AMD has confirmed that a GPU driver bug may alter BIOS settings for Ryzen CPUs. This follows an investigation by Igor Wallossek, who had learned that the new Adrenalin 22.3.1 driver with new Ryzen Master module could make changes in the BIOS without user consent, overriding users’ settings and profiles.
If certain CPU settings have been changed manually in the BIOS beforehand, the driver will first display a loading animation and then display a message that the automatic overclocking process has failed and that you should please restart so that the changes are applied. The GPU for which the profile was supposed to be loaded is set to default settings again and the settings saved as a profile can no longer be used.
Users who have undervolted or underclocked their CPUs are reportedly affected.
After the subsequent reboot, the GPU profile can be loaded successfully again, but if you had also clocked down your CPU for an optimal, individual undervolting, sporadic crashes occur with a bit of bad luck. The driver and the Ryzen Master module contained in it partially changed the values of the CPU configuration in the BIOS or overwrote its own settings.
CPU PBO and Precision Boost settings are reportedly being changed by the driver. Tom’s Hardware reached out to AMD, which confirmed there is an issue with the software.
We are aware of an issue in the AMD software suite that is adjusting certain AMD processor settings for some users. We are investigating the issue and we’ll share more information as soon as we’re able.
Radeon Software Slimmer can be used to disable the Ryzen Master module as a workaround. This is third-party software, so users may want to take additional caution.
Sources: Igor’s Lab (via Tom’s Hardware 1, 2)
Discussion (3 replies)
Join Discussion →"Bug" adjusts bios settings.
I usually white knight for AMD a bit more than I should, but the only thing I can think of that automatically adjusts BIOS settings without your consent are called viruses.
This has been reported for a while now, with no real confirmation from amd. I don't have the issue, but i know it can be reproduced. So amd will issue a fix soon I'm sure.
Yeah, from all the reading I did when prepping this it sounds like a side effect of a good intention with Ryzen Master module. They were intentionally trying to get everything under one roof, so to speak, for more seamless integration for users when they wanted to overclock things. It's just that they didn't expect Adrenalin to go all Star Trek Daystrom/M-5 on them. ;)