How to Fix NVIDIA Overlay not Working Problem on Windows?

NVIDIA Overlay is a part of GeForce Experience and it’s a useful tool to use in-game for various purposes such as screen recording, taking screenshots, and viewing your framerate. However, many users have reported that they are unable to open it all of a sudden.

Sometimes it happens since your install GeForce Experience but more users started seeing the problem out of nowhere, usually after a Windows or GeForce Experience update. We have gathered several methods that have helped users before you so make sure you check them out and see if you can resolve the problem!

What Causes the NVIDIA Overlay Not Working Problem on Windows?

The NVIDIA Overlay, not working problem can be caused by different factors. Different causes of the problem can lead to different methods being implemented to resolve it. We have created a shortlist of all possible causes for you to check out and, hopefully, resolve the problem easier once you locate the one applicable to your scenario.

Solution 1: Update Your NVIDIA Drivers

The NVIDIA driver update package often contains many fixes for various problems regarding GeForce Experience and its overlay. Make sure you keep your graphics card drivers updated for many different reasons. One of them is definitely to try getting NVIDIA Overlay to work on your computer. Follow the steps below to update your drivers!

1. Tap Windows Key and R keys at the same time to start the Run Type “devmgmt.msc” inside the box and click OK to open the Device Manager. Alternatively, you can simply open the Start menu, type Device Manager, and left-click the first result.

2. Once inside, make sure you expand the Display Adapters section by clicking the arrow next to it. Locate your NVIDIA graphics processor, right-click its entry, and choose the Uninstall device option from the context menu which will appear.
3. Confirm any prompts asking you to confirm your choice.

4. Now its time to download new drivers. Open a web browser and open this website where you can find driver updates. Enter the required info about your operating system and your setup and click the Search Find the latest driver on the list and download it.
5. Open its entry in the Downloads folder and follow the instructions on-screen to install it. Restart your computer and check to see if NVIDIA Overlay works now!

Solution 2: Enable Experimental Features

If the method above fails to produce any results, you can enable experimental features inside the GeForce Experience client. This will enable you to access updates and features which haven’t yet been released to all users. This was enough to resolve the problem for many users so make sure you try it out by following the steps below.

1. First, you need to open the GeForce Experience client on your computer. If you wave a shortcut on the Desktop, simply double-click it. Otherwise, search for it after opening the Start menu or the Search Simply type GeForce Experience and left-slick the first result.
2. After it has opened, navigate to the Preferences tab from the menu at the top of the window. Navigate to the General section inside the Preferences tab and check the About section inside.

3. Check the box next to the Enable experimental features A small download will be initiated and an update will be installed to GeForce Experience. Check to see if NVIDIA Overlay starts working now!

Solution 3: Boot Once Without Third-Party Services

It’s quite possible that some third-party services are preventing NVIDIA Overlay from working properly and it’s up to you to try booting with these services disabled. Also, you need to make sure you enable all NVIDIA services. If the overlay starts working, you should go back and re-enable all services you’ve disabled!

1. Use the Windows Key + R key combination to open the Run dialog box. Inside the text box next to Open, type “msconfig”. Click the OK button and the System Configuration window should open.

2. Navigate to the Services tab inside the System Configuration window. A list of all services on your computer should appear. Check the box next to the Hide all Microsoft services option in the bottom-right corner.
3. After that, click the Disable all If there are NVIDIA services among the services you’ve just disabled, enable them by checking the box next to their entry in the list.

4. Click the OK button and restart your computer. Open GeForce Experience and check to see if NVIDIA Overlay works! Either way, follow the steps 1 & 2 again and click the Enable all button this time.

Solution 4: Repair Your Visual C++ Redistributable Package

This method is both easy to perform and it has worked wonders for many users who have struggled with the same problem where NVIDIA Overlay simply won’t work. This method is an absolute must as repairing Visual C++ shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Follow the steps we have prepared below!

1. Control Panel can be easily opened using the Run Simply use the Windows Key + R key combination and type “control.exe” in the text box which will appear. Click the OK button afterward. Searching for Control Panel in the Start menu is also a viable option.

2. Change the View by option in the top right part of the Control Panel window to Category. Click the Uninstall a program option under the Programs A list of everything installed on your computer should appear.
3. Scroll until you reach the Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable If there are many entries in the list you can repeat the same process for all of them but you can skip it for older versions (2008 or older). Left-click its entry and choose Change from the bar at the top.

4. In the Setup window which will appear, click the Repair Wait for the process to finish and for the repairing process to finish. Check to see if NVIDIA Overlay now works on your computer!

Solution 5: Install a Media Feature Pack (for Windows 10 N users)

This problem is quite common for Windows 10 N users. Media-related capabilities are sort of excluded from Windows 10 N editions and installing a media feature pack enables its users to restore certain technologies that have been excluded. For this method to work properly, you should first follow the steps in Solution 1 to fully update your graphics card drivers! If you have skipped it, make sure you go back to it!

