PC Drivers & Software

[drtechnical]

When I utilize the only AMD_SATA driver on my desktop with Windows 10 (on the Insider Program), my computer goes into periods where there will be continuous resets on the SATA port.  This will last for long periods, but will eventually end, only to happen again after an indeterminant time.  The effect of these continuous resets is that my disk activity light stays on continuously and it will take FOREVER to get my computer to shutdown or restart.  This is especially frustrating when trying to do an update, which usually requires a reboot.

I checked on some of the Windows support forums, and the only solution I found was to replace the AMD_SATA driver with the generic one that comes from Microsoft.  That will return my PC to good operation, but the next time an update occurs, the SATA driver gets reset to the AMD_SATA driver and I'm in trouble again.

I've attached a screen print of my Device Manager entry from the AMD SATA controller, showing it using the AMD driver v1.3.001.0276 which has passed Microsoft's hardware compatibility tests.

Is there a later version of this SATA driver for the AMD SATA controller that I could try installing?

[Matt_AMD · Accepted solution]

You are using the wrong AMD Sata driver, you should be using the Microsoft in the box Sata driver. If you continue to use the wrong Sata driver, you can expect your system to misbehave. 

Please refer to this document, and roll back the driver to the correct one using Device Manager. 

https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/pa-250

[drtechnical]

Thanks.  As I mentioned in my original query, I did change the driver using Device Manager back to the MS default, but each new Windows Insider build installation would re-install the AMD_SATA drivers.  I couldn't tell from my Internet searches if a rollback DELETED the previous driver or just made the substitution and left the previous driver files in place.  I wanted the AMD drivers gone totally.

Taking no chances, I figured out that the INF file was OEM68.INF, so I moved that file and the OEM68.PNF files to another folder.  Additionally, I renamed the asm_sata.sys and amd_xata.sys files in the \System32\drivers folder so that Windows would not have the INF or SYS files to re-install when I next do an update.

I have used third-party driver update apps before.  I can't determine if the most recent such app (since uninstalled) was the one that put this AMD driver on my PC, but it is a likely culprit.  This should serve as an object lesson for anyone who feels the need to always have the latest drivers.  Unless your PC is actually misbehaving with its current drivers, you should not be so quick to "update" your drivers with "newer" versions.  My experience is only one example.

[Matt_AMD]

Thanks for the feedback, it might be helpful to other users. 

With a clean install using installation media using the latest official build of Windows then you should expect the Microsoft inthebox driver to be used be default.