[Windows 8.1] Need AMD Radeon Vega 8 Drivers for AMD Ryzen 3 2200G Chipset

[HarveyHouston]

Let me preface this by saying - I will not upgrade to Windows 10. Please do not answer with "Upgrade to Windows 10", as this is not the solution I am looking for.

For those who don't know, I am running a custom-built computer with an AMD Ryzen 3 2200G processor. Specs are here: https://www.amd.com/en/products/apu/amd-ryzen-3-2200g As you can see, it has Radeon Vega 8 graphics built in.

My OS of choice is Windows 8.1 Professional - I had upgraded from Windows 7 due to the end of extended support. Unfortunately, this puts me in a terrible spot. According to my research, AMD stopped Radeon graphics support of Windows 8.1 back in the summer of 2017, and the Vega 8 graphics were released after the cancellation. My choices are:

1. Upgrade to Windows 10 to install the drivers - something I will NOT be doing!
2. Replace my chipset with one that is compatible with Windows 8.1; that would be a costly venture.
3. Attempt to force Windows 8.1 to install the drivers designed for Windows 10. I succeeded to do so, but upon restarting to apply the changes, it freezes at the motherboard's logo.
4. Search for a modified, working set of Vega 8 drivers that will work with Windows 8.1; so far, no luck.

I'm reaching out to this community to see if anyone can help me with my problem. I'm trying to get the drivers working for some games and an emulator I want to use.

 

[Joom]

I'd recommend installing a Linux distro. Gaming on Linux has come a really long way, especially for AMD systems. Lutris and Proton make it a breeze. The "hardest" part is just getting the Vulkan drivers installed and enabled. Your other option is to modify the driver installer to include your hardware's IDs so the driver gets forcibly installed, but this is incredibly difficult to do (I've tried in the past for my Mac since Apple hasn't maintained the Bootcamp GPU driver since 2017), and I believe AMD's installer now has a sanitation check before running to make sure it hasn't been modified or compromised, which causes even more headaches. Personally, I moved to Pop_OS because Windows has become absolutely abysmal to use, and gaming performance ended up being miles better anyway.

Here's a screenshot of my Lutris library so far. All of these games play flawlessly, and I haven't been able to find a game that I can't get to run either through this or Steam's Proton.


Edit: I take that back. I have problems with MHW, but that's only because of the crack it uses. I haven't bothered to setup a Steam emulator for it yet.

 

[HarveyHouston]

I'd recommend installing a Linux distro. Gaming on Linux has come a really long way, especially for AMD systems. Lutris and Proton make it a breeze. The "hardest" part is just getting the Vulkan drivers installed and enabled. Your other option is to modify the driver installer to include your hardware's IDs so the driver gets forcibly installed, but this is incredibly difficult to do (I've tried in the past for my Mac since Apple hasn't maintained the Bootcamp GPU driver since 2017), and I believe AMD's installer now has a sanitation check before running to make sure it hasn't been modified or compromised, which causes even more headaches. Personally, I moved to Pop_OS because Windows has become absolutely abysmal to use, and gaming performance ended up being miles better anyway.

A great suggestion, however some programs I am trying to run don't work well or at all on Linux, as they are designed solely for Windows. Also, I already have a Ubuntu laptop.

 

[Joom]

A great suggestion, however some programs I am trying to run don't work well or at all on Linux, as they are designed solely for Windows. Also, I already have a Ubuntu laptop.

Which ones would these be? There's really only a tiny handful of things WINE can't run these days, especially if you use wine-staging. Lutris even provides helper scripts on their site for both games and applications. They utilize winetricks and perform the entire environment setup for you, so it's pretty much "click and go" these days.

Here's a helper script for Sony Vegas, for example.
https://lutris.net/games/vegas-pro-15-edit/

 

[HarveyHouston]

Which ones would these be?

Stuff for the Rock Band Customs Project. RockBiink, MiloMod, C3 CON Tools, Rudi's Downloaders, etc. They weren't made by the developers for Linux, and I doubt that WINE can efficiently run them.

 

[tech3475]

Worst case scenario, can you just buy a new GPU and disable the onboard?

