Latest AMD Catalyst Video Driver for Windows 7

stormy13 said:

Lucky that is all it took. Have seen just far too many reports over the years from programs like Driver Sweeper where it took a complete re-install of Windows to repair the damage that it did. I cringe every time I see someone recommend a person use it without also pointing out the dangers of it, and telling them to make sure they have a solid backup image (or at least a restore point) just in case. One reason you will never see me recommend using it.

To be fair and honest, it's obvious that everybody's system is different. There is (and must always be) some reason why one person's system has or doesn't have a problem or symptom that another person's system doesn't have or has. There has to be a reason why some "solution" works for some people but not for others.

Fact is, I had heard that starting with 10.9 or some older version of ATI's driver installer package that you were absolutely supposed to be able to just "run it" right over a currently installed set of CCC/drivers. But success using that approach was rare... at least for me. It inevitably failed to update the drivers, and I had to uninstall everything ATI (which often was difficult, before discovering Driver Sweeper and its ilk) and then start from scratch. This latter approach almost always worked, but sometimes even after that it was necessary to then take the right-click on hardware (in Device Manager) and "update drivers" and navigate to that expanded ATI directory where the original install had theoretically run from. Only then did the true current drivers get installed successfully.

Is this how it should work? No. Do you have that symptom? No. Do I always have that symptom? No. Why? Because there's something about the ATI installer software that is just "erratic". You need to be able to deal with any results you get, be they (a) 100% successful just by running the new version CCC/driver installer right over what you've currently got installed, or (b) partial or total failure, requiring some time of manual workaround or solution.

M1GU31 said:

Odd I like never have problems with CCC amd driver updates and this update is running just fine on my rig

Then we are odd together. All I do is just install over the top and let the AMD installer deal with the uninstall and re-install of the new driver.

Well, just last week I let Windows Update apply the 12.4 driver update to my sister's machine (currently running 11.5 at the time) which has an onboard ATI HD2400 chip. Seemed to go fine (as my experience with letting Windows Update handle driver updates virtually always does). But CCC would no longer open. I took that to be caused by an 11.5 CCC now trying to run with a 12.4 driver.

So I then downloaded the true complete 12.4 CCC/driver installer and ran it... right over the existing 11.5 CCC and 12.4 driver. Magically, it worked perfectly! Result was 100% successful, with 12.4 CCC resulting (and it WOULD now open) as well as 12.4 drivers.

So... that "run right over existing" approach worked on my sister's machine, but it has rarely if ever worked for me over the past few years.


Obviously, you should always have taken at least a "system image" backup before you do anything significant (like updating video drivers, which from experience we all know may or may not go well even if the actual install is successful), to make recovery from unexpected surprises trivial and easy. And if the new driver proves problematic (e.g. BSOD), then "instant backoff" is possible with almost no effort if you've got a "system image" backup. This goes without saying.

But I think it's also wrong to talk down a fine product (in my opinion) like Driver Sweeper, just because something in your environment and in your experience has gone less than perfectly with its use. In my case, it's always worked fine (and seemingly is necessary, so it's just become part of my "normal recipe" for upgrading ATI video drivers), so I hold no animosity and only positive feelings toward it.

stormy13 said:

Lucky that is all it took. Have seen just far too many reports over the years from programs like Driver Sweeper where it took a complete re-install of Windows to repair the damage that it did. I cringe every time I see someone recommend a person use it without also pointing out the dangers of it, and telling them to make sure they have a solid backup image (or at least a restore point) just in case. One reason you will never see me recommend using it.

Actually I've been using Driver Sweeper for years and I don't ever turn on system restore. I do however back up all my important files on an external drive. The really important files are backed up to 2 other PC's as well. I also clone my entire C drive about once a month and then set the copy aside for future catastrophes. I also find "Acronis-try and decide" to be a useful program if your involved in any behavior you consider to be risky.

Problems with apps like Driver Sweeper Usually arise from deleting some shared folder that is a resource for something else as well and often system restore won't help. If you can then find out what the missing resource is and then reinstall it your usually OK. But, I do a agree that it's not really a beginners tool.

stormy13 said:

Then we are odd together. All I do is just install over the top and let the AMD installer deal with the uninstall and re-install of the new driver.

I wish it were that simple for me. If it was this thread might not exist. Ever since I started running 2-cards in CrossFire installation of the latest driver has been a little flaky but, the last two times the install has been much more of a problem than usual for me and many others. All the above suggestions were tried before I posted here but, since the only thing that doesn't see that the updated driver has been installed is the catalyst control center and other than that everything seems to be working fine, I'll just leave well enough alone until the next update.

I do hope AMD gets their house in order. I don't think they want to end up with the rep for bad drivers that Creative had/has. That can be hard to shake.

BugMeister said:

has anybody else tried the 12.4 (89.7) BETA, yet..?..

- it certainly runs well on my rig..!!
- Skyrim runs a treat..

- BF3 has never looked so good..

- now, if only there wasn't so much lag compensation in BF3..
- yesterday I got shot after I'd dodged behind a dockyard container..
- in another instance, I emptied my LMG magazine into an enemy at almost point-blank range..
- and he still got me with one shot from his handgun..

- very annoying game, if you can't find a decent server..

That happens all the time to me in in bfbc2 ,i try to play in severs 120 ping and under or else i get a late response,usually am on severs with 40 ping

brianzion said:

when you update the ccc/driver the amd installer will uninstall previous ccc if you watch the process on the desktop when you start installing it tells you in the progress box

OK, I'm kind of at a loss for words here. Was there a point you were trying to make?

I think I'll give that BETA version a try thanks BugMeister

I updated to the 12.4 catalyst driver from 12.3 but the catalyst control center says I have 12.1 now?? I already uninstalled from progs/features and removed and deleted driver from dev manger. Y U NO UPDATE CORRECTLY??