Radeon driver uninstaller: What is the best way to uninstall Radeon drivers? : Amd

How to Uninstall AMD Drivers [4 Ways]

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  • How to Uninstall AMD Drivers [4 Ways]

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Are you using AMD components? For example, AMD GPUs. Sometimes, you may need to uninstall AMD drivers. This post from MiniTool Partition Wizard tells you how to uninstall AMD drivers properly.

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) is a multinational company specializing in the design of microprocessors and related technologies. Its main products are central processing units, graphics processors, motherboard chipsets and computer memory.

In terms of CPUs, it can compete with Intel. In terms of GPUs, it can compete with Nvidia. If you use AMD GPUs, sometimes, you may need to uninstall AMD drivers to fix some GPU issues.

Of course, if you want to replace the current AMD graphics card, uninstalling improper AMD GPU drivers is also necessary. Uninstalling the improper graphics driver prior to installing another one can help prevent potential file conflicts which may corrupt the installation of new drivers.

But how to uninstall AMD drivers? You can try the following ways.

How to Update AMD Drivers in Windows 10? 3 Ways for You!

Way 1. Use Device Manager

This method is the most common method and you can use Device Manager to uninstall most drivers. In addition, this tool comes along Windows. Here is the guide:

  • Open Windows Device Manager. In Windows 8 or later version, you can press Windows key + X key and choose Device Manager from the shortcut menu. But if you use Windows 7 or other old versions, please click Start menu and search this tool in the search box.
  • In the Device Manager tool, expand Display adapters, right-click the AMD graphics driver and click Uninstall device.
  • Select the checkbox of Delete the driver software for this device, and then click Uninstall.

Way 2. Use Control Panel

Some AMD drivers are like programs (eg. Radeon Software and AMD Catalyst Drivers) and you should uninstall them like uninstalling software. Here is the guide:

  • Search and open Control Panel.
  • In the Control Panelselect Programs and Features.
  • Select the AMD driver software and then click Uninstall. The uninstall process will begin removing drivers and software components.

How to Download, Install, Update Nvidia Drivers on Windows 10

Way 3. Use AMD Cleanup Utility

The AMD Cleanup Utility is an AMD official tool designed to thoroughly remove any previously installed AMD driver files, registries, and driver store from systems running Microsoft Windows 7 and later.

If the normal AMD driver uninstall procedure was unsuccessful, this tool can help you. It will remove AMD display and audio drivers as well as AMD software components but does not remove AMD chipset driver components such as GPIO, SATA, USB, etc. It can help to prepare the system for a successful driver installation. Here is the guide:

  • Download the AMD Cleanup Utility from the AMD official website.
  • Locate the file where it was saved and double-click on the exefile.
  • A dialogue box should appear asking whether to run the AMD Cleanup Utility in safe mode. Click Yes.
  • The next dialogue box provides a warning message stating that the AMD Cleanup Utility will remove all AMD driver and application components. Click OK to begin remove these drivers and software components.

Way 4. Use Third-Party Software

Some people may recommend you to use third-party software like DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) and Driver Easy to uninstall these drivers. In general, these third-party driver uninstallers can work on many drivers including audio driver, hard drive driver, etc. In addition, these uninstallers can get and handle drivers from various manufacturers.

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How to Uninstall AMD Drivers

  • By Joel Hruska on May 21, 2018 at 11:30 am

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Whether you’re moving from an older driver to a newer one or replacing your video card altogether, properly uninstalling your drivers is a critical component of system maintenance. In this guide, we’ll walk through using AMD’s standard utility for driver removal, as well as discussing whether or not you need to use a third-party tool.

It’s best to download the new driver you intend to use before uninstalling the old one. While this isn’t absolutely required, there’s a necessary reboot between uninstalling one driver and reinstalling the other (and we recommend rebooting between the two steps in any case). Once the system is rebooted, it’ll typically be running at a lower resolution and menus may be harder to navigate as a result. It’s just easier to download the replacement driver first.

The first uninstallation step is extremely simple. You can use either the “Add/Remove Programs” menu from the Windows Settings menu or “Programs and Features” if you prefer to use the Windows 7-style Control Panel. Either way, find the “AMD Software” option and click “Uninstall.” You’ll be asked to confirm this option. Click yes, and your Radeon software installation will be removed, along with any other AMD drivers if you’re also running on a Ryzen system. Unlike Nvidia, which has multiple pieces of software to remove, AMD uses a simplified uninstaller.

Once you’ve uninstalled the old driver, you’ll be prompted to reboot. It’s at this point that people typically ask “Is running the default uninstaller from AMD or Nvidia enough, or do I need to use a third-party product to perform a more comprehensive system sweep?”

How Third Party Uninstallers Work

The uninstallers that AMD and Nvidia use don’t actually scrub everything they install to your system. It’s common for registry keys, folders, and installation files to be left behind. This speeds the reinstallation process, and it’s part of why you can uninstall one driver, install the next, and still have the same profile settings you were previously using. A third-party tool like Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) will remove even these elements, restoring your machine to a pristine state.

15-20 years ago, using a third-party tool to scrub display drivers was a practical requirement, especially when switching between an AMD and an Nvidia GPU. These days, the overall situation is much improved. You can typically swap from one driver to the next with no problem, and Windows may not bat an eyelash if you pull an AMD card out and drop an Nvidia GPU in. I’ve even tested GPU swapping without uninstalling the other vendor’s software. You’ll get error messages when vendor-dependent software attempts to initialize, but that’s about it.

Do you need to run a third-party driver uninstaller? Probably not. Windows has gotten much better at handling these kinds of swaps. But if you’re trying to troubleshoot a problem with your system, or want to make absolutely positive that there’s no way leftover cruft from a previous AMD or Nvidia installation could be mucking up your operating system, then the best way to do that is to use a third-party utility like DDU.

Once you run the application, it’ll recommend that you reboot into Safe Mode (you can click on the “Options” menu and choose the “Enable Safe Mode dialog”). Exit the application and run it again after doing this, and you’ll get a screen like this one. Choose “Safe Mode” from the drop-down menu, then hit “Launch” to reboot into Safe Mode:

We recommend running DDU from Safe Mode. The application advises that you should unplug your computer’s Ethernet cable during the uninstallation and new driver installation process, to prevent Windows 10 from downloading new drivers for your GPU and attempting to install them. I don’t usually find that necessary, but YMMV. When you run it for the first time, DDU attempts to prevent Microsoft from continually downloading its own driver updates and overwriting the drivers distributed by AMD and Nvidia. If you don’t want it to do this, you can click the “Set Windows Device Installation settings to Default” button, as pictured above. This will restore Windows’ default behavior.

If you only want to install a new driver, click “Clean and Restart.” If you have other tasks to take care of while in Safe Mode, click “Clean and do NOT restart.” If you need to install a new GPU, choose “Clean and Shutdown.” Once you boot your system back up, you’ll be able to install your new GPU driver without worrying that old crufty elements were left behind. And if you don’t want to bother with the extra steps of DDU, Windows is generally flexible enough these days to handle a switch without a problem, provided you use the vendor uninstall first.

Now read: Windows 10: The Best Hidden Features, Tips, and Tricks

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