Quick Answer
nvidia-smi.exe is safe. NVIDIA's official GPU management interface, it reads GPU state, temperatures, power usage, memory, and running processes for monitoring and automation.
What is nvidia-smi.exe?
nvidia-smi.exe is the NVIDIA System Management Interface executable included with NVIDIA graphics drivers. It provides a lightweight, scriptable interface to query GPU status, temperature, memory usage, power draw, and processes. Administrators rely on it for monitoring, diagnostics, and scripting GPU management tasks.
This tool communicates with the NVIDIA driver via the NVML library to fetch real-time data such as utilization, temperatures, power draw, memory usage, and processes using the GPU. It supports non-interactive scripting and remote monitoring.
Quick Fact: nvidia-smi.exe and the NVML library enable automated GPU monitoring on servers and desktops, allowing live dashboards and scripted queries.
Types of NVIDIA Monitoring Processes
- CLI Control Process: User-invoked command-line interface for queries (nvidia-smi)
- NVML Wrapper: Wrapper around NVML for driver communication
- Background Monitor: Background daemons used by NVIDIA utilities
- Telemetry Listener: Listens for driver-reported metrics for dashboards
- Automation Agent: Scripts and monitoring tools batch queries for reporting
Is nvidia-smi.exe Safe?
Yes, nvidia-smi.exe is safe when it is the legitimate NVIDIA System Management Interface file from the official driver package.
Is nvidia-smi.exe a Virus or Malware?
The real nvidia-smi.exe is NOT a virus. Malware may imitate names, so verify the path and signature.
How to Tell if nvidia-smi.exe is Legitimate or Malware
- File Location:: Must be in C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe. Any other location is suspicious.
- Digital Signature:: Right-click the file in Explorer -> Properties -> Digital Signatures. Should show 'NVIDIA Corporation'.
- Resource Usage:: Normal usage is 2-8% CPU and 60-180 MB memory. Unusually high or persistent usage when idle is suspicious.
- Behavior:: nvidia-smi.exe should run when invoked or by NVIDIA tools. Persistent background activity without driver UI or tasks may indicate malware.
Red Flags: If nvidia-smi.exe is located outside C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe, runs when no GPU tasks are active, has no digital signature, or consumes unusual resources, scan with antivirus. Look for similarly-named files like "nvidiasmi.exe" or "nvidia-sm i.exe" from untrusted sources.
Why Is nvidia-smi.exe Running on My PC?
nvidia-smi.exe runs when NVIDIA software queries GPU state or when scripts monitor GPU health. It can start on demand or remain resident to service GPU metric requests from drivers, NVIDIA tools, or server dashboards.
Reasons it's running:
- Active GPU Monitoring by Scripts: You or a monitoring script are polling NVIDIA GPU metrics (utilization, temperatures, memory) via nvidia-smi.
- Background NVIDIA Services: Telemetry, driver health checks, or NVIDIA Control Panel components keep nvidia-smi ready to report metrics.
- Driver Update or Health Checks: NVIDIA services may periodically query GPU state to determine if a reboot or update is needed.
- CUDA Compute Tasks: CUDA workloads or GPU-accelerated jobs may trigger frequent metric collection for monitoring.
- Remote or Enterprise Monitoring: Management consoles and HPC clusters query GPUs remotely, causing periodic nvidia-smi activity.
Can I Disable or Remove nvidia-smi.exe?
Yes, you can disable nvidia-smi.exe. It's safe to stop or remove if you do not need GPU monitoring, but some driver features and monitoring tools may stop functioning.
How to Stop nvidia-smi.exe
- Close active monitoring tasks: Terminate any script or dashboard that is calling nvidia-smi.exe.
- Disable NVIDIA monitoring at startup: Task Manager → Startup tab → Disable NVIDIA Telemetry or related NVIDIA services.
- Stop NVIDIA services: Open Services.msc, locate NVIDIA Telemetry/Control Panel services, and stop them.
- Disable background apps: In NVIDIA Settings, disable 'Continue running background apps when NVIDIA is closed' if present.
- Limit or remove scheduled tasks: Check Task Scheduler for NVIDIA-related tasks and disable those that trigger nvidia-smi.exe.
How to Uninstall NVIDIA Drivers
- ✔ Windows Settings → Apps → Apps & Features → NVIDIA Graphics Driver → Uninstall
- ✔ Control Panel → Programs → Uninstall a program → NVIDIA Graphics Driver → Uninstall
- ✔ Reboot and reinstall only the components you need from NVIDIA's official site
Common Problems: GPU Monitoring with nvidia-smi.exe
If nvidia-smi.exe is consuming excessive resources or behaving unexpectedly, use these targeted steps to diagnose and mitigate common GPU monitoring issues.
Common Causes & Solutions
- Too Frequent GPU polling: Increase intervals between nvidia-smi queries or batch data collection to reduce load.
- Outdated or corrupted drivers: Install the latest NVIDIA driver from NVIDIA.com and reboot.
- Background NVIDIA telemetry: Disable or limit telemetry services from NVIDIA Control Panel or Windows Services.
- Malicious or spoofed executables: Run a full antivirus scan and verify the file path is C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe.
- Hardware acceleration conflicts: Disable hardware acceleration in problematic applications and ensure GPU drivers are compatible.
- Resource leaks in monitoring scripts: Update or rewrite scripts to avoid cumulative resource leaks and restart the monitoring service periodically.
Quick Fixes:
1. Quick Fixes:
2. 1. Reduce polling frequency in scripts (e.g., every 5-10 seconds).
3. 2. Update NVIDIA drivers from the official NVIDIA site.
4. 3. Restart NVIDIA Display Container and related NVIDIA services.
5. 4. Run a malware scan to rule out spoofed executables.
6. 5. Ensure only the legitimate nvidia-smi.exe is present in C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is nvidia-smi.exe safe?
Yes, the legitimate nvidia-smi.exe is safe when it resides in C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI and is signed by NVIDIA.
What does nvidia-smi.exe do?
It provides a programmatic interface to query GPU state, temperatures, power usage, memory, and active processes for monitoring and management.
Where is nvidia-smi.exe located on Windows?
Typically at C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\NVSMI\nvidia-smi.exe. Verify the path to avoid spoofed files.
Can I disable nvidia-smi.exe?
Yes, but you will lose real-time GPU monitoring in scripts and dashboards and some driver utilities may rely on it.
How do I update NVIDIA drivers to ensure nvidia-smi works?
Download the latest drivers from NVIDIA's official site and run the installer. Reboot after installation.
Can I use nvidia-smi.exe in scripts for GPU monitoring?
Yes. It is designed for scriptable querying and is commonly used in server dashboards and automated monitoring pipelines.