Nvidia Control Panel Missing In Windows [Solved]

 

You are not in this alone! Many users who are using NVIDIA card users have reported about the NVIDIA Control Panel missing issue. So, don’t worry and keep reading for a comprehensive guide about almost every possible fix for the given issue.

We know the importance of the control panel and how hard things can get if it goes missing. This control panel allows the user to control the properties of the NVIDIA Graphics Card.

Table of Contents  show 

---

How To Fix NVIDIA Control Panel Missing?

---

If the control panel goes missing from the Desktop Context Menu, Start Menu, or from the Desktop just randomly, then there must be a thing or two messing up.

It can be the faulty graphics card driver, missing registry subkeys and values, outdated drivers, or some random issues.

If you are using the Windows 10, here are some tried and tested methods to bring back your hidden control panel. We have jotted some basic troubleshooting as well as advanced methods. Do try them one by one.

---

1- Solution Suggested By NVIDIA Support

---

One problem with this error is, even if you fix it, it might prevail again and again. After many reports from the users, NVIDIA decided to take control of the issue and provided a permanent solution for this error.

Here is how you can bring back your control panel through the NVIDIA’s customer support fix:

1. First of all, go to My Computer and follow the following folder path,
   Program Files(x86) → NVIDIA Corporation → Display.NvContainerIf you can’t seem to find the NVIDIA folder in Program Files(x86) folder, check it in Program Files, it must be there.
   
2. In the Display.NvContainer folder, locate a file named Display.NvContainer, right-click it and select the copy option.
3. Now, to open the Startup Folder, a Run dialog box (press the Windows + R key at the same time), type shell:startup in the dialog box and press Enter.
   
4. Once the Startup Folder opens, paste the copied DIsplay.NvContainer file.
   
5. Right-click the file you just pasted in Startup Folder and go to Properties from the drop-down menu.
6. From the Properties menu, go to the compatibility tab. Check the option named as “Run this program as administrator. Click OK to apply the changes.
   

After applying these settings, make sure to restart your computer. Once the PC reboots, you’ll find your missing NVIDIA Control Panel back on your Desktop.

---

2- Unhide Your NVIDIA Control Panel

---

A very common reason that most people don’t notice is that the control panel might be disabled or hidden from the Start Menu or Desktop Context Menu. This is very common to happen if you have updated the NVIDIA graphics card software recently.

If the control panel is hidden, here is what you can do to unhide it:

1. To open the control panel, press Windows + R key simultaneously to open the Run dialog box and then type control and press Enter.
   
2. Once the control panel opens, view the icons by Large Icons.
3. Locate and click the NVIDIA Control Panel option.
   
4. Now, go to Desktop or View Tab. From the drop-down menu, select the Add Desktop Context Menu.
   

Now, go to your computer’s Desktop again to check if the control panel is there or not.

---

3- Start NVIDIA Services

---

It is possible that when the NVIDIA control panel went missing from Desktop Context Menu, it actually went missing from the System Tray. This can be fixed by restarting your NVIDIA Services.

Follow these steps to bring back the control panel in the system tray:

1. Open the Run Dialog Box by pressing the Windows+R key at the same time. Type services.msc in the dialog box and press Enter.
   
2. You’ll find the running services on your PC in this window. Now, keep scrolling until you find every Service starting with the name NVIDIA. Select each Service and select the Restart button on the left side of the window.
   

Incase if the Service is not running, right-click on it and select start.

Further, if you are facing Error14109 along with the message windows cannot start NVIDIA Display Container Service, follow these steps:

1. Open the Device Manager by right-clicking the start menu and selecting the Device Manager option.
   
2. Expand the Display Adaptors.
3. Right-click the NVIDIA driver, and select Uninstall driver from the drop-down menu.
   
4. Restart your computer.

This should bring your control panel back if it doesn’t restart your PC once again. If it still doesn’t work, don’t be disheartened, jump to the next method in line.

---

4- Update Graphic Card Drivers

---

If you are still trying your luck with the fixes, there must be a driver problem with the NVIDIA. If that is the case, you might need to update the Graphics card driver through the device manager.

To update graphics card drivers in Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Press Windows + X key at the same time to open the menu. From the menu click Device Manager to open it.
   
2. From the list of given drivers, search for Display adapters, and expand the tab. Locate the NVIDIA graphics card driver and right-click on it to select the update driver option.
   
