NVIDIA Control Panel Missing? Here's How To Fix It [Solved]

Gaming or video editing is a highly graphics-intensive task that puts a heavy strain on your graphics system. Although having a graphics card is unnecessary for video editing, the higher number of processing units can process parallel computation.

A GPU optimization tool is essential to process different tasks.

Most graphics card manufacturers also offer an inbuilt application to optimize their GPU, and hence it has become a very significant component of any device with a GPU.

Since these manufacturers specialize in hardware development, their software also comes with some flaws. Today we are focusing on the “missing NVIDIA Control Panel” issue that you might have encountered.

But before we talk about the missing software issue, let us understand what software is all about.

What is NVIDIA Control Panel

NVIDIA Control Panel serves a similar purpose as the windows control panel and optimizes several 3D, Display, and Video settings. This utility tool lets you control the critical functions of NVIDIA Drivers. This control panel allows you to make the most out of NVIDIA graphic cards offering a comprehensive set of menus and settings.

Although it is difficult for a novice user to make changes and optimize the graphics card using the NVIDIA Control panel yet experienced gamers and graphics card users can easily make the most out of this tool.

In contrast, this tool is available with one press of the right mouse button. At times this software goes missing from the access page because of a lot of reasons. This is a complete guide to the NVIDIA Control Panel.

While it doesn’t impact the graphics card’s overall capability and performance, it becomes the cause of great annoyance if you need to make adjustments to play a different game. So, let us look at the possible steps you can take when NVIDIA Control Panel keeps disappearing.

How to fix NVIDIA Control Panel?

Typically, the NVIDIA Control Panel should be present on your desktop as a shortcut, or you can access it by pressing the right mouse key. But unfortunately, sometimes this icon disappears, and no matter how many times you press the F5 key, there seems to be no response.

Let us discuss the steps you can consider to resolve this issue.

1. Updating your GPU driver

Since your GPU is a hardware device, the driver acts as a specific operating system kernel, supporting a host of APIs used by different applications.

The manufacturer very often updates these drivers for superior GPU performance. The drivers essentially allow you to communicate with your NVIDIA GPU through the control panel.

Hence, in case your driver’s automatic updates are turned off, the control panel gets deactivated. The first and easiest way of getting back the NVIDIA control panel is updating your GPU drivers. Click here to visit the NVIDIA GeForce driver website.

Out of the two options, manual and automatic driver updates. Selecting automatic updates will download the NVIDIA GeForce Experience software, which will control the automatic driver updates once installed.

The fastest way of downloading the latest drivers would be manual, in case you haven’t installed GeForce Experience software. Once the driver is updated, reboot your device, and the GeForce control panel missing issue will be resolved.

2. NVIDIA Control Panel missing from the context menu

There is one condition where despite the NVIDIA Control panel being enabled, it is hidden from the context menu. It mostly happens whenever you update your NVIDIA Control Panel or re-install it. It can be resolved with a simple setting tune-up.

Head over to your windows control panel and change the category to Large icons
Open NVIDIA Control Panel
Click on Desktop Menu
Select add a Desktop context menu

Once that’s done, the control panel should be accessible with just a right-click.

3. Using Command prompt

There is a good chance that NVIDIA’s software is not functioning correctly because of some internal or updated related issues. It’s a common reason why the NVIDIA control panel keeps disappearing. You can gain access to the NVIDIA control panel using the command prompt.

Open Command prompt
Type services.msc
Locate all the NVIDIA services under the name column
Right-click on the first one your encounter and select properties
In the General menu, click on start-up type: Automatic
Click on the Stop button
Wait for a few moments and click on the start button
Save the settings
Repeat these steps with every service that start with the name NVIDIA

This should fix all your software related issues.

4. Manual settings from Control Panel Client

NVIDIA control panel missing on windows 10 is not a new issue. It can happen for several possible reasons. Another simple step you can try is running the nvcplui.exe as an administrator

Open the Control Panel Client through the C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation
Run the nvcplui.exe as Administrator

This step should open your NVIDIA Control Panel

5. Manually add NVIDIA Control Panel shortcut to the context menu

When all the other settings and tune-ups fail, you can manually find the shortcut option on your context menu using the command prompt.

Open Run and enter the following path C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\ Nv container .exe
The Nv container folder opens up. From there, copy the mvcontainer.exe
Open Run once again, Type shell: start-up
In the proceeding folder that opens up, right-click on space and press CTRL + V.
Select the properties of the Nv container.exe and click on properties
Select the Shortcut menu option and click on the Advanced option
Click on the run as Administrator and press OK

This should do the trick.

6. Download NVIDIA control panel from Microsoft store

There can be a different issue where despite having an NVIDIA GPU, you don’t have the NVIDIA Control Panel installed on your Windows. Unlike previous versions where NVIDIA Control Panel used to get installed while installing all the drivers.

These days this control panel is located on Microsoft Store. Click here to visit the Microsoft store for downloading the NVIDIA Control Panel.

Conclusion

Your GPU is capable enough to tackle all the computational and rendering needs. Hence normal users don’t need the NVIDIA Control Panel to optimize their GPU before playing each game. But experienced players intend to make the most out of their graphics cards and use them.

No matter what steps work for your system, the issue of the NVIDIA control panel not available can crop up at any time. Using these steps will allow you to regain access to the control panel or activate it.

Make sure to complement your system with malware protection and systematic scanning of your computer system. Crypto mining malware is a reality that drains your GPU performance without making any noise.

FAQs

1. Why is NVIDIA Control Panel not showing up?

There can be several reasons why you can’t find the NVIDIA control panel on Windows 10, from driver issues to system bugs to update in progress, corrupted files, or malware.

2. Where is the NVIDIA Control Panel in Windows 10?

Unlike the earlier versions in Windows 10, the NVIDIA Control Panel doesn’t install along with the GPU drivers. It is available in the Microsoft store, from where you will have to manually download and install this software. Once installed, you can locate the software from the command prompt, file directory, or a simple search.

3. Is it necessary to install the NVIDIA Control Panel?

If you like to optimize your graphics card settings, 3D, video, and image rendering settings, this software is the only way in. Some users require this software. Others focus on the game itself. You have flexibility; the absence of this software wouldn’t be an issue in using the GPU.