for my new 6 Core Mac Pro work great. I know genuine Windows machines have later versions but remember Apple's GPUs are not recognized by a Windows side up[date correctly without hacking so this is the latest we can get but I have had no issues and can run Catalyst fine. http://support.amd.com/en-us/download/desktop/bootcamp

Digitalclips wrote:

I know genuine Windows machines have later versions but remember Apple's GPUs are not recognized by a Windows side update correctly without hacking so this is the latest we can get but I have had no issues and can run Catalyst fine.

You are running the Apple-certified versions which are also provided by BC Assistant. The challenge for Windows users is that they are 'chasing' the latest WHQL versions, which may or may not be different. Gaming is an area where this 'chase' is almost an 'obsession'. 😉

I have heard of this happening for a small number of users. Using msiafterburner and downclocking the chip slightly should solve that issue (and enabling ulps though the computer wont shutdown if you do that) . I modify the drivers that amd issue so that they work on the equivalent mac cards. In the installer there is already the compatibility for the pc equivalent cards.

Can you install the Apple BC version and disable Windows Updates for this specific driver?

restore disk to a single volume, download windows 10 iso 64x on http://microsoft.com/ after downloading windows support software BCa disconnect all network, fresh install windows 10 - error 43, windows stopped this device.

Can you post the versions of the drivers that you currently have running?

fresh install windows in mac os Boot Camp Assistant, after ferst reboot - disable internet, after finish install Windows, error 43.

So long as you do not have the M390 or M290X then I make unofficial bootcamp-friendly drivers in my free time so no need to wait around hoping for a miracle either from Apple or AMD.