What happens if you run the AMD automatic detect and install utility?

 

[Joom]

Stuff for the Rock Band Customs Project. RockBiink, MiloMod, C3 CON Tools, Rudi's Downloaders, etc. They weren't made by the developers for Linux, and I doubt that WINE can efficiently run them.

You got a link to any of these? I'm Googling around, but not really finding much. I'm willing to wager a lot of these tools were made in C#, or some other .NET language, which is incredibly simple to run under WINE.

 

[Hambrew]

Stuff for the Rock Band Customs Project. RockBiink, MiloMod, C3 CON Tools, Rudi's Downloaders, etc. They weren't made by the developers for Linux, and I doubt that WINE can efficiently run them.

No source in the RBCP GitLab to compile a native Linux version? That's a bit cringe. Also, looking in the README...

For Linux users, WINE may work. Anyone who tests these in WINE is welcome to report their findings, and create new issues if they run across problems.

If I were you, I'd take my chances and use a LiveUSB to test if they work.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Worst case scenario, can you just buy a new GPU and disable the onboard?

I could, but it might not function well.

What happens if you run the AMD automatic detect and install utility?

I get an error saying that my hardware does not support the OS; i.e. AMD Radeon will not work on Windows 8.1.

You got a link to any of these? I'm Googling around, but not really finding much. I'm willing to wager a lot of these tools were made in C#, or some other .NET language, which is incredibly simple to run under WINE.

I guess so? You can find most of that stuff here: https://rhythmgamingworld.com/forums/topic/list-of-all-authoring-stuff-reaper-magma-tutorials-etc/ Also, several of the developers are on my Discord; you're welcome to join and ask them.

No source in the RBCP GitLab to compile a native Linux version? That's a bit cringe. Also, looking in the README...

RBCP is a collection of software, not a source code for a single piece.

If I were you, I'd take my chances and use a LiveUSB to test if they work.

I'll consider it only if the software I want to work will not work. Anyhow, most of the RBCP software works well; it's just stuff like RPCS3 that is giving me fits.

 

[Joom]

I found the C3 Tools at least, and I was right about that. You get this without .NET 4 installed:

0024:fixme:mscoree:parse_supported_runtime sku=L".NETFramework,Version=v4.0" not implemented

You just need .NET 4 installed, which winetricks can do for you easily.

winetricks dotnet40
wine C3CONTools.exe

And voila:

I guess so? You can find most of that stuff here: https://rhythmgamingworld.com/forums/topic/list-of-all-authoring-stuff-reaper-magma-tutorials-etc/ Also, several of the developers are on my Discord; you're welcome to join and ask them.

Awesome. I'll try a couple more here in a few, but I can't imagine they'd be all that hard to get running. With .NET applications, you just need the framework installed just like on Windows.

No source in the RBCP GitLab to compile a native Linux version?

If they're .NET, you can't really build a truly native Linux version as you can only build them as an EXE, and either run them with WINE or Mono. A Mono build would be more "native", but not by much.

 

[tech3475]

I could, but it might not function well.

Any particular reason? I ask because I’ve never heard of this happening before (only exception was some weird software/driver I was using).

Or do you mean performance wise?

 

[HarveyHouston]

I found the C3 Tools at least, and I was right about that. You get this without .NET 4 installed:

0024:fixme:mscoree:parse_supported_runtime sku=L".NETFramework,Version=v4.0" not implemented

You just need .NET 4 installed, which winetricks can do for you easily.

winetricks dotnet40
wine C3CONTools.exe

And voila:
View attachment 251521

Hey, that's awesome! I'll report that to the developers and see what they say.

EDIT: This does not mean my problem is solved, however. I'm still looking to see if I can make Windows 8.1 do more before I decide to switch away from it.

Any particular reason? I ask because I’ve never heard of this happening before (only exception was some weird software/driver I was using).

Or do you mean performance wise?

If I am to stick with Windows 8.1, most modern (no older than three years) chipsets don't support Windows 8.1. AMD Radeon has dropped support completely since 2017, so any AMD Radeon graphics chipsets I get for my system would not have drivers built just for Win 8.1. I don't know about Intel, but I'm pretty sure they are the same way.

