NVIDIA Control Panel missing on Windows 10

If you notice that the NVIDIA Control Panel is missing on your computer after you upgraded from Windows 7/8/8.1 to Windows 10 or you installed new updates on your Windows 10 PC, then this post is intended to help you. In this post, we will identify the possible causes, as well as provide the most appropriate solutions you can try to help you remediate this issue.

The main cause of this issue seems to be Windows Update or Upgrade which makes the graphics drivers incompatible with the new update. But the issue could also be because of outdated drivers, or corrupt NVIDIA Control Panel, missing registry subkeys, and values, or some random error.

NVIDIA Control Panel missing

If you're faced with this issue, you can try our recommended solutions below in no particular order and see if that helps to resolve the issue.

1. Copy the NVDisplay.Container file to the Startup folder
2. Manually open NVIDIA Control Panel
3. Restart NVIDIA Services
4. Unhide your NVIDIA Control Panel
5. Update NVIDIA Graphics Driver
6. Uninstall and reinstall NVIDIA Graphics Driver
7. Reinstall NVIDIA Control Panel app from Microsoft Store

Let's take a look at the description of the process involved concerning each of the listed solutions.

1] Copy the NVDisplayContainer file to the Startup folder

Do the following:

• Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer.
• Navigate to the directory below:

C:\Program Files(x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\Display.NvContainer

Note: If you cannot locate the NVIDIA folder in Program Files (x86) folder, look for it in Program Files folder.

• At the location, right-click the NVDisplay.Container file and copy it.
• Now, open Startup folder.
• In the Startup folder that opened, do a right-click, and paste the copied NVDisplay.Container file.
• Next, right-click on the NVDisplay.Container file you pasted in the Startup folder, and set the file to run as administrator.
• Restart your computer.

On boot, check to see if the NVIDIA Control Panel is back on your desktop context menu and system tray.

Read: NVIDIA Graphics driver automatically uninstalls after reboot.

2] Manually open NVIDIA Control Panel

Do the following:

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc together to open Task Manager.

Locate the NVIDIA Container on the list.

Right-click on the NVIDIA Container and select Open File Location from the context menu.

Once you click on Open File Location you would be taken to this location:

C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Display.NvContainer

Make sure to click on back button to navigate to NVIDIA Corporation folder:

C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation

Now, double-click on Control Panel Client folder and find nvcplui.exe.

Right-click on nvcplui.exe and select Run as administrator.

Restart your computer.

On boot, check to see if the missing NVIDIA Control Panel is back on your desktop context menu and system tray. If not, continue with the next solution.

3] Restart NVIDIA Services

Do the following:

• Press Windows key + R to invoke the Run dialog.
• In the Run dialog box, type services.msc and hit Enter to open Services.
• In the Services window, scroll and locate the following services:

NVIDIA Display Container LS
NVIDIA LocalSystem Container
NVIDIA NetworkService Container
NVIDIA Telemetry Container

• Now. double-click on the NVIDIA Display Container LS entry to edit its properties.
• In the properties windows, click on Stop then select Automatic from Startup type drop-down. Wait for a few minutes then again click on Start to start the particular service.
• Repeat the steps for all the other remaining services of NVIDIA.
• Restart your computer.

On boot, check if the issue is resolved. If not, continue with the next solution.

4] Unhide your NVIDIA Control Panel

Do the following:

• Open Run dialog box, then type control and hit Enter to open Control Panel.
• Now from View by drop-down, select Large icons.
• Under Control Panel select NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Once the NVIDIA panel opens, click on Desktop from the menu.
• Click on Add Desktop Context Menu to checkmark it.

Now check your desktop, the NVIDIA Control Panel should be present there.

5] Update NVIDIA Graphics Driver

Do the following:

• Press Windows key + X to open the Power User Menu, then press M key to open Device Manager.
• Once you're inside Device Manager, scroll down through the list of installed devices and expand/collapse the Display adapterssection.
• Next, right-click on the NVIDIA Graphics card and choose Update driver from the context menu.
• At the next screen, click on Search automatically for updated driver software.
• Wait until the scan is complete. If a new driver version is found, follow the on-screen instructions to download & install it on your computer.
• Restart your device.

On boot check, if the NVIDIA Control Panel is back. Else, continue with the next solution.

6] Uninstall and reinstall NVIDIA Graphics Driver

This solution entails that you uninstall the NVIDIA GPU driver via Device Manager or you can use the Display Driver Uninstaller then reboot the system.

After reboot, your PC will only use the basic/generic driver and Windows Update should be able to install the updated driver. However, you can manually update the driver via NVIDIA website as well.

How to fix NVIDIA Control Panel not opening on Windows 10

7] Reinstall NVIDIA Control Panel app from Microsoft Store

Do the following:

• Press Windows key + I to open Settings.
• Click on Apps.
• Click on Apps & Features from the left menu.
• Search NVIDIA Control panel in the search box.

If the NVIDIA Control panel is already installed on your system, uninstall it.

• Now, download the NVIDIA Control Panel app from Microsoft Store and install it.

After the installation, the issue should be resolved.

Hope this helps!