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Radeon driver timeout or crash when opening an overlay with the AMD metrics overlay enabled

Last verified October 2026Tested against AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1 (20 October 2026) - current release; both entries sit under Known Issues, Radeon graphics products generally - AMD's wording for the Performance Metrics Overlay issue, Radeon RX 9000 series (RDNA 4) - for the FSR Frame Generation variant, Windows 10, Windows 11Good evidence

AMD's current driver notes describe two different overlay crashes, and they have opposite fixes. If AMD's own Performance Metrics Overlay is switched on, that is the one AMD names first: turn the metrics overlay off before you open or close another overlay such as Xbox Game Bar - Ctrl+Shift+O toggles it. If instead you are on an RX 9000 card with in-game FSR Frame Generation enabled, AMD's advice for that entry is different: enable V-Sync in the game's settings. Check which of the two you have before changing anything, because the wrong fix does nothing.

Start here

  1. Work out which of AMD's two entries you have - the fixes are unrelated
  2. Turn the AMD metrics overlay off before you open or close another overlay
  3. Enable V-Sync in the game if you are on an RX 9000 card with FSR Frame Generation

Both of these are single lines in AMD's Adrenalin 26.10.1 known-issues list, and they are easy to mistake for each other because the trigger looks identical from the outside - you press a key, an overlay appears or disappears, and the game dies. They are separate entries with separate scopes and separate workarounds. This page is about telling them apart and about the difference between a crash that takes the game and one that takes the machine.

Symptoms

  • The game crashes to desktop at the exact moment you press Windows key + G, or when you close Game Bar again
  • A Windows notification reading "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered"
  • AMD's own FPS and temperature overlay is showing in the corner of the screen while you play
  • It is intermittent - the same keypress is harmless most of the time
  • On an RX 9000 card with in-game FSR Frame Generation, the whole system hangs or crashes rather than just the game
  • The game may render black after the driver recovers and need restarting

Why this happens

AMD's Performance Metrics Overlay colliding with another overlay

AMD lists an intermittent application crash or driver timeout in some games when opening or closing other overlays, such as Xbox Game Bar, while the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition Performance Metrics Overlay is enabled. Two details in that wording are worth reading carefully. The scope is "Radeon graphics products" with no generation limit, so this is not an RX 9000 problem. And the trigger is the moment an overlay opens or closes, not having one on screen - which is why the crash lands on a keypress and why a long session with everything already drawn can be perfectly stable. AMD publishes no cause, only the workaround of turning its overlay off around that moment.

Work out which of AMD's two entries you have - the fixes are unrelated · Turn the AMD metrics overlay off before you open or close another overlay · Stop Game Bar being the thing that opens mid-game

A separate RX 9000 issue with in-game FSR Frame Generation

AMD lists, separately, an intermittent system crash or hang when switching between applications or toggling overlays while playing games with in-game AMD FSR Frame Generation enabled on Radeon RX 9000 series products, and recommends enabling V-Sync in game settings. Note what is different: the scope is RX 9000 only, the trigger includes plain application switching as well as overlays, the outcome AMD describes is a system crash or hang rather than an application crash, and the workaround has nothing to do with any overlay setting. If you are on an RX 9000 card with frame generation on, this entry is the better match and the metrics-overlay fix will not help you.

Work out which of AMD's two entries you have - the fixes are unrelated · Enable V-Sync in the game if you are on an RX 9000 card with FSR Frame Generation

Why a "driver timeout" and a "crash" are the same event

AMD's first entry says "application crash or driver timeout", which are two endings to one story. Windows resets the graphics card when it does not finish work within the allotted time - two seconds by default - and the visible artifact is meant to be a screen flicker plus the message "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered". Microsoft notes that an application which does not handle having its graphics device reset underneath it may simply render black afterwards and have to be restarted. That is why one person sees a flicker and keeps playing while another is back at the desktop, from the same underlying hang.

Fixes

Work out which of AMD's two entries you have - the fixes are unrelated

about 5 min

AMD documents two overlay crashes with different scopes and different workarounds. Thirty seconds spent here stops you applying the wrong one and concluding nothing works.

Applies to: Radeon graphics products

  1. Is AMD's own metrics overlay visible while you play - the FPS, GPU and temperature readout, usually top right? If yes, the Performance Metrics Overlay entry applies to you whatever card you own.
  2. Are you on a Radeon RX 9000 series card with the game's own AMD FSR Frame Generation enabled? If yes, the second entry applies, and it applies even with AMD's metrics overlay switched off.
  3. Note what actually dies. AMD describes the metrics-overlay issue as an application crash or driver timeout, and the RX 9000 frame-generation issue as a system crash or hang. If your whole machine goes down rather than just the game, that points at the second entry.
  4. Both can be true at once on an RX 9000 card. In that case do the metrics overlay step first, because it costs you nothing but a readout, then the V-Sync step.

