How to fix NvStreamUserAgent.exe Application Error on Windows?

Let’s say you are a Windows user and you put your computer to sleep for a while only to come back to a message saying “NvStreamUserAgent.exe – Application Error”. It can be very frustrating to see this error out of the blue. Luckily, you are not alone and there is a solution, and there is an explanation as to why this happened to you. Read this article and you will get a couple of fixes and some reports about the cause of the issue.

Before we start, you should know that the fixes that we are going to provide are applicable to Windows 7, Window 8, and Windows 10.

So, how to fix nvstreamuseragent.exe crash on startup?

The first method implies that there is something wrong with the NVIDIA Display Driver. And what do you do with a driver? You update it. In this case, we start off by suggesting to uninstall the corrupt driver and getting a new one. The .exe file causing the commotion is part of the NVIDIA streamer, so the culprit is the graphics card driver associated with NVIDIA.

See this guide to get the instructions to uninstall your graphics card driver.

• Step 1. Use the Windows key and R shortcut to open the Run box.
• Step 2. Type devmgmt.msc and hit Enter.
• Step 3. In the drop-down menu, find the Display Adapters tab and expand it to find the NVIDIA device.
• Step 4. Right-click the icon and select Uninstall device.
• Step 5. You will get a warning window where you should tick the box that says Delete the driver software for this device.
• Step 6. Restart your computer.
• Step 7. Windows will then help you find the correct driver for your system or you can do so yourself with the help of the manufacturer’s website. Download the pack and install the new driver onto your device.

The second method is a variation of the first, in case you’ve downloaded the driver recently and you don’t feel the need to uninstall the whole tool. If the problem with NvStreamUseraAgent.exe still stands, that means you should probably update the NVIDIA Display driver before you get more serious troubleshooting to do. If you want to get rid of this issue altogether, then you should definitely invest in a scheduling tool like Auslogics Driver Updater that will keep your drivers updated at all time. Considering how many different drivers are in charge of your device’s performance every day, this seems like a great bargain.

The third method that we suggest is to disable the NVIDIA Stream Service. One of the causes of the whole issue is the Streamer Service and it is by default always turned ON. You can disable it by following these instructions:

• Step 1. Press the Windows logo key and R to access the Run utility.
• Step 2. Type in services.msc and hit Enter.
• Step 3. Find the NVIDIA Streamer Service and right-click the icon.
• Step 4. Select Stop in the drop-down menu.
• Step 5. Wait for the process to finish and restart your device. Your problem should be solved.

As a precautionary method, it’s always great to run a DISM scan or at least an SFC scan. These troubleshooters are already built into your system and you don’t have to go to uncertain lengths to understand what the tool is doing. To run these scans, use this quick guide:

How to run SFC scan:

• Step 1. Open the search box and type ‘cmd’. Hit Enter.
• Step 2. Make sure to run Command Prompt as an administrator.
• Step 3. Type in sfc/scannow and hit Enter.
• Step 4. Wait for the scan to finish and restart your computer.

How to run a DISM scan:

• Step 1. Press the Windows key.
• Step 2. Type ‘cmd’ into Search and hit Enter.
• Step 3. Open Command Prompt and run as an Administrator.
• Step 4. Copy & paste this command into Command Prompt: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
• Step 5. The scan will finish. Restart your computer.

If your computer is suffering from loss of speed, it’s also a great idea to get Auslogics BoostSpeed as it will scan the system and detect the programs or applications that you rarely use but that are wasting a lot of your device’s memory. Hopefully at this point, you were able to fix nvstreamuseragent.exe crash on startup and at least one of our methods helped you do that.