AMD fixes Radeon driver bug that caused excessive SSD writes
AMD says Adrenalin Edition 26.11.1 stops excessive system-drive writes on Radeon PCs, but the release notes do not quantify any SSD damage.
AMD says its Adrenalin Edition 26.11.1 driver fixes a bug that could cause excessive writes to the system drive while a Radeon-powered PC was idle. The same issue could also appear when users moved or resized application windows, according to AMD's release notes. 1
The fix applies to Radeon RX 7000-series graphics products and newer hardware, as well as a broad range of older Radeon 5000- and 6000-series cards listed in AMD's compatibility tables. The release is available for Windows 10 and Windows 11, although AMD notes that laptop and all-in-one owners should normally use drivers supplied by their system manufacturer. 1
AMD's wording is deliberately narrower than some reports about the problem. The company confirms excessive system-drive writes, but it does not state how many machines were affected, how long the behaviour could continue, or whether any SSDs suffered measurable damage. The release notes also do not quantify the write volume or identify a guaranteed lifespan reduction. Those details should not be treated as established facts from this update alone.
The driver is an optional Adrenalin release rather than a blanket recommendation to install immediately. Radeon owners who noticed unusual disk activity while the machine was idle, or while dragging and resizing windows, have a clear reason to check the new package. Everyone else should weigh the normal risks of changing a graphics driver against the benefit of a fix for a symptom they may never have experienced. AMD also lists several unrelated known issues, including game-specific crashes and driver timeouts, so the release notes are worth checking before updating. 1
Our opinion
This is a useful fix, but the most important detail is what AMD has not claimed. Excessive writes are worth taking seriously, particularly on a system drive, yet the release notes provide no evidence that every affected SSD was damaged or that a particular amount of usage was lost. Treat the update as a sensible troubleshooting step for people seeing the symptom, not as proof of an industry-wide storage emergency. AMD should publish more technical detail if it wants users to understand the bug's real impact.
For a clean update, download the package from AMD's official support page, note your current driver version first and keep the release notes nearby in case one of the listed known issues affects your hardware or games. 1