

“Something went wrong. Try restarting GeForce Experience”

By Eunice Samson | December 9, 2019 |

greater than 6 minutes

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PC gaming should be easier these days, but some things can still get complicated. For instance, you have to go through several steps just to update your drivers, record gameplay, or tweak your graphics settings. Thankfully, you can use NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience feature to perform all these procedures in a few clicks.

That said, the application can still encounter problems. Many users complained that they couldn’t launch the program, and instead, they got an error message which says, “Something went wrong. Try restarting GeForce Experience.” This problem can be annoying, especially since it also prevents you from enjoying your favorite video games.

If you’re experiencing the same problem, you’re still in luck. Now that you’ve found this article, you’ll learn how to fix the ‘Something went wrong. Try restarting GeForce Experience’ error. We will share several solutions that range from the simplest to the most complicated. So, we recommend that you work your way down the list until you find the one that effectively gets rid of the error.

What Is NVIDIA GeForce Experience?

Usually, graphics hardware manufacturers offer control panels that allow users to configure their graphics settings. Most gamers are familiar with NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience software. It has a user-friendly interface that lets players configure the optimal settings for their PC’s graphics hardware.

What’s more, the tool automatically checks for available driver updates.

However, GeForce Experience can stop functioning properly due to various issues. The application may crash or not launch at all because of compatibility problems, corrupt installations, or outdated graphics card drivers, among others. Whatever the cause of the issue may be, we are certain that one of our solutions below will help you get rid of the error message.

Solution 1: Killing NVIDIA Processes

In this method, we will teach you how to restart GeForce Experience. The solution involves killing certain processes to refresh them once you try opening GeForce Experience again.

  2. Once the Task Manager is up, check if any of the following processes are running:
    NVIDIA Backend (32 bit)
    NVIDIA Driver Helper Service
    NVIDIA Network service (32 bit)
    NVIDIA Settings
    NVIDIA User Experience Driver Component
  3. Right-click each related process you find, then select End Task from the context menu.

After killing the aforementioned NVIDIA processes, try relaunching the GeForce Experience application.

Solution 2: Activating NVIDIA-Related Services

  1. Launch the Run dialog box by pressing Windows Key+R on your keyboard.
  2. Inside the Run dialog box, type “services.msc” (no quotes), then click OK. Doing so will launch the Services window.
  3. Look for NVIDIA GeForce Experience Service from the list.
  4. Right-click the service, then select Start from the context menu. If you don’t see an option for starting the service, you can choose Restart.
  5. Save the changes you’ve made by clicking Apply and OK.
  6. Now, look for the Nvidia GeForce Experience Backend service and the Nvidia Display Container service.
  7. Right-click each service, then select Start or Restart from the options.
  8. The next thing you need to do is right-click the Nvidia Telemetry Container service.
  9. Choose Properties from the options.
  10. If you notice that the service is already active, make sure you click Stop.
  11. Click the drop-down list beside Startup Type, then choose Automatic from the options.
  12. Click Start and Apply to save the changes you made.
  13. Now, go to the Log tab, then select Local System Account.
  14. Finally, click Apply and OK.

After performing these steps, try launching NVIDIA’s GeForce Experience and see if the error message is gone.

Solution 3: Running the Tool in Compatibility Mode

  1. Go to your desktop, then right-click the GeForce Experience icon.
  2. Select Properties from the options.
  3. Go to the Compatibility tab.
  4. Make sure that the ‘Run the program in compatibility mode for’ option is selected.
  5. Now, select Windows 7 or Windows 8 from the drop-down list.
  6. Go to the bottom of the window, then select the ‘Run this program as an administrator’ option.
  7. Save the changes by clicking Apply and OK.

Go back to your desktop, then double-click the GeForce Experience icon to launch it. Check if you can run the program without any issues.

Solution 4: Updating Your Graphics Card Driver

As we’ve mentioned, one of the reasons why the GeForce Experience error occurs is because of outdated or corrupt graphics card drivers. So, we suggest that you update your drivers to resolve the issue. Now, there are several ways you can do this. You can use the Device Manager, but you may still end up downloading the driver from the manufacturer’s website. After all, the tool has been known to miss the latest driver versions.

