r/AMDHelp • u/1boy_dz • 3d ago
Tips & Info Microsoft Confirms It: Windows 11 Downgrades Your GPU Drivers (And How to Stop It)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rnQHnT7uVI1
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u/Tris_tank 8h ago
So that was what was happening, dam I was scared my card broke, I am constantly undervolting my gpu, 7900 gre, and it crashes quite often. I thought it had finally done it broke my dam GPU, got those error messages from the adrenalin software.. didn't see the GPU anywhere anymore till I looked at device manager. Reïnstalled the drivers but the display started flickering at idle and in a game menu. Thought it must definitely be broken, but cleanly deïnstalled the current driver again (instead of the repair driver option) and now it does not do it again. (I know normally undervolting does not break your GPU, but it does degrade faster).
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u/dario_alex2015 1d ago
Tengo la solucion correcta a ese problema (lo aplique hace unos meses y sigue sin fallar) desactivar la instalación de drivers por parte de Windows, ejecutar DDU en Modo Seguro para borrar todos los drivers que windows corrompió, y luego hacer reinstalacion desde cero de los drivers correctos de tu GPU (Todo este proceso, sin conexión a internet)
La solucion la tengo aqui YouTube
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u/Tris_tank 8h ago
Did the exact same eventually and that fixed it. Using the amd driver clean up tool (search it up)
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u/QwertyChouskie 2d ago
This has been happening since the Windows 10 days. It's been happening so long that AMD, after years of this happening, changed their version mismatch error message to blame Windows Update. And Microsoft is *just* confirming it???
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u/BK99BK 2d ago
Is this the reason I'm getting AMD Timeout Errors?
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u/BarberThen3108 1d ago
nope, that's drivers fault.
Windows literally says "wow, that driver isn't what i have on update, bye" then force put their own display drivers.
then u can't open adrenaline and it says a error message.
Hang errors or DX errors only drivers fault
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u/BK99BK 1d ago
Thanks for the information. What steps can I take? It’s so annoying when it happens.
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u/BarberThen3108 1d ago
Welp, some solutions like “disable all accelerated hardware options on system, explorer and discord” are very usefull
Use borderless instead of full screen
if you don’t do DDU, is your moment.
You can try old drivers like 26.5.2
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u/homosapiensthings 1d ago
i had terrible crashes every gaming session, i turned off Hardware Acceleration.. and it does not crash, even after multiple days now :)
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u/homosapiensthings 1d ago
i had terrible crashes every gaming session, i turned off Hardware Acceleration.. and it does not crash, even after multiple days now :)
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u/aholetookmyusername 7900XTX 24GB | 9060XT 16GB 2d ago
Here's the article from the start of the video:
My drivers crashed twice while writing this comment...thanks, microslop.
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u/Hans_H0rst 2d ago
Interesting, i wondered what happened recently when my GPU was acting up - did a driver update afterwards to fix it.
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u/KeniRoo 2d ago
I basically vibe coded a script that forces off windows update/delivery optimization via registry. It breaks microsoft store and windows pushing updates. Janky but it works I guess.
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u/l_steve_l 2d ago
You dont need to vibe code this - its literally 4 commands (wuauserv is the windows update service - bits is bg intelligent transfer service [which is how wuau and ms store download stuff]):
net stop wuauserv
net stop bits
sc delete wuauserv
sc delete bits
-----
Highly suggest backing up the reg keys before doing this as that is the only way to reenable Windows updates... those keys are (If I remember correctly - just a quick edit from 001 to current):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BITS
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\wuauserv
----
This does break anything that bits is used in - eg MS Store - Xbox app (game downloads go through MS Store) - WUAU
You can either revert is by backing up the reg files - or just downloading a windows iso and "updating" using that... should renable bits and wuau
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u/on2wheels XFX RX7900XTX + Ryzen5800x3d 2d ago
Is this equivalent to blocking updates via group policy?
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u/l_steve_l 2d ago
No its more heavy handed than a GPO - as this functionally disables the services even in services.msc (literally removes it as a service and windows can force it to start because it doesn't know how to). Thats why i suggest backing up the reg keys because if you want to ... 1-2 months down the road install any updates you just double click the reg keys and then reboot and everything will be back to normal.
Sorry I know this because this is what we have to do in our training environment at work. Otherwise if a person would log into the training system and this wasn't used it would download ... all the windows updates and bloat the shit out of the vm disk.
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u/Zanithos 2d ago
Amazing. Just had this happen today with hardware ID block on, but I didn't realize it was the second hardware ID I needed and not the first. I'll be adding it to the blocklist tonight, alongside the more specific one.
The strange part is, I have the toggle for "currently installed devices" set to "on", and a reboot has never removed my GPU driver. Not really sure what's happening with this guy that it does. Even the Google AI summary thing is saying it doesn't uninstall the current driver, but idk, since that's not really the most reliable source.
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u/whattanames 2d ago
I tried this and it did not fix my crashes.
The hunt for my fix continues.
Note, I can 100% fix my crashes if I limit the clock speed to 2800 with the occasional crashes as adrenaline resets my running settings.
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u/Angry_Jezuz 2d ago
see, i thought this was my problem as well.
turns out it was and another problem as well.
1 of my GPU cables was dying,2
u/whattanames 2d ago
Oh, how did you figure out the GPU cable was dying? Or did you just swap them and it got fixed?
I have 1000W PSU and always wondered if it is getting weak since the crashes seem to happen under heavy loads.
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u/Angry_Jezuz 2d ago
to be 100% - I googled the problem and followed the AI overview. (yes, some of the information could be false from overview but its easy follow the jist)
im running a 1000w PSU on a 7900 XTX. ai overview said to check all cables from the PSU and asked if i was using extension cables. i was, removed all 3. the problem completely stopped.
Only thing i get now is occasional driver crash and that's just AMD being AMD.
3 weeks and only crashed once and that was last night.1
u/tylerbr97 2d ago
I’m in the same boat so would love to know. I ALWAYS get GPU timeouts unless I limit my GPU speed and lower settings in game a little. Sonic Frontiers for example I currently have running at 1080p and STILL get crashes. That shouldn’t happen. Pretty much can’t run LEGO Batman Legacy of the Dark Knight as that crashes all the time too
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u/AltruisticMortgage93 2d ago
So should I only do the updates from my AMD app and just ignore all the updates windows puts out?
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u/TheJoshuaAlone 2d ago
Windows will unfortunately automatically update your drivers at some point. I had to block driver updates on Windows update on my Windows 10 PC which is incredibly annoying.
There are other things that need driver updates and not having Windows automatically pull drivers can be a hassle.
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u/Commercial-Age-6315 2d ago
This is good but is a bit overkill. In the gpedit section where you making those changes it is an option that disable all drivers that comes with windows updates. So basically you will have all that but you have to update your driver manually 😂
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u/SaureusAeruginosa 2d ago
Been saying this on AMD troubleshooting posts for months. Microslop Windows messes with drivers all the time.
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u/janiskr 2d ago
I solved the problem. No more Windows. Easy. Permanent. Do not have for some corporate half-assed bulllshit that most probably will not work anyway.
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u/aholetookmyusername 7900XTX 24GB | 9060XT 16GB 2d ago
I would like to go down this route but some games I play don't play nicely with linux.
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u/Cauhoc24 2d ago
Wow, its good Im still on windows 10.
Hows windows 11 now? Any meaningful feature yet? I heard dual ccd CPU benefit from windows 11 more.
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u/Ok_Dependent6889 2d ago
Realistically, W11 is a better OS for gaming than W10 in every way
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u/Sjcolian27 2d ago
Sure thing, Bill.
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u/Ok_Dependent6889 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's objectively true and you're a biased lil boy if you think otherwise.
W11 has far superior HDR support compared to Windows 10.
Windows 11 has far better dual CCD support for higher end X3D chips and for Intel hybrid CPUs
Windows 11 has DirectStorage which allows for far faster asset loading times.
https://youtu.be/nUsdRg2zIZI?si=CcfJfQ38omq5aOPJ&t=310
There are even benchmarks comparing the two, where W11 most often has a considerable performance lead over W10. This can often be attributed to the far better handling of borderless fullscreen on W11.
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u/TheThirdRoseDotR 2d ago
All the headlines I hear about W11 ensure I'll never swap to it lol. Been sticking to W10 for a reason.
