Let’s make that Nvidia control panel useful again.
Nvidia control panel is a utility to optimize the graphics driver of your computer. It can help you decide how much work you want the GPU to output.
You can choose performance over quality or the opposite. Alternatively, this also lets you go for a balanced approach to find the perfect sweet spot.
Additionally, one can create profiles for specific applications, say a game, to save the best where it really matters.
However, Nvidia forums are full of people who have been devoid of such customizations for years. The reason? They can’t access the Nvidia control panel in the first place.
Nvidia Control Panel Crashing Fix
These users reported that their Nvidia control panel crashes whenever they open it or try accessing specific menus like “Manage 3D settings.”
There can be many reasons underpinning this issue that we’ll try to pinpoint with the possible solutions.
Run as admin
This is the easiest fix in which you grant elevated privileges to the subject program.
Search for the Nvidia control panel in the Windows taskbar search and click Run as administrator for the appropriate program.
Update
Most users seem to take “don’t fix it unless broken” too seriously. Regular updates are done for performance and security optimizations. And generally, it’s in the best interest of any user to install them as soon as they are available.
For this, open Geforce Experience and click the vertical ellipsis on the top right to find the best driver for your use case.
Put simply, Game Ready Drivers are the latest compilations from Nvidia, while Studio Drivers offer greater stability.
I recommend Studio Driver, especially if you aren’t about the newest games and launch day support. However, you can try both and see what works for you.
In addition to updating Nvidia game drivers, using outdated operating systems isn’t favorable either. So, keep your Mac or Windows to their latest version.
Clean install
If updates didn’t work for you, a clean install might.
Personally, I use a 3rd-party tool like Revo uninstaller for completely uninstalling a program. Afterward, it gives options for post-uninstall scans, highlighting the residuals which you can delete with a click.
Perform such uninstallation for Nvidia programs on your computer. Finally, reboot, reinstall again, and see if the control panel is responding.
During installation, don’t forget to select the Clean Install option.
Rebuild Config files
This fix worked for close to 100 users who were thankful on Nvidia forums and Reddit. In short, you have to delete the files storing custom configuration settings for your Nvidia driver.
First, navigate to C:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\Drs, and delete nvdrsdb0.bin and nvdrsdb1.bin. If you’re unsure, make a backup of these files before proceeding.
To me, the deletion did nothing abnormal. I only lost the configuration, and it came to some sort of default state. And the moment I tweaked the settings again in the Nvidia control panel, these files were created automatically.
Malware
Visiting suspicious websites or opening rogue email attachments can install malware on your system. And based on the type of infection, you should expect anything and everything to go wrong.
So, as a blanket solution that works for many issues, install a premium antivirus and run a full system scan. This will highlight any viruses you can delete or quarantine afterward.
Next, reboot and see if you can access the Nvidia control panel.
Clean boot
Many services startup when we boot Windows, and some of them may interfere with this Nvidia utility.
So the idea here is to stop those 3rd party services from starting on their own and see if the Nvidia control panel is working when they sleep. Besides, the process to clean boot is similar for Windows 11 to 8.
Start by typing msconfig in Windows Run (⊞+R) to open System Configuration. Next, click Services in the top menu, check Hide all Microsoft services, click Disable all, and hit Apply.
Subsequently, open Windows Task Manager by typing taskmgr in Windows Run and navigate to Startup apps in the sidebar (Windows 11) or top menu (Windows 10).
Now, first screenshot the window, as you will need this later. Next, start disabling each Enabled program.
Finally, reboot and see if the Nvidia control panel isn’t crashing anymore.
If this step fixes the issue, it will start a long process in which you repeat the steps by allowing specific apps (in Startup apps) and services (in Service Configuration) one at a time to safelist and catch the problematic application.
Final words!
It’s not unusual if you’re still stuck; in fact, many users reported nothing worked for them. 😓 And if you’re one of them, I suggest contacting Nvidia support to see if they have something to pull you out.
PS: While you troubleshoot this further, I suggest you check out these professional gaming chairs for the next level of comfort.