If you cannot resolve the
problem yourself, you can
On the other hand, if you try to download the drivers manually, you need to be extremely cautious. You must get and install the driver version that is compatible with your operating system and processor. If you add the wrong driver, you may end up dealing with system instability issues. As such, we recommend that you use a reliable tool like Auslogics Driver Updater.

The moment you finish installing Auslogics Driver Updater, the utility will recognize what operating system and processor you have. With a click of a button, the tool will search for the latest compatible drivers for your device. You also get to choose which updates to install. Once the process is complete, you will notice an improvement in your PC’s performance. What’s more, you won’t have to deal with the GeForce Experience issue again.

Solution 5: Restarting Various NVIDIA-Related Services

  1. Launch the Run dialog box by pressing Windows Ke+R on your keyboard.
  2. Once the Run dialog box is up, type “services.msc” (no quotes), then press Enter.
  3. Look for the following services:
    NVIDIA Display Container LS
    NVIDIA LocalSystem Container
    NVIDIA NetworkService Container
    NVIDIA Telemetry Container
  4. Right-click the NVIDIA Display Container LS service, then choose Properties from the context menu.
  5. Under the Service Status area, click Stop.
  6. Now, click the drop-down list beside Startup Type, then select Automatic.
  7. Wait for a couple of minutes, then click Start.
  8. Click Apply and OK to save the changes you’ve made.
  9. Repeat Steps 4 to 8 for the other services mentioned in Step 3.

Solution 6: Removing NVIDIA

For this solution, you need to boot into Safe Mode. To do that, follow the instructions below:

  1. Press the Windows Key on your keyboard.
  2. Type “msconfig” (no quotes), then hit Enter. The System Configuration window should come up.
  3. Go to the Boot tab, then select the Safe Boot option.
  4. Don’t forget to select Minimal under it.
  5. Click OK.
  6. On the new window, click Restart.

Note: Make sure you’ve saved your work before clicking Restart.
After booting into Safe Mode, you can begin the process of uninstalling NVIDIA completely. Here are the steps:

  1. Go to your taskbar, then right-click the Windows icon.
  2. Select Device Manager from the list.
  3. Expand the contents of Display Adapters.
  4. Right-click your NVIDIA graphics card, then choose Uninstall from the context menu.
  5. If prompted to confirm the action, click Yes.
  6. Go back to the taskbar, then click the Search icon.
  7. Type “Control Panel” (no quotes), then select Control Panel from the results.
  8. Click Uninstall a Program.
  9. Now, remove everything related to NVIDIA.
  10. Open File Explorer by pressing Windows Key+E on your keyboard.
  11. Navigate to this path:
  12. C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\
    Locate and delete the following files:
  13. You also need to remove these files from the following folders:
    C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\
    C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\
  14. Restart your computer, then download the installer for NVIDIA.
  15. When running the NVIDIA installer, select Custom instead of Express under Installation Options.
  16. Make sure you select the ‘Perform clean installation’ option before starting the process.

After reinstalling NVIDIA, try launching GeForce Experience again to see if the issue has been resolved.

Solution 7: Updating DirectX

DirectX plays a crucial role in handling multimedia-related tasks, especially video and game programming. So, if there are issues with GeForce Experience, they probably have something to do with a corrupt or outdated DirectX. You can resolve them by updating the feature, using DirectX Runtime Web Installer. You’d need to visit Microsoft’s official website and download the installer from there.

Solution 8: Installing Available Updates for Windows 10

Updates get downloaded discreetly in the background. However, you still have the option to trigger the download manually. To check for available updates, follow the instructions below:

  1. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows Key+I on your keyboard.
  2. Select Update & Security from the options.
  3. Go to the left-pane menu, then click Windows Update.
  4. Move to the right pane, then click Check for Updates.
  5. If Windows Update finds updates, download them.
  6. Restart your computer to install the updates.

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Once the updates have been installed, launch GeForce Experience again and check if the error message is gone.
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