 

[tech3475]

Hey, that's awesome! I'll report that to the developers and see what they say.

EDIT: This does not mean my problem is solved, however. I'm still looking to see if I can make Windows 8.1 do more before I decide to switch away from it.


If I am to stick with Windows 8.1, most modern (no older than three years) chipsets don't support Windows 8.1. AMD Radeon has dropped support completely since 2017, so any AMD Radeon graphics chipsets I get for my system would not have drivers built just for Win 8.1. I don't know about Intel, but I'm pretty sure they are the same way.

Ok, I thought it was just the GPU driver you were after.

On a side note, if you do use Linux then you could potentially use Windows 8.1 in a VM if the software which can’t run under Linux isn’t too demanding.

AFAIK this should bypass most of the driver related issues since they typically emulate their own chipset, gpu, etc. From my experience by default.

 

[Deleted member 397813]

does windows 8.1 still work without the drivers? because i think the only thing the drivers do is bring the software and thats it.

i am using windows 10 and ryzen 3 3200g with vega 8 incase you are wondering.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

AMD drivers are fucking dogshit, period. I had to fiddle with some hacking on a mobile APU to get something moderately stable with their drivers, so try the following:

1. Download and extract the AMD GPU drivers to wherever.
2. Navigate to /Packages/Drivers/Display/WT6AINF
3. Open up "C0365275.inf" in a text editor
4. Find: "ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.10.0", and copy everything in this section. This is essentially how the software dictates which version of the driver you can install for your version of Windows.
5. Find: "ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.6.3.1" < This is the code for Windows 8.1. Paste what you copied from the above under this heading. This will "force" the drivers to recognize your version of Windows as a valid version.
6. Install the driver MANUALLY with Device Manager

A. Press Win+R, type: devmgmt.msc and hit enter
B. Find your AMD GPU in the list, right click it, and choose "Update Drivers"
C. Choose "Browse my Computer for Drivers", and navigate to the folder with the modified .inf
D. Drivers should then install, reboot
​

I can't guarantee this will work perfectly for you, when I had to do this with a mobile APU driver I would occasionally get BSODs, but it's either this or update to Windows 10.

 

[HarveyHouston]

does windows 8.1 still work without the drivers? because i think the only thing the drivers do is bring the software and thats it.

i am using windows 10 and ryzen 3 3200g with vega 8 incase you are wondering.

Yes, but I wanted the drivers to work. I'm now exploring alternate GPUs; NVIDIA looks good.

AMD drivers are fucking dogshit, period. I had to fiddle with some hacking on a mobile APU to get something moderately stable with their drivers, so try the following:

1. Download and extract the AMD GPU drivers to wherever.
2. Navigate to /Packages/Drivers/Display/WT6AINF
3. Open up "C0365275.inf" in a text editor
4. Find: "ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.10.0", and copy everything in this section. This is essentially how the software dictates which version of the driver you can install for your version of Windows.
5. Find: "ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.6.3.1" < This is the code for Windows 8.1. Paste what you copied from the above under this heading. This will "force" the drivers to recognize your version of Windows as a valid version.
6. Install the driver MANUALLY with Device Manager

A. Press Win+R, type: devmgmt.msc and hit enter
B. Find your AMD GPU in the list, right click it, and choose "Update Drivers"
C. Choose "Browse my Computer for Drivers", and navigate to the folder with the modified .inf
D. Drivers should then install, reboot
​

I can't guarantee this will work perfectly for you, when I had to do this with a mobile APU driver I would occasionally get BSODs, but it's either this or update to Windows 10.

Did that. I succeeded in getting them to install, but my computer hung at the boot screen when trying to start normally, so I had to boot into safe mode and uninstall the drivers again. After talking with others about it, they suggest it may be a kernel conflict. IDK. I would very much like to use the AMD GPU, but the drivers don't seem to "just work". I don't know if further modification is needed? I can give you all the relevant specs of my computer, and link to the latest driver package for Radeon Vega 8 so you can browse the files.

