Can't update AMD driver on Bootcamp

Hi guys,


I have been experiencing a really annoying problem for a really long time now. I have been trying to update my AMD graphics card driver in Bootcamp for months now, only to receive the same error over and over again. See the screenshot below:

User uploaded file


Specs:

MacBook Pro Retina 15" - Late 2015

AMD Radeon R9 M370X

Running Windows 10 Pro (64 bit version) - installing the latest updates as I write this, but no previous update has resolved this issue


Ps: Bootcamp is also up to date, I have ran the Apple Update software several times and the only thing that isn't installed is iTunes and iCloud Photos, which I don't see how those could resolve a graphics card driver issue.


I hope someone has the answer to this, I would really appreciate some help!

Cheers,

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Jul 30, 2016 6:06 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 8, 2016 10:35 AM

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

91 replies

Oct 29, 2016 3:56 PM in response to ejcii

So I've been alright running the old version of the AMD driver for now.


But today I bought and downloaded Battlefield 1 and it gives me the following error:

User uploaded file


I am of course running the latest version that is Apple approved or whatever.. Is there seriously nothing to do about this? Did I just waste my money on a game my laptop should be able to run just fine but won't work because AMD and Apple are being childish brats? 😕

Oct 30, 2016 4:16 AM in response to Loner T

I have never had an issue running the following games before and thus I want to contact EA last about this issue:

Battlefield 3 and 4

Battlefront

DayZ

Dota 2

Heroes of Storm


I have submitted a feedback form to Apple and just sent a message to AMD support. If all that fails I will contact EA, but I am not expecting much from them other than them offering me a refund as driver support for my device has nothing to do with them.

Oct 30, 2016 6:41 AM in response to ejcii

ejcii wrote:



If all that fails I will contact EA, but I am not expecting much from them other than them offering me a refund as driver support for my device has nothing to do with them.

EA software is the one asking for the 16.x drivers, so the question should also be posed to EA on why their software insists on a specific version, and do they support/certify their game on Bootcamp/Windows. It would be prudent for them to consider gamers on such a combination as a revenue stream.


I have very rarely seen Apple provide GPU updates which are very different from the baseline BC drivers. Apple Software Update does provide one. If Apple plans to retire BC drivers and use Windows Update/Apple Software Update, older Macs have quite a few challenges ahead of them when running Windows.

Nov 3, 2016 2:31 PM in response to ejcii

What games are not working with the latest AMD drivers made for Macs that you have found? I have not had a problem but I only play about five, all via Steam under Windows 10. What AMD say is totally correct of course and I do wish they updated their drivers for Macs more often, that said, their web site does have a link for the latest available for various Mac models and using the one for mine, a new Mac Pro, it supports catalyst for dual GPUs and Direct X 11. GTA V runs at plus 60 fps on a 2560 x 1440 Mac 27" screen. Not many PCs can do that!

Nov 3, 2016 2:43 PM in response to Digitalclips

Digitalclips wrote:


Not true they do support them, specifically they support the Macs with AMD GPUs with links on their web site.

I do not want to quote my source, but AMD hosts the Apple drivers on their [AMD's] website for convenience. They should match the versions that BC Assistant provides under the Action menu. If you see any differences, it would be good to see examples. The last time I checked, they were identical drivers.

Nov 4, 2016 8:58 AM in response to Loner T

It's a real bummer that the new (at this point version 16.something) drivers take so long to roll out. I'm not sure if you're an Apple admin but I'm kind of asking this question like you are because you seem up on it. I get that Apple has their own thing going on but it seems like they should be able to keep their software up to date so people can play new games like battlefield 1 on a boot camp Mac. (Perhaps I'm naive for thinking gaming on an iMac would work out for me) I did a little research on how long it takes to get apps approved and it seems like a pretty quick turnaround time. I'm looking forward to finally being able to play BF1 on my big beautiful retina screen but this issue hurts my enthusiasm for iMac computers.

Nov 4, 2016 9:14 AM in response to Teddy V

The transition from BC Assistant downloads to Apple Software Update is a part of getting the updates to Macs quicker. The certification cycle is an independent process.


If I was working for EA, instead of insisting on the latest version, I would provide a list of supported versions, that the game can work with. For BF1 specifically, can you ask EA support if they can support the 15.x version(s)?


I am watching this EA BF discussion.

Dec 11, 2016 9:08 AM in response to matd2100

The question is are you modifying the divers or simply fooling a driver written for a different card to think it's driving the card it was intended for? Every modified driver I have tried, going back to Omega drivers and the latest Crimosn drivers, have caused my new Mac Pro with D500s to heat up drastically and fan to go into near apoplexy. The v6 Boot Camp AMD drivers written for the D500 allow them to run cool and give full access to Catalyst. GTAV runs at 2560 x 1440 at 60 f.p.s.. I can run Watch Dog 2 at that resolution at 30 f.p.s. So frankly I for one will stick with a cool Mac Pro and high frame rates rather than chase illusory gains and risk destroying my Mac. That's not to say I don't want Apple and AMD to work harder at keeping the Boot Camp drivers up to date.

Dec 11, 2016 10:19 AM in response to matd2100

Sorry, was only referring to my experience with dual GPUs on a new Mac Pro 6 core as illusory, I got no gain in f.p.s. on any game I tried and as I mentioned my Mac went into melt down mode. That said I get pretty amazing results from Boot Camp AMD v6 drivers, which I seem to recall are recognized by AMDs regular offers to update (which as we know they can't) as 15.3.


What results have you found on a new Mac Pro? I am running Windows Anniversary via an external SSD over USB3 with Boot Camp drivers installed and updated to the max.


I am driving two 27" Apple LCDs over Thunderbolt both of which are working fine in Windows 10.

Dec 11, 2016 10:29 AM in response to Digitalclips

So i think there is likely two reasons why the fans in the d500 mac pro spin up constantly.


1) the d500s are fairly underpowered even compared to d700 so to do even more basic tasks such as powering multiple displays does tax the chip more which ultimately generates more heat


2) the apple official drivers deliberately underclock all the cards to make them more heat efficient/less powerful. The modified drivers do not do this - they are clocked to standard amd specification for the card. This means, especially when disabling ulps, that it is always generating more heat due to higher clock speed which should translate into better performance but higher fan speeds too.

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Can't update AMD driver on Bootcamp

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