AMD’s new Radeon GPU driver could help fix black screens and other nasty bugs

(Image credit: Future)

AMD has released a new graphics driver which makes it much easier for GPU owners to report a bug. This should mean an increased level of feedback comes through, and in turn that AMD might be better able to squash any gremlins in the works, such as the by now infamous black screen bugs of recent times.

AMD’s Radeon Adrenalin 2020 20.7.1 driver adds support for Disintegration (a recent released shooter), but the main change is the addition of the new bug report tool.

The company explains: “The AMD Bug Report Tool is a new and easy way to report issues directly to us. Simply fill in the form and send the report in. The tool will automatically capture system details for you, giving our development teams the necessary information to identify and resolve issues in future software releases.”

Previously, it was possible to report bugs of course, but it was a more convoluted process involving the user entering some system details manually. Now, as AMD notes, everything is captured automatically by said tool, making it much easier to file that bug report.

AMD notes: “The tool has been designed to automatically capture necessary system hardware and software configurations; all you have to do is provide a simple description of your problem along with any media attachment you may wish to include, such as an image, video or link that is related to your issue.”

Black screens begone?

As we mentioned at the outset, with more feedback coming through, AMD should be in a better position to fix things, which is definitely good news seeing as in recent times, there has been a fair bit of bad press about some of the serious errors impacting AMD’s graphics cards (persistent black screen bugs, and stuttering issues in particular).

With any luck, this is a step towards banishing these kind of bugbears for good. In the known issues highlighted with the new driver, AMD specifically encourages gamers to make use of this new functionality for reporting black screen problems.

The company says: “AMD will continue to monitor and investigate any new reports of black screen or system hang issues during extended periods of gameplay closely. Users are encouraged to use the new Bug Reporting Tool for any issues they may encounter.”

Speaking of bugs, as well as known issues, there are a lot of fixes with v20.7.1, including solutions for problems with custom tuning profiles failing to be correctly applied, or resetting to default.

Via Videocardz

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).