● Covered by 2 sources · 2 reportsMedium impact2 negative
AMD Acknowledges GPU Driver Bug Causing Continuous SSD Writes
Key points
- AMD's External Events Utility (EEU) causes continuous SSD data writes.
- The bug affects systems with Radeon GPU drivers, even when idle.
- Users report up to 1% monthly SSD health degradation.
- Sustained writes of 0.3 MB/s to 5 MB/s have been observed.
- AMD is investigating and plans a fix in a future driver release.
Continuous SSD Writes Identified
AMD has acknowledged a defect within its Radeon GPU drivers, specifically the External Events Utility (EEU), which results in continuous data writing to Solid State Drives (SSDs). This activity occurs even when the computer is idle, leading to unnecessary wear on the storage devices.
Reports of this issue gained renewed attention on November 8, following a Reddit post by user 'darklinkpower'. The problem has been observed by users for over a year, with some experiencing a noticeable decline in their SSD's reported health.
Impact on SSD Health
The continuous data writes can significantly degrade SSD health. One user reported a 1% decrease in their SSD's health every month for 16 months. Other users have observed sustained write speeds ranging from 0.3 MB/s to as much as 5 MB/s while their PCs were inactive.
Under normal operating conditions, an SSD typically performs minimal write operations when a system is idle. The bug disrupts this normal behavior, potentially shortening the lifespan of affected SSDs.
AMD's Response and Workarounds
AMD confirmed its investigation into the issue in an October 21 response on its community forum, stating, "Yes. We're looking into it with the aim to resolve it in a future driver release." Another representative, AMAD Vik, also offered further confirmation.
While AMD works on a permanent solution, temporary workarounds are available. Users can disable the External Events Utility (EEU) or ReBAR to mitigate the continuous writes.
Origin of Reports
Reports of the issue first appeared in July on AMD's official PC user forum. A user noted constant information writing to their SSD after installing a Radeon 9060XT graphics card. Subsequent comments on the thread indicated the persistence of the problem despite several bug fixes and patch updates.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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How outlets covered it
An AMD utility, the External Events Utility (EEU), is causing continuous data writes to SSDs for some Radeon users, leading to drive degradation. AMD has acknowledged the bug, which can consume up to 1% of drive health per month, and is working on a fix. Users can disable the EEU or ReBAR as temporary workarounds.
AMD has confirmed it is investigating a bug in its Radeon GPU drivers, specifically the External Events Utility (EEU), that causes continuous data writes to SSDs, even when systems are idle. Users report significant SSD health degradation, with some experiencing 5MB/s sustained writes, potentially leading to premature drive wear.