EDIT: If you already have the latest Radeon driver package, I can skip sending you that package. Just compare it against my hardware specs.

RE-EDIT: Here are some pics.

 

[JanFralst]

AMD drivers are fucking dogshit, period. I had to fiddle with some hacking on a mobile APU to get something moderately stable with their drivers, so try the following:

1. Download and extract the AMD GPU drivers to wherever.
2. Navigate to /Packages/Drivers/Display/WT6AINF
3. Open up "C0365275.inf" in a text editor
4. Find: "ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.10.0", and copy everything in this section. This is essentially how the software dictates which version of the driver you can install for your version of Windows.
5. Find: "ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.6.3.1" < This is the code for Windows 8.1. Paste what you copied from the above under this heading. This will "force" the drivers to recognize your version of Windows as a valid version.
6. Install the driver MANUALLY with Device Manager

A. Press Win+R, type: devmgmt.msc and hit enter
B. Find your AMD GPU in the list, right click it, and choose "Update Drivers"
C. Choose "Browse my Computer for Drivers", and navigate to the folder with the modified .inf
D. Drivers should then install, reboot
​

I can't guarantee this will work perfectly for you, when I had to do this with a mobile APU driver I would occasionally get BSODs, but it's either this or update to Windows 10.

Hi Tom

This method really sounds interesting to me. I have a laptop with a Ryzen 5 4500U (model: Acer Aspire A515-44) - and a would like to run Windows 8.1 on this one. I've tried your method modifying the .inf file. I tried on:

Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.3.2 Driver for Windows® 10 64-bit
Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.3.2 Driver for Windows® 7 64-bit

None of these have the ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.6.3.1 option so I tried to create it in the .inf file - but I get an error like "hash value for....??...is missing". Do you have suggestion how to do this the right way - or if you maybe could guide me to some links....?

Best Regards

Jan

 

[HarveyHouston]

Hi Tom

This method really sounds interesting to me. I have a laptop with a Ryzen 5 4500U (model: Acer Aspire A515-44) - and a would like to run Windows 8.1 on this one. I've tried your method modifying the .inf file. I tried on:

Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.3.2 Driver for Windows® 10 64-bit
Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 21.3.2 Driver for Windows® 7 64-bit

None of these have the ATI.Mfg.NTamd64.6.3.1 option so I tried to create it in the .inf file - but I get an error like "hash value for....??...is missing". Do you have suggestion how to do this the right way - or if you maybe could guide me to some links....?

Best Regards

Jan

I agree. I also would like to know!

 

[JanFralst]

I agree. I also would like to know!

I agree with you HarvHouHacker according Win 8.1. Of course I run both Win 10 and Linux on many machines - but in the Microsoft ecosystem I personally prefer Win 8.1.

Why?

A fresh installation of Win 10 has approx 150 background processes in idle state. With rather hard tweaking you may go under a hundred.

Some simple tweaking of Win 8 takes you easily down to 20-25 background processes! Thats what I like!! I dont want my OS to be cooking under hood - I want to decide myself whats going on!!

The free world of computing is tightened up by different means, and manufacturers. People have less possibilities to choose themselves.

Legacy boot for example is also now a memory too - enjoy as long as its possible to turn off Secure Boot!!

 

[JanFralst]

I agree with you HarvHouHacker according Win 8.1. Of course I run both Win 10 and Linux on many machines - but in the Microsoft ecosystem I personally prefer Win 8.1.

Why?

A fresh installation of Win 10 has approx 150 background processes in idle state. With rather hard tweaking you may go under a hundred.

Some simple tweaking of Win 8 takes you easily down to 20-25 background processes! Thats what I like!! I dont want my OS to be cooking under hood - I want to decide myself whats going on!!

The free world of computing is tightened up by different means, and manufacturers. People have less possibilities to choose themselves.

Legacy boot for example is also now a memory too - enjoy as long as its possible to turn off Secure Boot!!

So, it would be very much appreciated if someone could and wanted to contribute with a deeper and more detailed knowledge on how to mod for example latest Adrenalin 2020 Win 7 drivers to work for Win 8.1!! If it is possible at all...??