By and large, all computer users can be divided into two large categories: those who keep order on their PC, at least at the desktop level, and those who do not care. The latter are not interested in what is happening on the hard disk or what programs and processes are sitting in memory. But the former run the “Task Manager” from time to time to see why their computer sometimes slows down. So getting the NvXDSync.exe process into their field of vision is almost inevitable. Today we will talk about whether this process is necessary or you can do without it without much damage to the operating system.
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What is this NvXDSync.exe process
We warn you right away: it does not belong to the system category, that is, it has nothing to do with the list of processes that ensure the operability of the Windows OS. In general, it does not appear on all computers, but only on those using an integrated video chip from NVIDIA. Where Intel graphics are used, the presence of a process with this name in memory should raise serious suspicions. But more on that later.
NvXDSync.exe is a component of the User Experience Driver Component, a utility responsible for the graphics subsystem. It is directly the responsibility of the process to render 3D graphics, so without it, applications that use 3D graphics may perform slowly or incorrectly. Otherwise, the absence of a process will not affect the work of the PC.
Where to find the process file
The process, despite the daunting tasks (processing three-dimensional graphics is a serious matter), practically does not consume computer resources. If you have already seen it in the “Task Manager”, you may notice that it takes up from 200 KB to several megabytes of RAM. This is quite a bit. The size of the executable itself is about 1.1 MB (we say “about” because it differs depending on the version of the operating system, but not much – if it is more than 2 MB, then this is definitely an “Wrong” file, more on that later).
You can find out where the file is physically located from the same “Task Manager” by right-clicking on its name and selecting an item from the context menu called “Open file storage location”. Typically, it is located in the C: Program Files directory under the NVIDIA Corporation Display folder.
How to end the process
We have already mentioned that the process is important only for gamers and those who actively use 3D graphics programs. However, most likely, they have a powerful enough graphics adapter installed, so disabling a small process is unlikely to significantly affect the performance of the graphics subsystem. The rest of NvXDSync.exe can be safely disabled and they will definitely not notice the difference. Although, if the process takes less than a megabyte in memory and is idle all the time, then there is not much point in this procedure.
But if you really want to, then the procedure for forcibly terminating the process is as follows:
- launch the “Task Manager” (there are many different ways, but the fastest and simplest is the combination Ctrl + Shift + Esc, you should remember it, because experienced users start the manager quite often);
- go to the “Processes” tab;
- select the line NvXDSync.exe by clicking on it with the mouse;
- at the bottom right, the “End Process” button will become active, click on it;
- confirm our intentions in the next window.
As you can imagine, this is a temporary solution, because each time you restart Windows, NvXDSync.exe will start again. If you do not want this, you can use the following effective, but not the most elegant way: go to the folder where the executable module is located and simply rename it by adding or changing one or more symbols so that you can restore the old name if necessary. In this case, when you try to start the process, the operating system simply will not find the file you need.
NvXDSync.exe as a virus
The process is rarely used by virus writers, simply because it is small and easy to detect. And yet this is by no means excluded, and you can find out that this is a virus by the following signs:
- if you do not have a video card from NVIDIA;
- if by the “Task Manager” you see that the process consumes too many PC resources;
- if the size of the executable file exceeds 2 MB;
- if the location of the NvXDSync.exe file is not the NVIDIA Corporation Display folder in the Program Files directory.
If any of these conditions are met, you can rest assured that this is the work of a virus. In such cases, the process must be completed, the file itself on the disk must be deleted (preferably together with the directory in which it is located), and then a full scan of the computer with the anti-virus installed in the system must be performed. If there is none, use the built-in tool, for Windows 10 it is Defender, but we do not recommend relying on it alone. As the saying goes, one head is good, but two are better.
