NVIDIA Display Driver Service

Does anyone know exactly what this service does?

System in question: Dual P3-800 with MSI Ti4200 8x running Windows Server
2003 and nVidia drivers for XP version 53.03.

I've done some searching on google web and groups, and it looks like this
used to be called "NVIDIA Driver Helper Service".

But I have yet to come across any posts that really explain what it does,
aside from some of the issues it's caused.

The reason I stumbled across it is because I noticed NVCPL.DLL kept
showing up in the registry under
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run \NvCplDaemon.

Even though I'd keep removing it, it kept showing up.

I did some searching for nvcpl.dll and read that apparently the NVIDIA
Display Driver Service is responsible for putting this in the registry
key, even after it's been removed.

The suggestion most frequently given is to disable the service or set it
to manual. But it would be nice to know what exactly this service is
supposed to be doing, and why it insists on running nvcpl.dll.

I've searched though the NVIDIA documentation PDFs but have found no
mention of this service. I tried to search msicomputer.com but their
site is down at the moment. I'm not finding much useful on google web or
group searches.

Thanks in advance for any info on this service.

"Mr. Grinch" wrote
But I have yet to come across any posts that really explain what it does,
aside from some of the issues it's caused.

I guess that service just handles all those nice desktop thingies
(nView Desktop Manager etc.) because disabling it haven't
caused any negative effect in my use, because I don't use those
extra features. I just play games :-)

But what does it matter anyway if it's running? If I remember
right, that service took only 2-3 megs of RAM...

"Aki Peltola" wrote in
:

"Mr. Grinch" wrote
But I have yet to come across any posts that really explain what it
does, aside from some of the issues it's caused.

I guess that service just handles all those nice desktop thingies
(nView Desktop Manager etc.) because disabling it haven't
caused any negative effect in my use, because I don't use those
extra features. I just play games :-)

But what does it matter anyway if it's running? If I remember
right, that service took only 2-3 megs of RAM...

I don't think it's causing any issues for me, other than an annoying
blank screen for a few seconds whenever I boot and it starts nvcpl. But
a lot of software installs put unnecessary junk into the Run key that
just slows down booting and doesn't do anything usefull, or worse, causes
problems, as with some versions of this Nvidia display driver service. I
typically don't go shutting down every service I can find, but at the
same time, there's no need to add extra useless stuff on top of an
already bloated OS. So I'll try and find out what this service does, if
possible. The only software I've seen before that insisted on re-
installing itself into the Run key after being removed have been trojans
and spyware. Not that the Nvidia software is either, but still I wonder
why they insist on doing that.

I've had some issues with desktop icons as well, just as some previous
posts have mentioned. But I haven't narrowed them down to the nvidia
driver service or nvcpl yet. Still need to do more testing with it
disabled to see if it's made any difference.

Thanks for the reply and the info. Like you, I don't use any of those
extra features. I read newsgroups / websites, download junk, play music
/ games, and I send mirrored output over to the TV to play movies. If
anything shows up broken I'll post back.

The nvcpl.dll is part of the nvidia control panel that shows up in the Display properties control
panel, it has nothing to do with the driver helper service. I have disabled the service since the
begining with no ill effects.
--
Dave Vair
CNE, CNA, MCP, A+, N+
Computer Education Services Corp. (CESC)

"Mr. Grinch" wrote in message
3.159...
"Aki Peltola" wrote in
:

"Mr. Grinch" wrote
But I have yet to come across any posts that really explain what it
does, aside from some of the issues it's caused.

I guess that service just handles all those nice desktop thingies
(nView Desktop Manager etc.) because disabling it haven't
caused any negative effect in my use, because I don't use those
extra features. I just play games :-)

But what does it matter anyway if it's running? If I remember
right, that service took only 2-3 megs of RAM...

I don't think it's causing any issues for me, other than an annoying
blank screen for a few seconds whenever I boot and it starts nvcpl. But
a lot of software installs put unnecessary junk into the Run key that
just slows down booting and doesn't do anything usefull, or worse, causes
problems, as with some versions of this Nvidia display driver service. I
typically don't go shutting down every service I can find, but at the
same time, there's no need to add extra useless stuff on top of an
already bloated OS. So I'll try and find out what this service does, if
possible. The only software I've seen before that insisted on re-
installing itself into the Run key after being removed have been trojans
and spyware. Not that the Nvidia software is either, but still I wonder
why they insist on doing that.

