Nvidia Control Panel is a product developed by Nvidia that allows users to easily and quickly access all the important features linked with Nvidia drivers. The hardware control application also allows users to enjoy a great level of control such as adjusting clock speeds, customizing their profiles when necessary, controlling on-board cooling fans, ambient temperature readings as well as modification of several parameters. When an Nvidia video card driver is installed on a computer, it paves way for Nvidia video card users to have access to an interface that allows them to change the configuration of their Nvidia hardware and also adjust their driver settings.
Nvidia control panel has the following features and highlights:
- It offers users the ability to change a resolution.
- It rotates Display.
- Offers simulated previews with 3D settings.
- Fully supports 3D graphics.
- Enhances movie playback with custom filters.
- GPU overclocking and temperature monitoring.
- It manages multiple displays through VGA cable or S-Video, HDMI.
- Users are offered a featured-packed interface to customize their graphics setup.
- HDCP Status.
- Set PhysX configuration
- Offers options for both technically proficient users and beginners.
- Smoother interface.
- Increased stability.
- Maximized OS performance.
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The key advantage of having this software on your computer is that it doesn’t require you entering into BIOS. This application is licensed as Freeware for the Windows (32-bit and 64-bit) operating system/platform from video tweaks without cutback. Nvidia control panel generally runs fine under Microsoft Windows 7, 8, 8.1,10, Vista, as well as XP on either a 64-bit or 32-bit setup.
How to Download Nvidia Control Panel
As earlier pointed out, the Nvidia control panel offers you the platform to adjust most of your video card’s settings and control them as you wish. In addition, you can as well change everything ranging from resolution to 3D settings. For a successful download and installation, you need to have updated drivers for your video card. And once you are done with the reboot, expect to see the control panel right in your Windows 7 notification bar. That’s simple and easy!
To begin:
1. Open your Web browser.
2. Click your way to the official Nvidia drivers page.
3. Complete the form asking for the “Product Series,” “Product Type,” “Language” “Product,” and “Operating System.” Fill the boxes with the information needed about your video card.
4. Hit the green “Search” icon to find the latest driver.
5. Click the green “Download” button and then the “Agree and Download” button.
6. Save the Installer on your computer.
7. Click on the installer twice to begin installing the latest Drivers alongside the Nvidia Control Panel.
8. To allow the installer to take out the required files in the default folder, simply click “OK”. Once you do this, the installation will automatically start.
9. Follow the instructions shown on your screen to successfully install the drivers and Nvidia Control Panel.
10. You can restart your computer. You will find the Nvidia Control Panel in the Windows 7 notification bar, precisely in the bottom right corner of your screen.
What to do if the Nvidia Control Panel is Missing
In this segment, we will show you three methods to solve this problem.
Method I: Unhide your NVIDIA Control Panel
If your Nvidia Control Panel is hidden, it will be difficult to have access to it. Reasons the software usually gets hidden may be due to accidental change in graphics settings or as a result of a previous upgrade by Windows. To unhide the software, simply go to your Windows Control Panel and make the changes. To achieve this:
a. Invoke the Run dialog by pressing the Windows logo key and R on your keyboard.
b. Type “control” in the Run dialog box that appears.
c. Press Enter on your keyboard and this will automatically open the Control Panel of your computer.
d. Once the Control Panel is open, check under View by and you will see Large icons. Select it.
e. Then, select Nvidia Control Panel and click Desktop or View as well.
f. Check Add Desktop Context Menu and then right-click your desktop to find out if the software reappeared in the desktop context menu.
Method II: Update your Graphics Driver
In most cases, the Nvidia Control Panel goes missing from your computer because of a wrong or outdated graphics driver. So, you need to find out if your graphics adapter has the correct driver. If it is not, quickly update it. If you are not the type that feels comfortable with updating drivers manually, you can do an automatic update with Driver Easy, which automatically recognizes a computer system and find the right/suitable drivers for it. Driver Easy has the Free and Pro version. So, it’s left for you to choose one.
To update your driver using the Driver Easy:
1) Download Driver Easy.
2) After installing it, run it and then click the Scan Now button to automatically scan your computer and fish out drivers that have problems.
3) Click on the Update button which is located close to your Nvidia graphics adapter. The purpose of doing this is to download the updated and suitable driver for your computer.
4) Finally, you can now restart your computer to see if your Nvidia Control Panel has been brought back.
Method III: Reinstall your Graphics Driver
If the first two methods didn’t work out, you may need to try the third method because there may be corrupt driver files that around. Most times, simple uninstallation doesn’t really get rid of such files, so all you need to do is to clear all the files and then reinstall a new driver. You can use Driver Easy as well. Just do the following:
1) Open Driver Easy.
2) Click on Tools.
3) Click on Driver Uninstall and then your Nvidia graphics driver which is located in the Display adapters category.
4) Click the Uninstall button.
5) Start your computer again.
6) Open the File Explorer and press the Windows logo key along with E on your keyboard.
7) Navigate to C:\Program Files and C:\Program Files (x86) and remove all the Nvidia folders.
8) You can now use Driver Easy to install the Nvidia graphics driver on your computer again.
9) Find out if the problem has been solved.
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What to do if it is not opening or working
1. Go to the Start button and right-click on it.
2. Click Device Manager.
3. Click twice on Display adapters.
4. Click twice on your Nvidia graphics card.
5. Go to the top of the window and click the Driver tab.
6. Click the Update Driver button.
7. Then click Search automatically for updated driver software to enable Windows search for and download a driver.
8. Once the download and install are completed, click Close.
9. Click the X in the top right corner of the Device Manager window.
10. Finally, click Yes to restart your computer.