Source: AMD

Turn the AMD metrics overlay off before you open or close another overlay

about 5 min

This is AMD's own stated workaround for the first entry, and the hotkey makes it a one-key habit rather than a settings change you have to remember to undo.

Applies to: Radeon graphics products, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+O. AMD documents that as the default hotkey for toggling the Performance Overlay, so you can drop the overlay a moment before pressing Windows key + G and bring it back afterwards.
  2. If you would rather have it off permanently, open AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, type "Metrics" into the search box, open Performance Metrics, and turn off "Show Metrics Overlay" on the Overlay tab - the same switch is repeated under Settings.
  3. If Ctrl+Shift+O does nothing, check the binding: type "Hotkey" into the AMD Software search box and open Hotkey Settings. Click a tile to reassign, or press Delete to unbind. AMD's own documentation here was written against an earlier Adrenalin release, so expect the layout to differ slightly from its screenshots.
  4. Note that this is a timing workaround, not a repair. AMD's wording ties the crash to the moment an overlay opens or closes, so what you are doing is making sure its overlay is not up at that moment.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: AMD, AMD

Enable V-Sync in the game if you are on an RX 9000 card with FSR Frame Generation

about 10 min

AMD's stated workaround for the second entry. It looks unrelated to overlays, which is exactly why people miss it - the trigger is the overlay, the fix is in the game's display settings.

Applies to: Radeon RX 9000 series

  1. Open the game's own graphics or display settings - not AMD Software - and turn V-Sync on. AMD's recommendation is specifically to enable V-Sync in game settings.
  2. Leave in-game AMD FSR Frame Generation as it is for now. AMD does not ask you to give it up for this entry, unlike some of its other known issues.
  3. Play as you normally would, including the app-switching or overlay-toggling that triggered it, and see whether the hangs stop.
  4. Expect a frame-rate ceiling as a side effect: V-Sync caps presentation to your display's refresh rate. If that is unacceptable, turning off in-game frame generation removes the other half of AMD's stated condition, though AMD does not document that as the workaround here.

Confirmed by the vendor.

Source: AMD

Stop Game Bar being the thing that opens mid-game

about 5 min

AMD names Xbox Game Bar as its example of the other overlay. If you never use it and it is being opened by a misread keypress, removing it removes the trigger outright.

Applies to: Windows 10, Windows 11

  1. Decide whether you actually use Game Bar. It is also what captures clips and screenshots for many people, so check before switching it off.
  2. To turn it off, press Windows key + I, type "xbox", and use the "Enable Xbox Game Bar" toggle. Microsoft documents that as the switch for the feature.
  3. Remember the shortcut is the same both ways: Windows key + G shows Game Bar and hides it again. If you keep Game Bar but the crash lands when it closes, the hide is as much a trigger as the show.
  4. AMD's wording is "other overlays, such as Xbox Game Bar", so Game Bar is its example rather than the only candidate. If you run a capture or monitoring overlay that draws over games, test with that closed too - though be aware AMD has not named any specific third-party overlay.

Source: AMD, Microsoft

Check whether a later Adrenalin release lists either entry as fixed

Check before applyingabout 40 min

Both entries are open in 26.10.1, AMD's current release. A fix will arrive as a driver - but read the notes before you install, because changing drivers is the most disruptive step here.

Applies to: Radeon graphics products

Before you do this

Changing or reinstalling a graphics driver can leave a machine without a working display driver if the install fails, and the screen will blank during installation. Close other applications first, and do not start this immediately before you need the computer for something else.

  1. Open AMD's current release notes and search the page for "overlay" before installing anything.
  2. If your entry has moved from Known Issues to Fixed Issues, updating is the fix and you can put the metrics overlay or V-Sync back as you like.
  3. If it is still open - as both are in 26.10.1 - there is nothing to gain here for this specific problem, so stay where you are and use the workaround.
  4. If you do move to an older release, AMD's notes recommend using the AMD Cleanup Utility when downgrading.

Source: AMD

Known issues

  • Open in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1, notes last updated 20 October 2026. AMD lists an intermittent application crash or driver timeout in some games when opening or closing other overlays, such as Xbox Game Bar, while its Performance Metrics Overlay is enabled on Radeon graphics products, and recommends temporarily disabling that overlay around the moment another one opens or closes. No cause has been published and no fix has shipped.

    Affects AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1, Radeon graphics products · Status: workaround only

  • Also open in 26.10.1, as a separate entry: an intermittent system crash or hang when switching between applications or toggling overlays while playing games with in-game AMD FSR Frame Generation enabled on Radeon RX 9000 series products. AMD's recommendation for this one is to enable V-Sync in game settings, which is unrelated to any overlay setting.

