diff --git a/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py b/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py
index ad62ad459a..7d4202fe4b 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/training/worker.py
@@ -1111,6 +1111,20 @@ def run_training_process(
         m.__getattr__ = _ga
         return m
 
+    # Metaclass for stub *classes* so class-level attribute access works too.
+    # e.g. torchao does ProcessGroup.BackendType — plain type() has no __getattr__
+    # on the metaclass, so we need this to avoid AttributeError on class attrs.
+    class _StubClassMeta(type):
+        def __getattr__(cls, attr):
+            if attr.startswith("__"):
+                raise AttributeError(attr)
+            child = _StubClassMeta(attr, (), {"__init__": lambda self, *a, **kw: None})
+            setattr(cls, attr, child)
+            return child
+
+    def _make_stub_class(name):
+        return _StubClassMeta(name, (), {"__init__": lambda self, *a, **kw: None})
+
     if sys.platform == "win32":
         _c10d_key = "torch._C._distributed_c10d"
         if _c10d_key not in sys.modules:  # guard: never overwrite real NVIDIA impl
@@ -1121,7 +1135,7 @@ def run_training_process(
             def _c10d_stub_getattr(_attr):
                 if _attr.startswith("__"):
                     raise AttributeError(_attr)
-                _cls = type(_attr, (), {"__init__": lambda self, *a, **kw: None})
+                _cls = _make_stub_class(_attr)
                 setattr(_c10d_stub, _attr, _cls)
                 return _cls
 
@@ -1165,7 +1179,7 @@ def run_training_process(
                     _mod = sys.modules[_full]
                     setattr(_td, _attr, _mod)
                     return _mod
-                _cls = type(_attr, (), {"__init__": lambda self, *a, **kw: None})
+                _cls = _make_stub_class(_attr)
                 setattr(_td, _attr, _cls)
                 return _cls
             _td.__getattr__ = _td_getattr
@@ -1184,9 +1198,16 @@ def run_training_process(
 
     # ── 1e. Point bitsandbytes at the ROCm 7.2 DLL on Windows ──
     # The AMD continuous-release wheel ships libbitsandbytes_rocm72.dll.
-    # BNB_ROCM_VERSION overrides the version string bnb uses to locate the DLL.
+    # Only set BNB_ROCM_VERSION when that DLL is actually present — setting it
+    # when the DLL is absent makes bnb fail harder than the default detection.
     if sys.platform == "win32" and os.environ.get("UNSLOTH_ROCM_TORCH_INSTALLED") == "1":
-        os.environ.setdefault("BNB_ROCM_VERSION", "72")
+        import importlib.util as _ilu
+        _bnb_spec = _ilu.find_spec("bitsandbytes")
+        if _bnb_spec and _bnb_spec.origin:
+            import pathlib as _pl
+            _bnb_dll = _pl.Path(_bnb_spec.origin).parent / "libbitsandbytes_rocm72.dll"
+            if _bnb_dll.exists():
+                os.environ.setdefault("BNB_ROCM_VERSION", "72")
 
     # ── 2. Now import ML libraries (fresh in this clean process) ──
     try:
diff --git a/studio/backend/utils/hardware/amd.py b/studio/backend/utils/hardware/amd.py
index 443566136a..d13cbdb545 100644
--- a/studio/backend/utils/hardware/amd.py
+++ b/studio/backend/utils/hardware/amd.py
@@ -27,9 +27,19 @@ logger = get_logger(__name__)
 # can take 15-25 s on cold hardware.  Linux is consistently < 2 s.
 _AMD_SMI_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 30 if platform.system() == "Windows" else 10
 
+# Circuit breaker: stop calling amd-smi after this many consecutive failures.
+# On Windows, each failed call spawns a process that may show a UAC/DiskPart
+# elevation prompt.  Once we know amd-smi doesn't work we stop polling it.
+_AMD_SMI_FAILURE_LIMIT = 3
+_amd_smi_consecutive_failures = 0
+_amd_smi_disabled = False
+
 
 def _run_amd_smi(*args: str, timeout: int = _AMD_SMI_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT) -> Optional[Any]:
     """Run amd-smi with the given arguments and return parsed JSON, or None."""
+    global _amd_smi_consecutive_failures, _amd_smi_disabled
+    if _amd_smi_disabled:
+        return None
     try:
         result = subprocess.run(
             ["amd-smi", *args, "--json"],
@@ -41,10 +51,19 @@ def _run_amd_smi(*args: str, timeout: int = _AMD_SMI_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT) -> Optiona
         )
     except (OSError, subprocess.TimeoutExpired) as e:
         logger.warning("amd-smi query failed: %s", e)
+        _amd_smi_consecutive_failures += 1
+        if _amd_smi_consecutive_failures >= _AMD_SMI_FAILURE_LIMIT:
+            logger.warning("amd-smi unavailable -- disabling GPU polling to avoid repeated prompts")
+            _amd_smi_disabled = True
         return None
     if result.returncode != 0 or not result.stdout.strip():
         logger.warning("amd-smi returned code %d", result.returncode)
+        _amd_smi_consecutive_failures += 1
+        if _amd_smi_consecutive_failures >= _AMD_SMI_FAILURE_LIMIT:
+            logger.warning("amd-smi unavailable -- disabling GPU polling to avoid repeated prompts")
+            _amd_smi_disabled = True
         return None
+    _amd_smi_consecutive_failures = 0  # reset on success
     try:
         return json.loads(result.stdout)
     except json.JSONDecodeError: