Radeon SSD write bug finally gets patched in AMD’s Adrenalin 26.11.1

AMD has released Adrenalin Edition 26.11.1, an optional driver update that delivers the long-awaited fix for a Radeon bug responsible for excessive background writes to system drives. According to the release notes, the update addresses unnecessary disk activity while PCs are idle on Radeon RX 7000-series graphics cards and newer. It also resolves a related issue that could trigger excessive writes when users moved or resized application windows.

AMD acknowledged the problem earlier this week, identifying the External Events Client Module (atieclxx.exe) as the source of the issue in its 26.10.1 and 26.10.2 drivers. Reports from affected users indicated sustained write speeds ranging from 0.3MB/s to 5MB/s. Left running continuously, that could translate into approximately 26GB to 432GB of unnecessary writes every day, even when the computer was doing virtually nothing.

Before this update, users had to rely on temporary workarounds to prevent the activity. These included disabling the AMD External Events Utility, turning off Resizable BAR, or using a community-developed open-source tool to block the unwanted writes. The new release should eliminate the need for such measures on supported hardware. However, AMD's release notes specifically identify RX 7000-series and newer GPUs for the idle-write fix, leaving it unclear whether older Radeon generations were affected.

There is one important caveat: Adrenalin 26.11.1 is classified as an Optional Driver rather than a regular WHQL-certified release. AMD appears to have pushed it out quickly to address the problem, meaning it is effectively an interim release ahead of the next official driver package. Consequently, it may not appear as a standard update notification in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Still, owners of RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 graphics cards affected by the excessive disk activity have a strong reason to install it.

The update isn't entirely free of problems, however. AMD has listed several known issues, including crashes or driver timeouts in Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, War Thunder, and Cyberpunk 2077. Visual corruption may also occur in Phantom Blade Zero and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered when using RX 9000-series cards.

Another issue worth checking concerns Smart Access Memory. AMD warns that the feature may become disabled after installing the driver on Windows 10. Users who previously disabled Resizable BAR as a workaround should therefore verify that it has been re-enabled and that Smart Access Memory is functioning correctly after updating.

Adrenalin Edition 26.11.1 is available to download from AMD's official website. As always, for the latest news on AMD Radeon graphics cards, FSR upscaling technology, GPU software updates, and developments across the gaming industry, be sure to follow our dedicated hardware coverage.