AMD graphics cards frequently experience black screens and driver timeouts when used in Windows 11, disrupting daily productivity and causing crashes in high-load tasks like gaming, graphics rendering, and video editing. There are many reasons for these black screens and driver timeouts, including issues with driver version compatibility, graphics card hardware features, the operating system's graphics scheduling mechanism, BIOS settings, and software conflicts. To fully resolve these issues, you need to conduct a step-by-step investigation and combine hardware and software optimization.

To confirm compatibility with Windows 11, AMD regularly releases Adrenalin driver versions, but some versions may have stability issues with Windows 11. If problems occur frequently, you can clean up remaining drivers using the following command and then reinstall a stable version:

pnputil /enum-drivers | findstr "oem"
pnputil /delete-driver oemXX.inf /uninstall /force

After the cleanup is complete, users should download the latest stable driver for Windows 11 from the AMD official website and avoid using unverified beta drivers. In some cases, if the latest version has compatibility issues, you can try rolling back to the previous long-term support version.

Secondly, check your graphics card's configuration in system power management and graphics scheduling. Windows 11 introduces new features such as Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) and variable refresh rate. These features may cause driver timeouts on some AMD graphics cards. Users can disable HAGS by going to:

Settings -> System -> Display -> Graphics -> Default Graphics Settings -> Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling -> Off

Also, ensure the graphics card's power mode is set to "High Performance" rather than "Energy Saving" or "Balanced." In AMD Radeon Software, setting the power adjustment mode to "Maximum Performance" can prevent graphics card frequency fluctuations caused by power constraints, thereby reducing the chance of a black screen.

For some high-end AMD graphics cards, memory frequency and timing may be the direct cause of a black screen. When the graphics card experiences memory errors under heavy load, they trigger the system's Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR) mechanism, resulting in a driver timeout error. The solution is to increase the TDR delay to provide the system with a longer recovery buffer when detecting a timeout. This parameter can be adjusted in the registry:

reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers" /v TdrDelay /t REG_DWORD /d 10 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers" /v TdrDdiDelay /t REG_DWORD /d 20 /f

After making this change, restart the system. This way, if the graphics card becomes temporarily unresponsive, the system will attempt to wait instead of immediately reporting an error.

In some cases, BIOS settings can also affect the stability of AMD graphics cards. If the motherboard has Resizable Base Address Registers (BARs) enabled, some graphics cards may experience compatibility issues with certain games or applications, resulting in a black screen. Administrators can enter the BIOS and temporarily disable Resizable Base Address Registers to test whether this alleviates the issue. Additionally, ensure that both the motherboard BIOS and chipset drivers are up to date to avoid graphics driver crashes caused by underlying communication protocol incompatibilities.

Another possible interfering factor is third-party monitoring software or system optimization tools. For example, some overclocking software, fan control tools, or overlay monitoring plugins may conflict with AMD graphics drivers. When troubleshooting, it's recommended to uninstall all non-essential third-party tools, leaving only the official drivers and control panel, and observe whether the black screen and driver timeout issues persist.

For users with multiple monitors, the graphics card may experience reduced stability when outputting multiple resolutions and refresh rates. Try setting all monitors to the same refresh rate to avoid black screens caused by signal switching. If the problem persists, disable FreeSync in Radeon Software to test for compatibility conflicts with the monitor's adaptive refresh rate.

At the hardware level, if the graphics card is operated in a high-temperature environment for a long time, the GPU core or memory chip will experience thermal degradation, leading to driver anomalies. Use monitoring software to confirm whether the graphics card temperature exceeds 85°C under high load. If excessive, reduce the temperature by increasing chassis airflow, cleaning dust, or replacing thermal paste. You can also manually set the fan curve in Radeon Software to improve the graphics card's heat dissipation as temperatures rise.

Some users may experience insufficient power output from their graphics cards due to power fluctuations when performing large-scale rendering or high-load gaming, resulting in a momentary black screen. In this case, you should check whether the power supply meets the graphics card's requirements, especially for high-end graphics cards, which often require higher transient power capabilities. Replacing the power supply with a high-quality one or using dual 8-pin independent power supplies can reduce the likelihood of a black screen.

If the above methods still don't resolve the issue, you can try completely uninstalling the graphics card driver in safe mode and then testing it with Microsoft's standard display driver. If the black screen issue disappears, it confirms that the problem lies with the AMD driver and you can wait for a subsequent driver update. If the black screen persists even with the standard display driver, it's likely a defect in the graphics card hardware. In this case, you should contact the manufacturer for a replacement or warranty.

To prevent similar issues over the long term, it's recommended that users establish a regular update and monitoring system. For example, check AMD's official driver update logs every few weeks to see if there are fixes for Windows 11 black screen and timeout issues. Also, regularly search the system log for graphics card-related errors to proactively identify potential issues:

Get-WinEvent -LogName System | findstr /i "amdkmdag"

This method can quickly identify the frequency of driver errors and optimize them in conjunction with the aforementioned solutions.

Overall, black screen and driver timeout issues with AMD graphics cards in Windows 11 aren't caused by a single factor; rather, they result from a combination of factors, including driver version, system features, hardware status, BIOS settings, power supply, and cooling conditions. The key to completely resolving the issue is a step-by-step investigation, starting with driver cleanup and rollback, to optimizing power supply and cooling, and finally adjusting the registry and modifying BIOS settings, ultimately creating a stable and controllable operating environment.