How to fix Nvidia Control Panel not opening

Nvidia Control Panel is a helpful program that allows you to manage your graphics card settings, such as screen resolution and 3D settings.

Sometimes, however, this program just doesn’t launch. This might have several reasons, such as:

  • antivirus settings,
  • outdated drivers,
  • hung processes,
  • etc.

In this article, we are listing some methods that users have successfully used to troubleshoot Nvidia Control Panel. Check them out and let us know what worked for you!

Check that Nvidia Control panel isn’t hidden

It is a ridiculously simple fix that many people overlook. Sometimes Windows simply hides a program, making it impossible to open. Luckily you can easily solve this.

  1. Type “control” in the Search bar, locate Control Panel and click Open.
opening Control Panel
  1. In the window that pops up, select Nvidia Control Panel.
opening Nvidia control panel
  1. It should now open. Navigate to the Desktop tab and select both Add Desktop Context Menu and Show Notification Tray Icon.
adding desktop context menu and notification tray icon
  1. This should place Nvidia Control Panel on both your context menu and your system taskbar.

Check if this solved the problem. If it hasn’t, it’s time to check that it is not your antivirus misbehaving.

Check antivirus settings

Some antivirus software (notably AVG) block Nvidia Control Panel. You can change the settings to allow applications. Here is how you do it on Windows 10 Security:

  1. Click Start>Settings.
Opening Windows 10 settings
  1. Choose Updates&Security.
opening Update and Security settings
  1. In the menu on the left, choose Windows Security.
opening Windows Security
  1. Click on Firewall&Network Protection.
opening firewall settings
  1. Scroll down and select Allow an app through the firewall.
allowing an app through the firewall
  1. Locate Nvidia Control Panel and make sure the boxes are ticked so the app is allowed through the firewall.
allowing Nvidia Control Panel through firewall

Disable Nvidia Display Container

The Nvidia Display Container is another process that is not vital, but can cause issues like Nvidia Control Panel not opening. We will end this task and also delete the related folder.

  1. Navigate to the following location: C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Display.NvContainer\plugins\LocalSystem\
locating LocalSystem folder
  1. Right-click the DisplayDriverRAS folder and choose Delete.
deleting DisplayDriverRAS folder from LocalSystem
  1. Now navigate to the following location: C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation.
selecting DisplayDriverRAS folder from LocalSy
  1. Locate the DisplayDriverRAS folder, right-click and choose Delete.
deleting DisplayDriverRAS folder
  1. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. Find the Nvidia Display Container Local System process, then click End task.
ending the Nvidia display container process

Check if this solved the problem. If it hasn’t, you can still try a number of options, but you will have to tweak your system a little deeper now.

Check that necessary services are running

There are some background services that need to run for Control Panel to run smoothly: the Nvidia Display Container LS and Nvidia Network Service Container.

  1. Type “run” in the Search bar and click Open.
opening Run app
  1. Type “services.msc” in the Run app and click Open.
opening Services from Run
  1. Locate NVIDIA Display Container LS.
Locating Nvidia Display Container LS
  1. Double-click it to open Properties. Set Startup type to Automatic, click Start, Apply, then OK.
opening Nvidia Display container properties
  1. Now locate Nvidia Network Service Container and do the same: double-click, set Startup type to Automatic, click Start, Apply, then OK.
setting Nvidia Display container to start automatically
  1. Check if Nvidia Control Panel opens now. If it doesn’t, there are a few more things you can try.

Open Nvidia Control Panel from installation directory

For some reason, even if you can’t open Control Panel from the Start menu, you might be able to open it from the installation directory.

  1. Navigate to C:\\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Control Panel Client.
  2. Open the nvcplui.exe file.
opening Nvidia Control Panel from installation folder
  1. If you want Nvidia Control Panel to automatically start every time you start your system, right-click the file, choose Create shortcut.
creating shortcut from nvcplui.exe
  1. Confirm that you will create the shortcut on the Desktop instead.
confirming creating a shortcut on the desktop
  1. Then go to Desktop, and move the shortcut file to C:\\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp. This should automate the process.
pasting nvcplui.exe shortcut into startup folder

If the issue is still not resolved, you can try changing some Windows settings.

Disable Fast Boot

Windows 10 has a useful new feature called Fast Boot that – you guessed it – allows your system to boot faster. The price to pay, however, is that the computer never goes to sleep completely, and this might mess with some applications. Try if turning it off fixes your Nvidia Control panel problem:

  1. Press Windows + S to open Power settings. Choose Power & sleep settings.
opening power&sleep settings
  1. On the right side, under Related settings, click Additional power settings.
opening additional power settings
  1. This opens Power Options. Click on Choose what the power buttons do.
choosing what the power buttons do
  1. Click on Change settings that are currently unavailable.
changing settings that are currently unavailable
  1. Uncheck Turn on fast startup (recommended) option and click Save changes.
turning off fast start-up

Check if this solved your problem. Your system might start a bit slower now, but Nvidia Control Panel should open. If it still doesn’t, your drivers might be outdated. Check out our article on how to update Nvidia graphic drivers!

Conclusion

Nvidia Control Panel is a useful program, but sometimes it has its issues. We hope these solutions were helpful and you managed to get it to open. Let us know in the comments!

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