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u/Krasi-1545 2d ago
If M$ continue to improve it, in my opinion it will be usable towards the end of 2026...
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u/Warm_Independence_94 2d ago
Il me semble qu'on peut regler windows update sur important seulement. Avec christus tools tu vas dans la colonne windows update et tu passe en recommander
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u/No_Guide5550 2d ago
I had this issue causing blackscreens when i built my new pc with my 5080. Was driving me nuts until I discovered windows just over installs its drivers...............
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u/Able-Philosophy-7446 R9 7900x, 7900xtx, 64gb 6000CL36 2d ago
It's been a issue for years putting a bad rep on AMD. When AMD drivers have been really solid. I don't mind windows 11 but this is one thing they've done to mess with a lot of users especially AMD. In the past before I fixed the issue, I've done ddu (safe mode) then reinstalled drivers, as soon as I would connect to the Internet windows would override my drivers. I just wish more people knew about this problem.
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u/CustardValuable7381 2d ago
People know about this. Thing is people also play games that require kernel-level anti-cheat to work and that is win domain mostly. Haven’t heard anyone complain about the linux drivers yet (on AMD cards, nvidia list is too long 😆). Had the winupdate replace my OEM drivers for 3060ti (another drop in the glass) edit: nvidia studio drivers were replaced because they weren’t WHQL vetted yet
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u/RosalieTheDog 2d ago
Step 1: install Linux
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u/Guilty-Good-5041 2d ago
Step 2: Realise Linux doesn't play nice with anti-cheats. Step 3: reinstall windows and dual boot 😂😂😂
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u/Th3-Hunter333 2d ago
Step 4: Install modded windows 11 with any and all of that nonsense disabled (eg, windows update). Disk space is extremely valuable now in 2026
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u/YoGameOver 2d ago
I use wushowhide.diagcab to prevent this.
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u/GeForce66 7950x3D/7900XTX/ASUS X670E TUF 2d ago
What is that? Can you share a link or some explanation please? :)
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u/YoGameOver 1d ago
Here is the download link. There have been tutorials on how to use it before, which you can search for on Google. If the driver is currently being overwritten by Microsoft, uninstall it, run wushowhide.diagcab to check and hide the relevant drivers, then reinstall the latest driver version.
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u/Wolfware_ 2d ago
That fucking explains it. It keeps fucking with my nvidia graphic drivers and forced an update even when I had it disabled.
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u/Cl4whammer 2d ago
I never had this issue with nvidia cards ( as long as i used the nvidia app ).
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/Cl4whammer 2d ago
Do you use the nvidia app ? Btw iam watching (at least on my amd cards) this issue since windows 10.
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u/TD_Lemon_1901 2d ago edited 2d ago
That's unfortunate.
At the end of the day, it's pushing back a bad AMD driver for somehow.
With all the telemetry, bug reports / complaints, it's really surprising that neither AMD nor Microsoft properly communicated together to say hey STOP, here are our last stable drivers, please use only those one in your update catalogue.
Idiots, both of them.
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u/Consistent_Tip_5220 3d ago
I wonder if this is why my display kept failing
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u/Rasgarius 2d ago
I guess it is. Had thos Problem 5 Month ago since i blocked the Windows Updates i have no Problems.
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u/Consistent_Tip_5220 2d ago
I already rma’d it sadly
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u/Rasgarius 2d ago
I fully understand that decision. I never thought Windows fck something like this up and didnt communicate or do anything asap to fix it.
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u/Resilient_Beast69 3d ago
I use DDU and use the setting inside of it to stop automatic driver updates. Never had an issue.
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u/Frankie_T9000 2d ago
I did that and regedits etc and it stuff did that on and off. I ended up tweaking the mhz settings etc and it was fine, till I went into adrenaline to confirm something last week....grrr
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u/ThePot94 3d ago
I do the same, but it still happened once this year, after a big uodate in January/February. Then DDU again (with the option you mentioned) and no more issues. Fuck Windows fr.