I've had some issues with desktop icons as well, just as some previous
posts have mentioned. But I haven't narrowed them down to the nvidia
driver service or nvcpl yet. Still need to do more testing with it
disabled to see if it's made any difference.

Thanks for the reply and the info. Like you, I don't use any of those
extra features. I read newsgroups / websites, download junk, play music
/ games, and I send mirrored output over to the TV to play movies. If
anything shows up broken I'll post back.

"David Vair" wrote in
:

The nvcpl.dll is part of the nvidia control panel that shows up in
the Display properties control panel, it has nothing to do with the
driver helper service. I have disabled the service since the begining
with no ill effects.

It's the NVIDIA Driver Display Service that keeps adding the registry entry
into the Windows Run key to start nvcpl.dll. Disabling the service allows
me to get rid of the key for good. If I don't disable the service, it
keeps adding that key.

I've disabled the service and deleted the reg key for good now. Rebooted,
and haven't come across any issues yet. The question remains, what does
the service do, and why does it insist on adding the reg key to run
nvcpl.dll?

Thank you for the info on your disabled config. So far all the references
I've found from people who've disabled it have been positive. None of them
have reported any new problems as a result of disabling the service. No one
seems to know what exactly the service does. I'll try running Regmon and
Filemon to see if I can track what it's doing.

"Mr. Grinch" wrote
No one seems to know what exactly the service does. I'll try running
Regmon and Filemon to see if I can track what it's doing.

I did try that "Pop-up Blocker"-feature these new Forceware
drivers have. I didn't seem to work and pop-ups kept coming
normally, but then I realized that I had disabled the display
driver service. After starting it up again the pop-up blocker
started to function.

So this is one point more to my conclusion, that the service
just controls those neaty extra bonus features Forceware drivers
have - completely useless in gaming, as the service itself too.

"Mr. Grinch" wrote
No one seems to know what exactly the service does. I'll try running
Regmon and Filemon to see if I can track what it's doing.

I did try that "Pop-up Blocker"-feature these new Forceware
drivers have. It didn't seem to work and pop-ups kept coming
normally, but then I realized that I had disabled the display
driver service. After starting it up again the pop-up blocker
started to function.

So this is one point more to my conclusion, that the service
just controls those neaty extra bonus features Forceware drivers
have - completely useless in gaming, as the service itself too.

"Aki Peltola" wrote in news:c6mdhr$plj$1@phys-
news1.kolumbus.fi:


I did try that "Pop-up Blocker"-feature these new Forceware
drivers have. I didn't seem to work and pop-ups kept coming
normally, but then I realized that I had disabled the display
driver service. After starting it up again the pop-up blocker
started to function.

So this is one point more to my conclusion, that the service
just controls those neaty extra bonus features Forceware drivers
have - completely useless in gaming, as the service itself too.


Thank you! It helps to know exactly what parts are doing what. Now we
know at least one thing done by nvcpl.dll, or not done if you disable it.

I've been using the Google pop up blocker. So far, so good. It doesn't
stop everything, but hasn't caused me any serious issues either. Had to
enable pop-ups to download software from a few sites, otherwise it's been
great.

Once again, much appreciated! This is exactly the sort of stuff I was
hoping to learn.

"Aki Peltola" wrote in news:c6mdhr$plj$1@phys-
news1.kolumbus.fi:
I did try that "Pop-up Blocker"-feature these new Forceware
drivers have. I didn't seem to work and pop-ups kept coming
normally, but then I realized that I had disabled the display
driver service. After starting it up again the pop-up blocker
started to function.

P.S. I forgot to mention, I'm on 53.03, and I do intend to test the latest
Forceware drivers. But not until I've got a disk image backup of my OS
before installing it. I haven't been lucky with new drivers or software
lately.

Just wanted to add here what I've learned about the NVIDIA Display driver
service. So far I've learned that it does at least two things:

1) If this service is running, it will add a registry key to your system. It
will add nvcpl.dll to the Windows\Run key of your registry.

2) This service is needed if you use the "Force Refresh Rates" function of
the driver. With this service stopped and set to manual, and nvcpl.dll
disabled, Force Refresh Rates does not work in games where you want to force
the refresh rate for a given solution. Starting this service will
immediately make the forced refresh rate setting work.

So I know one more thing about this service than before I started. Again, if
you know more about this service, please let me know. Thanks.