General Discussions

[dan_e_boy]

Hello all, recently I noticed in my Radeon settings that there was a new update available.  I do not have a need to update since everything is working as it should on my system.  I did ponder about doing the update though.  Then I remembered all of the problems and the long process I had to go through last time I updated, all because I didn't follow the famous clean uninstall/ reinstall procedures posted on the AMD support website.  It seems like every time there is a new update, it is recommended to follow the clean uninstall/ reinstall procedure to be successful.  I wonder, and I'm sorry if this has been asked before, why even provide the update option in the Radeon software settings?  And as a follow up to that question, couldn't they program a clean uninstall process in that update option so that you don't have to manually do it?

I guess I am wondering because most other software that I have on my computer will auto update with no issues.  Other software will show a notification about an available update and I just click the update button and it all gets done automatically.  Why doesn't the Radeon update feature work like that?

[kingfish]

Fair questions to ask...I can answer one. If you are having no issues with your graphics card, leave it alone. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

There is a option when installing the drivers to 'keep it up to date'...I believe the default is 'enable'. You could reinstall the existing driver and uncheck this option.

You can turn off notifications in Wattman Preferences.

[dan_e_boy]

Hi Kingfish,

Thanks for the reply. I believe I did uncheck the auto update feature when

I installed the drivers because it doesn't automatically update. I just

get the notification if I open the Radeon settings and I have to actually

click on the "Update" button to run the updater. So it's not actually

bugging me for an update, I just happened to notice it was available when I

opened Radeon settings. Remembering the troubles I had last time I

updated, I am inclined to leave things as they are since everything is

working great.

So no troubles, just putting the thought out there. Just wondering (or

maybe planting a seed?) why clicking the update button wouldn't

automatically uninstall the old driver before installing the new one.

Maybe the update button actually works for most people and some of us are

just unfortunate to have a system that requires the clean uninstall process?

Anyway, I'm up way too late. Check back in tomorrow

Cheers

[kingfish]

Well actually, the update button will do that..if you have a driver installed.

Read this:

How to Install Radeon™ Software on a Windows® Based System | AMD

If another version of Radeon Software is installed and detected during setup, a Clean Install option will be available on the Custom Install screen, as shown in the screenshot below.

Clean Install

removes all prior versions of AMD graphics driver from the system.  This prevents rolling back to a previously installed driver version (via Device Manager) but can resolve most corrupt driver installation problems.

[dan_e_boy]

Oh that's a great link, thanks for finding it for me .  It's good to know that the option is there for a clean install.  I went to that web page and near the top it talks about downloading and installing the Radeon driver before you get to the screen shot you provided.  Do you happen to know if you would get that same "Clean Install" choice if you clicked on the "Update to version xx.x.x" button in the already installed Radeon settings page?

[dan_e_boy]

I mean this page

Will clicking on the "New Recommended" and then "Custom Update" eventually give me the choice to "Clean Install"?

[kingfish]

I don't know...never use it.

[dan_e_boy]

Well I guess it is not that important for me to know anyway since I don't need to perform the upgrade.  I would assume that it should eventually give me the option to clean install since it would have to download and run the same file that you can manually get from the AMD website.

[kingfish]

Well it says...." If another version of Radeon Software is installed and detected during setup, a Clean Install option will be available on the Custom Install screen, as shown in the screenshot below.

[Hardwood]

dan_e_boy wrote:

I guess I am wondering because most other software that I have on my computer will auto update with no issues. Other software will show a notification about an available update and I just click the update button and it all gets done automatically. Why doesn't the Radeon update feature work like that?

It's probably relevant that your vidcard is a multihundred dollar device that needs special attention. Thinks aren't so simple with important pervasive hardware.

..just my 2cents.

[dan_e_boy]

Yah now that you mention it, if I think of the other hardware in my system like motherboard, hard drive, DVD Blu-Ray etc... the update process is usually pretty manual but it's usually something you only need to do once.  Thankfully, the link that Kingfish provided above shows that there actually is a "Clean Install" option during the installation process.  A person may only have to manually uninstall, DDU and install the software etc... (otherwise know as clean uninstall procedure) if he/she is having problems with the regular clean install option through the software.

[pokester]

Just sharing my personal opinion on the auto vs manual install and clean install vs DDU.

I have had terrible luck with the auto install. I don't know why it doesn't work well for me or the many other users I have seen complain of it in the forums. When I see the notification of a new driver, I go get the manual installer. I also install the new driver on my Windows 10 systems with the Internet and security software disabled. I also have Windows 10 set to not update drivers through Windows update.

I have had mixed results with the express install but I typically give it a try and if all works great and if not I then run DDU from safe mode and all is well again.

Why I do this myself over a clean install is that DDU only deletes the display driver files and does not disturb any of my game profile information. Running the AMD clean install option wipes it all out and I have to start over. When you have hundreds of games this is a big issue. Not sure why they can't have an option to leave this alone or a way to back it up and restore it easily. But DDU has been pretty much the flawless option when the express upgrade doesn't give the desired results for me.