ATI/AMD 7970m drivers on Windows 8/Server 2012

I have been reading a number of the posts/threads here about these horrible 7970m drivers from AMD since we also have the Intel HD4000 on these M17xR4's.


I started by formatting the hard drive and putting Windows Server 2012 on the laptop (Same interface as Windows 8)

The only problems I am having are the Intel drivers (USB 3, Bluetooth 2230, etc) The Audio drivers, the Intel HD4000 drivers, etc all loaded fine.


I want to get the AMD drivers loaded for the Radeon. I tried some of the options and got a partial install and then blue screened a few times.

Luckily I did not have to re-install the complete system again, I was able to hit safe mode, go into device manger and remove all video cards and reboot and install the HD 4000 drivers to get the laptop back up.

So I am up and running now, but I want the Radeon drivers.

Oh, I forgot, The laptop came with bios A09 already installed.

I also read about the "Enduro" thing because of the dual graphics cards....

Turning Enduro on and off, is that a Bios setting, I did not see it there, or is it a setting in the Intel drivers.

 

It is a BIOS setting. You have to have the unlocked BIOS. Standard warning: You are doing this all on your own, if something gets messed up or damages, neither the forums or myself are responsible (especially if you changed the wrong setting). Changing the advanced BIOS settings always comes with risks, so understand that before you go changing crucial settings.

To shutoff Enduro, go into the BIOS. From the BIOS start screen, go to Advanced -> Video Configuration -> Primary Display. Change this from whatever it is (SG=switchable graphics, AUTO=system select or Enduro, iGFX=integrated GPU) to PEG (PCI-Express Graphics). DO NOT SELECT PCI FROM THE LIST! If you do you will brick you BIOS and I don't know if the modders around here have a fix for that yet (you have been warned). Then scroll down to Internal Graphics Device, hit enter, and in this sub menu select IGD again and change from Enabled to Disabled. That is how you disable the Intel Integrated Graphics and force the system to use only the discrete card.

 

Hi Radji,

Thank you for the info and the warning. Is there a specific version for the driver I need to download?

 

Not sure as I do not have Windows 8...but as far as I see, the latest stable version is 12.10. Now, whether Catalyst 12.10 plays well with Windows 8 is entirely a different story, but I would like to imagine AMD would not have put out this latest version with the Windows 8 compatibility stamp on it unless it could at least install properly. Then again, this is AMD we're talking about.

One other thing, if you're going to switch over to your AMD card for permanent use, do the step I described in my previous post, then go into Windows and see if everything GPU wise boots correctly. If it does, go to the Programs and Features control panel and uninstall all the AMD software listed there. This won't uninstall the 7970m drivers, so restart and go back into device manager, select the 7970m card, and select uninstall from the right-click menu. When the window comes up confirming it, make sure to check the "delete the software driver for this device" box. Then restart. If the 7970m shows up again as an AMD device under device manager again, repeat the process. The idea is to remove all AMD software and drivers from the system so you can start from scratch. You will know when all the drivers for the 7970m card gone when you go into device manager and the 7970m card show up as a generic VGA adapter (or something to that effect). Next, go to this page: Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States], then download and install the stock Dell driver package for the 7970m card (assuming you have the Dell version of the 7970m and not the Eurocom or Clevo version). After you install the stock Dell drivers, you can go to the AMD site and update to the 12.10 Catalyst package. I have found this is the best way to update to the latest drivers or at least it's what worked for my 5870m card, and my friend's 6990m card on his R3. Haven't had to mess with my neighbor's R4 very much but I get the feeling this is the right way to update AMD drivers for Alienware system.

 

cool, I have both the dell driver and the amd driver download and have the basic video adapter listed next to the intell hd 4000. are there instructions on unlocking the bios somewhere.

 

You will need to download the unlocked A09 BIOS from tech inferno.

[M17x R4] - 'unlocked' BIOS versions