3. A new window will pop up with two options. Select Search automatically for updated driver software option. This option will automatically look for the available drivers’ updates and install them too. If there is no update, it will show that your drivers are already up to date.
   

This should probably fix your issue if it doesn’t head over to the next method to reinstall the driver.

---

5- Reinstall NVIDIA Graphics Drivers

---

It’s OK if updating the drivers didn’t work you. Sometimes the drivers need a little more kick, and that is possible through reinstalling them.

To reinstall the Graphics drivers, follow the steps given below:

1. To open the device manager, press Windows + X keys simultaneously and select the Device Manager from the given list.
   
2. Locate and expand the Device Adapters from the given list of drivers. Right-click the NVIDIA graphics card driver and select uninstall from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Once the drivers are completely uninstalled, head over to the NVIDIA Download Drivers webpage (you can search easily on Google). From the webpage, select the appropriate product type, series, and other related options from the given menus according to the configuration of your PC. Once the drivers are downloaded, install them.
   
4. Reboot your computer.

---

6- Stop Overclocking Your GPU

---

One hidden culprit behind this error might be the Overclocking of the GPU. Overclocking is a process where increasing the frequency and speed of processor above the factory settings. Yes, this can be a very awesome thing to do to boost up your Pc.

However, you have to be very careful as your PC can end up in flames if it is overclocked.

Lowering your GPU rate and frequency might solve the problem of missing the control panel as well.

However, to do so, you need the software that you used for overclocking in the first place. NVIDIA and AMD have their own software used for overclocking, but there are many more as well.

Once your PC is back to its original state, check if the control panel is back on Desktop or not.

---

7- Manually Launch NVIDIA Control Panel

---

We know how annoying it is when you can’t fix an error. But don’t worry! Until you find a permanent solution, try this temporary solution to unhide the NVIDIA Control Panel.

You can launch your control panel manually through the following steps:

1. Open the My Computer and then follow the path given below:
   C Drive → Program Files → NVIDIA Corporation → Control Panel Client
   
   If you can’t seem to find NVIDIA Corporations Folder in the Program Files folder, look for it in Program Files(x86)
   
2. Once you are in Control Panel Client, look for the file named nvcplui. Right-click it and run it as an administrator.

For your ease, create a desktop shortcut of the NVIDIA Control Panel from the right-click menu of nvcplui.

---

8- Use Display Driver Uninstaller

---

Jumping from solution to solution and still no luck with the control panel? Maybe you should try Display Driver Uninstaller. Display Driver Uninstaller will help you remove the graphics driver completely.

Here is how you can use display driver uninstaller:

1. Boot your PC in the safe mode.
2. Remove or uninstall the graphics drivers from the device manager (as shown in the previous methods).
3. Restart your PC.
4. Once your PC restarts, install the latest NVIDIA drivers from the manufacturer’s website.

---

9- Kill NVIDIA Processes

---

Last but not least, this solution will probably make your issue go away if it isn’t solved yet. Killing all the NVIDIA Processes and starting them over again has proven to be a workable solution.

Follow the steps below:

1. Open the task manager through pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys together and find any NVIDIA processes named as follows:
   NVIDIA Backend (32 bit)
   NVIDIA Driver Helper Service
   NVIDIA Network service (32 bit)
   NVIDIA Settings
   NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
2. Now, right-click each of these tasks and click End Task from the drop-down menu.
   
3. Once all the NVIDIA tasks are ended, follow the given path below:
   C Drive → Windows → System32 → Driver Store → File Repository
4. Once you are in file repository, find the following files:
   Nvdsp.inf
   Nv_lh
   Nvoclock
5. Right-click them and select delete.
6. Now, navigate to the following path:
   C Drive → Program Files → NVIDIA Corporation Folder
   C Drive → Program(x86) → NVIDIA Corporation Folder
7. Delete all the files under these folders.
   
8. Restart your computer.
9. Run the NVIDIA installer again and this time, choose “Custom” and also check the “perform clean installation” box as well.
   

Once the installation is complete, you must be able to find the control panel on your Desktop again!

---

Final Words

We hope that you found the fix yet with the above-given solutions. These are all the possible solutions people have tested and succeeded to unhide the control panel.

However, if you are still not able to do so, comment on the NVIDIA forum about the specific you are facing. They might be the best bet for you in such a case!

Chuwi has a mission to be the world’s leading technology partner for customised Laptop,tablet PC,mini PC experiences with uncompromised quality, stability, support, and performance.