    Affects AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1, Radeon RX 9000 series · Status: workaround only

If none of this worked

If your game crashes when you switch away from it and no overlay is involved at all, neither of these entries is your problem - that is a broader issue with exclusive fullscreen and the display handover, and it has its own page on this site. If AMD's metrics overlay is off, you are not on an RX 9000 card, and it still crashes when Game Bar opens, then you are outside what AMD has documented: treat a third-party capture or monitoring overlay as the next suspect, since AMD names Game Bar only as an example of "other overlays". And if Windows bug-checks outright instead of recovering, Microsoft's default is to do that on the sixth GPU hang when five or more hangs and recoveries land inside one minute, which means you have repeated hangs rather than a different fault.

Common questions

Does this only affect RX 9000 cards?
No, and that is the main thing to get right. AMD scopes the Performance Metrics Overlay entry to "Radeon graphics products" with no generation limit, so an older RX 6000 or RX 7000 card is in scope. Only the second entry, the one about in-game FSR Frame Generation, is limited to the RX 9000 series.
Do I have to give up AMD's FPS overlay permanently?
Not if you do not want to. AMD's recommendation is to disable it temporarily, before opening or closing another overlay, and the default Ctrl+Shift+O hotkey makes that a one-key habit. The crash AMD describes is tied to the moment an overlay opens or closes, so the overlay being up the rest of the time is not what its entry blames.
Why would enabling V-Sync fix a crash?
AMD does not explain, and anything more specific would be a guess. It is listed as the recommended workaround for the RX 9000 frame-generation entry, nothing more. Worth knowing is that it is the workaround for that entry only - if your trigger is AMD's metrics overlay rather than frame generation, V-Sync is not what AMD suggests.
Is this the same thing as a game crashing when I alt-tab?
Usually not, though AMD's RX 9000 entry does include "switching between applications" alongside toggling overlays, so there is real overlap on those cards. Plain alt-tab crashes with no frame generation and no overlay involved are more often about exclusive fullscreen and how the game handles losing the display, which is a different problem with different fixes.

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Related problems

Sources

  • AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 26.10.1 Driver Release NotesOfficial

    AMD · Release notes · checked Oct 22, 2026

    • AMD lists, under Known Issues, an intermittent application crash or driver timeout in some games when opening or closing other overlays, such as Xbox Game Bar, while the AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition Performance Metrics Overlay is enabled on Radeon graphics products
    • AMD recommends temporarily disabling the Performance Metrics Overlay before opening or closing other overlays
    • AMD separately lists an intermittent system crash or hang when switching between applications or toggling overlays while playing games with in-game AMD FSR Frame Generation enabled on Radeon RX 9000 series graphics products
    • For that second issue AMD recommends enabling V-Sync in game settings
    • The notes were last updated 20 October 2026 and 26.10.1 is the current release
    • The same notes recommend the AMD Cleanup Utility when downgrading to a previous version of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition
  • Monitor Performance Metrics with AMD Software: Adrenalin EditionOfficial

    AMD · Documentation · checked Oct 22, 2026

    • The on-screen metrics are controlled by a "Show Metrics Overlay" setting that enables or disables on-screen overlay metrics stats, found on the Overlay tab and repeated under Settings
    • The default hotkey CTRL + SHIFT + O toggles the Performance Overlay, and CTRL + SHIFT + L toggles Performance Logging
    • Hotkeys can be viewed and reassigned by typing "Hotkey" into the AMD Software search box and opening Hotkey Settings, and unbound by pressing Delete
    • AMD documents reaching a setting by typing its name into the search box in AMD Software rather than navigating the tabs
    • AMD notes that depending on system configuration some options and settings may not be available or exactly as shown, and its own steps were written against an earlier Adrenalin release
  • Use a screen reader to record your screen with Xbox Game BarOfficial

    Microsoft · Support page · checked Oct 22, 2026

    • Xbox Game Bar is shown and hidden with the same shortcut, Windows key + G
    • Xbox Game Bar can be turned on or off from Windows Settings by pressing Windows key + I, typing "xbox" and using the "Enable Xbox Game Bar" toggle
    • The feature is configured through Windows Settings and applies to Windows 10 and Windows 11
  • WDDM Support for Timeout Detection and Recovery (TDR)Official

    Microsoft · Documentation · checked Oct 22, 2026

    • Windows timeout detection and recovery resets the graphics card when it takes longer than expected to complete an operation, and the default timeout period in Windows is two seconds
    • After a successful recovery Windows displays an informational message saying "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" and logs it in Event Viewer
    • The only visible artifact from hang detection to recovery is meant to be a screen flicker
    • Some applications that do not handle the device being reset might just render black at the end of this recovery, which requires the end user to restart these applications
    • By default the OS bug-checks the computer on the sixth or more GPU hang when five or more GPU hangs and subsequent recoveries occur within one minute