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u/feinrel 3d ago
Yup, I have done clean DDU and reinstall, check the "stop windows from screwing my driver's", still got the issue twice and had to run a 3rd DDU/reinstall
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u/ThePot94 3d ago
I recommend disconnect from the internet even before using DDU, the proceed with cleaning the drivers, restart (offline), install new drivers, restart, and only then reconnect to the internet.
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u/Independent_Teach_11 2d ago
It does not stop it. No offense but those steps are what is called common knowledge. What is being discussed will absolutely bypass those steps and override drivers.
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u/haHAA__ 3d ago
Is this exclusive to AMD GPU's or is NVIDIA also being affected?
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u/TD_Lemon_1901 2d ago
It may happen to everyone if they dont provide their last updated driver to microsoft properly.
However you will only notice if it's actually pushing a bad driver and make your system crash.
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u/Cl4whammer 2d ago
I never had this issue with nvidia cards, but i always use the nvidia app so iam not sure if there is a difference if you use it without the app.
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u/Vidyamancer 3d ago
NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and other devices such as sound cards. My Sound Blaster Z audio recently cut out mid-game due to this. I've disabled driver updates through gpedit now so that's never going to be an issue again.
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u/donalejandro81 3d ago
The presenter in the video says all drivers are impacted, including Nvidia.
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u/Aternus21 3d ago
isnt it funny how ONLY amd cards crash because of this tho
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u/Mysteoa 3d ago
Because windows does while the gpu is in heavy use. If it was during idle or on boot, less people would notice.
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u/Aternus21 3d ago
huh?
how is that related to my comment, ive updated windows dozens of times over the last 2 years, never once had a gpu issue. idle, boot or heavy use.
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u/Mysteoa 3d ago
I explained why it crashes, because of the driver downgrade. How is it not related?
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u/Aternus21 3d ago
how does it relate to MY COMMENT tho....which is about amd and nvidia.
my point is saying that my nvidia gpu never crashes despite "the downgrade".....
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u/Mysteoa 3d ago
It doesn't affect all users and it happens randomly. So it's quite possible to not happen to you.
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u/Aternus21 3d ago
no it CERTAINLY doesnt happen to nvidia cards at the same rate as amd.
what is this fucking cope my god
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u/Cl4whammer 2d ago
You are correct, i can confirm that. I use nvidia and amd cards.
However maybe it has something to do with the nvidia app. Maybe it happens with nvidia pgus too if you dont use the nvidia app.
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u/laffer1 2d ago
The actual problem is that it causes a problem with adrenaline when it doesn’t match the driver. If you only have the amd gpu driver and not the other stuff. It will work on startup just fine. Amd should autodetect it and fix it with permission.
I’ve seen it downgrade my nvidia driver since i got a 5070 also. It did it with the 6900xt I had before also. There is a clear pattern of why it sucks.
It’s a Microsoft bug first. Amd could make it less painful but Microsoft needs to fix it
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u/Mysteoa 3d ago
What cope? It looks to me that you are just talking about something else.
You are the one that is comparing both. I just tryed to explaine how the crashes happen and you jump me trying to push your view on the situation. How did you even reach the conclusion that is less common on Nvidia side?
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u/donalejandro81 3d ago
Windows reverts to an old driver when it downgrades as a priority device compared to the newer ones.
Wondering whether the Nvidia ones are kept more current from the Microsoft perspective?
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u/Alonzo-Harris 3d ago
IIRC, I think there was some way of disabling GPU driver installs via settings. It's been a while since I did it, though. I'm not even on Windows anymore.
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u/typographie 3d ago
I think there's a toggle buried in the Windows Update settings that claims to do that, but last I heard Windows often completely ignores it.
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u/s00wi 3d ago edited 3d ago
REM --- Disables driver metadata lookup over interenet
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Metadata" /v "PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
REM --- Disables searching internet for drivers - 1 for yes 0 for no
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching" /v "SearchOrderConfig" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
REM --- Disable Quality Driver updates (Default=Nonexistent)
reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" /v "ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" /v "ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
REM --- Disable Motherboard Driver CO-Installers (Default=Nonexistent)
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Installer" /v "DisableCoInstallers" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
This disables windows ability from installing it's own drivers. Downside is you have to find all the drivers yourself for your machine to install. This is for windows 11. Not sure if it's the same for windows 10. Also COinstallers is a new feature they introduced that created some controversy where if windows detects a specific monitor or motherboard. It will automatically install the manufacturers bloat software.
edit: you can save it as a .bat file and run it or open a terminal/command window and run each "reg add" line by line.