1. Open up a browser and visit this Microsoft Support link for Media Feature Pack Scroll down until you reach the Media Feature Pack list section and check the table below for your version of Windows.

2. Once you locate it, click the link inside the Link to Media Feature Pack column to the right. In the new link, scroll down to the bottom until you see the Download the Media Feature Pack update package now
3. Click it and download the file to your computer after selecting the language of the installation and clicking the red Download

4. Run the file you have just downloaded and follow the instructions on-screen to install the Media Feature Pack. Reopen GeForce Experience and open a game to see if NVIDIA Overlay is working properly now!

Solution 6: Reinstall GeForce Experience

Reinstalling your broken installation of GeForce Experience is an easy way to resolve the problem. It has helped many users and we sincerely hope it will help you as well. You will have to configure its settings again but it’s a small price to pay for getting it to work. Follow the steps we have prepared to reinstall GeForce Experience.

1. First of all, you will need to open the Control Panel by searching for it in the Start menu or by typing “control.exe” in the Run dialog box. The Run box can be opened by using the Windows Key + R key combination.

2. You can also use the Settings app if you are a Windows 10 user. Simply use the Windows Key + I combination to open it. Alternatively, click the cog button in the bottom right corner of the Start menu.
3. Inside Control Panel, change the View by option to Category and check the Programs section for the Uninstall a program In the Settings app, you can simply locate and click the Apps section to open the list of all installed apps.

4. This step is common for both the Control Panel and Settings. Left-click GeForce Experience in the list and click the Uninstall button which will appear. Follow the instructions which will appear on the screen to uninstall GeForce Experience.
5. Open your browser and visit this link. Click the green Download Open the file you just downloaded in your Downloads folder and follow the instructions on-screen to install the latest version of GeForce Experience.

6. Check to see if NVIDIA overlay starts working now!

Solution 7: Disable NVFBC Capture on NVIDIA GPU in Steam

All other programs installed on your computer mustn’t interfere with the NVIDIA’s Overlay. Steam may have certain streaming settings set up but you will need to tweak them if you want to resolve the problem. Follow the steps below to try to resolve the problem by using Steam.

1. Run your Steam client by double-clicking the Steam icon located on your Desktop. An alternative way is to simply search for Steam in the Start menu or by clicking the Search/Cortana button next to it.

2. Click the Steam button at the menu bar at the top right part of the window and choose the Settings option from the context menu which will appear.
3. Navigate to the In-Home Streaming tab and check the Advanced Host Options section for the Use NVFBC capture on NVIDIA GPU Make sure you remove the checkbox next to this option. In the Steam window, click the Steam button again and click Exit to quit Steam completely.

4. Reopen the GeForce Experience client and it should work properly without any problems!

Solution 8: Manage Spotify Settings

Spotify has its overlay software which can help you control the app using simple the media keys. After you press, them the Spotify overlay appears and you can change the song. However, this doesn’t seem to work well with the NVIDIA Overlay and users have reported that they needed to make a couple of changes before they were able to get the NVIDIA overlay to work again. Follow these steps below.

1. Open the Spotify client on your computer by double-clicking its icon on your Desktop. If such a shortcut doesn’t exist, make sure you search for it in the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen.
2. Click the Edit entry in the menu bar at the top of the window and choose Preferences from the list of options in the menu which will appear. You can also use the Ctrl + P key combination.

3. Scroll down inside Settings until you reach the Display Options section inside. Locate the Show desktop overlay when using media keys option and set the slider next to it to Off.
4. Scroll down further and you should be able to see the Show Advanced Settings Click in to open the list of advanced settings. Scroll down to the bottom until you reach the Compatibility section and set the slider next to the Enable hardware acceleration option to Off.

5. Reopen the GeForce Experience client and check to see if the NVIDIA Overlay feature works properly now!

Solution 9: Run GeForce Experience as an Administrator

GeForce Experience sometimes needs to have administrator permissions to be able to access all files it needs to run properly. Providing these permissions to the main executable is vital if you want to resolve the problem swiftly on your computer. Make sure you follow the steps below to do that!

1. If there is a GeForce Experience shortcut on the Desktop, you can simply right-click in and choose Properties from the context menu which will appear.
2. If not, you must locate the original executable in the installation folder. This folder is usually the same for all users who haven’t made changes to it during the installation. If you did make changes, locate the folder accordingly. By default, its:

C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVIDIA GeForce Experience

3. Once inside, locate the main executable, right-click its entry, and choose Properties from the context menu which will appear.
4. Navigate to the Compatibility tab inside the Properties window and check the Settings Place a checkbox next to the Run this program as an administrator option and confirm the changes by clicking the OK button.

5. Make sure you reopen the GeForce Experience client and check to see if the NVIDIA Overlay starts working now!