New RX 9070 XT – Code 43, Drivers Won’t Install. Help!

Understanding and Troubleshooting Graphics Card Driver Issues: A Case Study of the RX 9070 XT with Code 43 Error

In the realm of PC building and hardware upgrades, encountering driver and hardware recognition issues can be both frustrating and perplexing. Recently, a user documented a challenging experience involving the installation of a brand-new AMD RX 9070 XT graphics card. This article aims to analyze the problem comprehensively and provide professional guidance on troubleshooting steps, potential causes, and solutions.

Case Overview

The user purchased an AMD RX 9070 XT graphics card during a promotional event, along with a Corsair RM850x SHIFT power supply unit (PSU). After the package’s arrival and hardware installation, several issues arose during driver installation and device recognition.

System Configuration Highlights

• Motherboard: ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4
• Processor: Intel i5-13400F
• Memory: 32GB DDR4 (4x8GB)
• Power Supply: Corsair RM850x SHIFT (ATX 3.1 compliant)
• Graphics Card: Newly installed AMD RX 9070 XT
• Operating Systems Tested: Windows 10 (twice), Windows 11 (once)

Sequence of Events and Issues

1. Hardware Installation: The PSU functioned correctly. The new GPU was installed carefully into the PCIe slot with secure power connections. The previous GPU, RX 6700 XT, operated perfectly in the same setup, indicating that the PSU and motherboard PCIe slot are likely operational.

2. Recognition by Windows: The system detects the RX 9070 XT device, but driver installation fails.

3. Driver Installation Problems:

4. Multiple driver versions (latest, older, experimental) have been attempted without success.
5. The AMD Software application consistently displays an error: “The version of AMD Software that you have launched is not compatible with your currently installed AMD graphics driver.”

6. Device Manager reports the device error as “Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems (Code 43).”

7. System Behavior:

8. Occasional boot failures characterized by black screens after the initial boot process.
9. Intermittent black screens during operation, sometimes requiring system restarts.

Troubleshooting Steps and Considerations

Given the complexity of the issue, several debugging steps can be pursued:

1. Driver Cleaning and Reinstallation
2. Use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) in Safe Mode to thoroughly remove existing GPU drivers.