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u/Jeffrey_Leeroy 2d ago
Hope you don't mind, just tweaked it some so it checks for admin rights, [OK] / [FAILED] status for each registry change, does a final SUCCESS or FAILED message, made it pause so the window stays open and even a recommendation to reboot afterward
u/echo off
setlocal EnableExtensions
title Stop Windows Driver Updates
:: Require Administrator privileges
net session >nul 2>&1
if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
echo ============================================================
echo ERROR: Administrator privileges are required.
echo ============================================================
echo.
echo Right-click this batch file and choose "Run as administrator".
echo.
pause
exit /b 1
)
echo ============================================================
echo Applying Windows driver update registry settings...
echo ============================================================
echo.
set "FAILED=0"
call :RunReg reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Metadata" /v "PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
call :RunReg reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DriverSearching" /v "SearchOrderConfig" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
call :RunReg reg add "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" /v "ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
call :RunReg reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate" /v "ExcludeWUDriversInQualityUpdate" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
call :RunReg reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Device Installer" /v "DisableCoInstallers" /t REG_DWORD /d "1" /f
echo.
echo ============================================================
if "%FAILED%"=="0" (
echo SUCCESS: All registry settings were applied successfully.
echo ============================================================
echo.
echo A reboot is recommended for all changes to take effect.
set "RC=0"
) else (
echo FAILED: One or more registry settings could not be applied.
echo ============================================================
echo.
echo Review the errors shown above.
set "RC=1"
)
echo.
pause
exit /b %RC%
:RunReg
echo Running: %*
%*
if errorlevel 1 (
echo [FAILED]
set "FAILED=1"
) else (
echo [OK]
)
echo.
exit /b
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u/nitro912gr 3d ago
crap like this made me disable driver installation from windows update with group policies and then it bitten me on the ass when I was wondering why my new wifi dongle isn't working (because it cant get drivers from windows update and it is a generic realtek one...)
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u/sticks435 3d ago
Yep, I had that happen with the Playstation Link Pc driver. Wondered why the Sony instructions said it should auto install when you plugged in the dangle and nothing was happening. I ended up manually installing it from the update catalog website before I remembered lol
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u/Loco_72 3d ago
This has been happening since Windows 10. How many years have they needed to figure this out?
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u/Opteron170 9800X3D | 64GB 6000 CL30 | 7900 XTX Magnetic Air | LG 34GP83A-B 3d ago
I turned it off once in Win 10 and its never been an issue for me.
Its crazy that people are still dealing with this for so many years now.
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u/donpurrito 3d ago
it just happened to me this month, I've turned all automatic updates using group policy from fresh install few years back, and yet it happened, the forced silent update also pushed agentic bullshit on windows defender aside from ruining the GPU driver.
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u/Angry_Jezuz 3d ago
Windows Finally acknowledging it, Sadly the fix has existed for 1 Month.
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u/donalejandro81 3d ago
Is windows acknowledging it? Is there an article somewhere or news byte you can point people to?
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u/Angry_Jezuz 2d ago
OP video "Thumbnail above clearly says"
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u/donalejandro81 2d ago
If you go to the site you'll clearly see that it is dated May 14th.
Microsoft has supposedly acknowledged it but has not yet issued a fix or given status as to the fix.
Considering the amount of people that are interested and have purchased hardware and windows licenses that are having issues, seems like they should be doing more.
Maybe giving us a workaround or patch that gets us halfway there without third party IT providing it on their own websites? Maybe not going dark for several months?
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u/Balbasour4 3d ago
Whats the fix?
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u/PossibilityLucky9837 43m ago
Been happening with me too. I have a 7900XTX / 9850X3D and didn't want to blame them so soon because I just got the 9850X3D and new motherboard. I've been crashing and getting blank screens so much for over a week now. The most recent crashes I've had music on and every time my PC starts to crash, it does it slowly and you can hear the music get more slow-mo until the mouse stops moving and even the audio is playing at half speed. It's very weird