Framework 13 (AMD 7640U) Boot, stability and drivers problems

Community Support
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We recently purchased a Framework 13 (AMD 7640U) laptop to evaluate as a potential replacement for our current vendor’s devices. It is running Windows 11 24H2.

So far, we have encountered three significant issues that we need to address:

  1. Black Screen on Reboot: Occasionally, when we reboot the laptop, it goes to a black screen and doesn’t boot. We have to power it off and then turn it back on. The laptop is running BIOS v3.05. How can we fix this?

  2. When we click on quick settings icons in systray near the clock, randomly we’d get only a blank window with no way to dismiss it, have to perform a full reboot.

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  3. Driver Detection During Windows Installation: We use Windows Autopilot to provision computers for our users. However, the standard Windows installation media does not detect the Wi-Fi adapter on this laptop. It appears that Framework provides only a monolithic driver bundle that cannot be used during the Windows installation. Using the OOBE/bypassNRO trick would require us to perform a full Windows install and then spend almost as much time during provisioning. Is there a way to get drivers for this model’s Wi-Fi card and fingerprint scanner and slipstream/embed them into the Windows 11 installation media? Ideally, we would like to include all necessary drivers in the installation media so that the laptop automatically detects all hardware devices during the install.

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Nobody knows how to fix these problems or nobody else experiences them?

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I’ve had the same issue regarding #1. I’ve been working with framework for 6 months on diagnosing this issue (part of that length of time is that I got a new job and had a kid so I was unable to do any troubleshooting for a couple months) but so far we’ve determined that all the pins look good on the motherboard and it doesn’t matter what ram I use.
I’m also on 3.05 and running windows 11

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Hi @MaxR,

  1. This might be an issue with the board or the EC. I suggest contacting Framework support to see if they have guidance (they have the best troubleshooting tools and guides; the forum is mostly community members)

  2. For all the Framework devices currently; stay away from Windows 24H2. Especially on the AMD boards. Use the Windows 11 23H2? (I think that is the last one before the 24H2 release)

Along those same lines; make sure you are using the latest driver bundle from Framework. The video drivers are especially problematic with later releases from AMD causing all kinds of issues. Some have had success; others frustration. The driver Framework includes has been tested internally on their machines.

  1. Sadly, slipstreaming drivers into builds seems to have gone by the wayside like it was years ago. It used to be really straightforward to essentially make a custom ISO to burn to a DVD (remember those? :laughing: ) There are a few ways you can accomplish this though none of them are as elegant as slipstreaming used to be.

Solution 1: Purchase the expansion ethernet adapter from Framework. I believe this is recognized by the Windows 11 installation without extra bypassing. This should allow the installation to finish and at least get the machine to a rebootable state. Where your Autopilot script (I think it is a script engine right?) can call the Framework driver bundle that installs all the drivers it needs without hardly any interaction (the driver bundle is a packaged script). Once that is done and the machine rebooted again, the machine provisioned to your domain as needed and the remaining software can be installed.

Solution 2: If you are purchasing the same model board for your laptops; create a base install and make a hard drive image of the base installation. (Macrium, Acronis, etc.) When you are ready to deploy a new machine; burn that image to the SSD (I use Macrium a lot and they have command line/USB versions you could setup) and you will have the same starting point as above after installing with the Ethernet expansion adapter and the machine rebooting then installing the Framework driver bundle.

It would on its next reboot seek out the provisioning for your domain and then install the company specific software your user needs.

Other thoughts: The driver bundle is essentially just a ZIP file; the drivers included can be found within. Alternatively, there I have found links to the Microsoft Windows Update catalog for the raw RZ616 drivers by doing some Google searching in the past. Any of the older RZ616 drivers for Windows 10/11 should work if you want a standalone package just to get by before running the Framework driver bundle.

As Framework starts to build out more support for their Business side of things; some of these issues for installing Windows will be addressed.

As you are evaluating this for replacing a current vendor device; keep in mind that there is no SLA like what exists for HP, Dell, Lenovo. To that end, all the diagnosing and replacement parts can be done in house (heck even by your more competent end users) you just need to have the spare parts on hand.

If I were doing this I would have a hotspare of almost every major part ready to go. Motherboard, Display, Touchpad, Keyboard, Expansion Cards, Power Adapter, USBC cables, Power Button, Camera, RAM, SSD, Battery, Extra screws!

When someone questions why would you be buying extra parts for your evaluation tell them this is so you can make an apples to apples comparison with another vendor device that has extended warranties and SLA’s many large businesses purchase because the laptop is important to keep business going. Odds are very good it will be a lower total cost of ownership for the company over the life of the product. Especially considering nobody else makes a repairable/upgradable laptop like Framework. Even the mainboards can be repurposed as a PC with the CoolerMaster case!

Sorry for the long post; I wanted to give you some of my thoughts on how this could work in your situation and some background to go with it. Let us know how it turns out. :+1:

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Their guide for this laptop instructs to install 24H2. :confused:

I’m using the driver bundle I downloaded I’m their website. BIOS and Drivers Downloads
Framework_Laptop_13_and_16_AMD_Ryzen_7040_driver_bundle_W11_2024_10_02.exe

I’m using drivers installed by the bundle. However, the fact that we have to keep using only the driver version provided by Framework is rather problematic. That means we are delayed by Framework’s schedule whenever ODM release driver updates.

We were able to get network connection by using a usb-c dock which has ethernet port.

I tend to dislike using “golden images” like this. They quickly get out of date and then we spend as much time getting that installed system up to date. Also we haven’t settled on the specs yet. If we’ll continue to buy Frameworks, we might buy a couple more different configs to see what works best for us.

Yes, that driver bundle is a self-extracting 7zip file. I was able to open it and there’s \WiFi_3.3.0.908\ folder with drivers. If we get another laptop, I’ll try to simply copy that folder on the same usb as win11 installer and see if I’ll be able to pick it from there.

That was the biggest drawing point why we are looking at Framework and bought this laptop in the first place. When things break, instead of dealing with bone-headed techsupport who are only interested in closing their tickets as soon as possible for quotas and not spending any company money on repairs/replacements, we troubleshoot it inhouse and either swap it or ship the part to enduser…At least that’s the dream for now.

However, as of now things looked a lot rosier on paper than for real. :confused:

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Hi,

I did a similar evaluation for business, but with the FW16 AMD. I ran into usb compatibility problems that made us decide not to purchase it for company wide use. I did hint to FW support that they might sell a lot more laptops if they fixed the usb problems, but I am still waiting for that.