amd catalyst control center is not updated. Cannot start AMD Catalyst Control Center at the moment how to fix

Each video card manufacturer tries to offer its users the maximum useful software. AMD is no exception. This article describes how to configure AMD Catalyst Control Center for games. All possible ways to configure various parameters that affect either performance or image quality are considered.

Program installation

Not all owners of these video cards have AMD Catalyst Control Center by default. The setup for games assumes a pre-established center. There are two ways to do this. In both cases, you need to visit the official website amd.com. Once on the main page, in the top section selection bar we find the “Drivers and Support” item. Then open the “Download Center”. In the menu that opens, select the type of video card and your operating system. It is worth remembering that drivers for desktop computers and laptops are different. On this page you can download AMD Catalyst Control Center for your laptop either as a separate distribution or along with the latest driver version. If you have been for a long time, it is not recommended to download the comprehensive archive. This will kill two birds with one stone - update the software and install the program described. Another way is to download an automatic search program. It will independently detect the missing AMD components and install them.

Introduction to the program

You now have AMD Catalyst Control Center installed on your computer. Setting up for games begins with opening the program. After installation, the utility icon appears in the Start menu tray. You can also open it by right-clicking on the desktop and calling In it, on the first line, click on the AMD Catalyst Control Center item. Setting up a 64-bit system for games will be the main subject of the instructions. The fact is that 32-bit systems are practically not used at present. Their age ended after Windows XP. All modern computers are based on 64-bit architecture, which require configuration AMD Catalyst Control Center also applies to such computers.

Program menu

In the program window that opens, you first need to figure it out. By default, on laptops, all graphics settings are hidden. You can access them through "Settings". Select "Advanced View" from the menu. After this, new sections will appear in the left column. Let's look at everything in order.

“Desktop Management” - this section helps you customize your desktop as you wish. It is possible to create different desktops, customize colors, and so on. "General Display Tasks" are responsible for finding new monitors and rotating the display. The "Video" section contains comprehensive video playback settings from brightness settings to acceleration and distortion. Now we gradually come to the main thing.

How to properly configure AMD Catalyst Control Center for gaming?

First, you need to decide on the purpose of the setup. If your computer produces a sufficient amount of FPS without additional changes, does not load the system, and is completely satisfied with the image quality, there is no point in messing with the settings. If you know that your system is capable of squeezing more out of the game's image and you want to improve the image, then it is worth taking certain actions. It is also recommended for laptop users to configure the video card. Since portable computers are somewhat weaker than desktop ones, they spend more resources on modern games. The main purpose of having an AMD Catalyst Control Center on a laptop is to configure it for games. Let's take GTA 5 as an example of a modern game that is very demanding on computer resources.

Productivity and quality

For inexperienced users, the program offers a simplified setting mode in the form of a "Performance - Quality" slider. By default, the settings are in balanced mode. If your computer is weak enough, set the slider to “Performance” mode. Naturally, the graphics in the GTA 5 game will deteriorate. But resources will be freed up, and the video card will be able to “breathe easy.” This mode is especially recommended for laptop owners. If, on the contrary, you want to turn all the features to the maximum, move the slider towards “Quality”.

Smoothing

More advanced settings offer you to select the anti-aliasing level. When you move the slider, you see changes in the image in the picture, which makes it possible to visually estimate what the game will look like. You can also leave this setting for game control. Just check the “Use application settings” option. In the next paragraph, select the type of anti-aliasing. The setup follows the same principle. This parameter most affects the amount. If anti-aliasing is disabled, the FPS will be maximum. If you set anti-aliasing to maximum, the game on a laptop may experience stuttering.

Other settings

In the same section you can set tessellation modes and frame rate. Also available for debugging is level selection and so on. Unless you have a clear understanding of these AMD Catalyst Control Center features, setting up games in Advanced mode is not recommended.

Advanced settings

The capabilities described above are not all that can be done using the AMD Catalyst Control Center. Settings for games are also possible through game files. To do this, go to the "Games" tab from the left column. In the window that opens, under “Application Settings,” click the “Add” button. Find the gta5.exe file, which is located in the folder where the game is installed. After that, click "OK". The program should analyze the game settings and optimize the video card for stable operation. This function is very convenient for laptop owners - it allows you to minimize wear on the video card.

The most advanced mode of Amd Catalyst Control Center is setting up games by changing the frequencies of the video card. You can do this by moving the slider in the "Performance" section. You can also choose from three preset modes: High Performance, High Quality, and Standard Settings.

Don't be afraid to experiment with the settings and adjust them to suit the performance of your laptop. If something doesn’t suit you and you don’t remember exactly which items you changed, you can always reset the settings to factory settings. This is done through the last item in the left column - “Information”. Next, select "Software Update". After clicking the "Check for updates" button, the program will automatically determine whether new versions of drivers or AMD Catalyst Control Center are available for installation. The program also has a function for adjusting performance in battery and mains mode. It is recommended to set maximum performance from the network for a comfortable game.

Bottom line

AMD Catalyst Control Center is suitable for experienced users and beginners alike. A visual configuration system will allow you to select the optimal parameters even when you do not know what a particular parameter is responsible for.

Any video card, even the most powerful and modern, requires a suitable driver or a special utility for additional configuration to operate. Radeon graphics cards, discrete or integrated, perform much better and deliver higher frame rates when the AMD Catalyst Control Center (CCC), first released in 2007, is installed on the computer. This tool is designed to fine-tune the characteristics of graphics cards from the American brand Advanced Micro Devices.

The CCC utility, which has been included with Radeon video card drivers for more than 10 years, may in the future be replaced by the Software Crimson software package from the same manufacturer. However, today it still needs to be installed on a desktop PC or laptop with AMD graphics.

Every year, the functionality of the utility is improved, increasing the ability to properly allocate resources and the performance of graphics cards, which continue to successfully compete with Nvidia models.

Catalyst Control Center features include:

3D graphics optimization to improve image quality in most games;
integration with social networks, improving the performance of widgets and gaming applications built into these resources;
frame smoothing necessary for use in games;
laptop power management, which allows you to reduce the power consumption of mobile computers when running on battery power;
setting the optimal level of contrast and picture detail is a function that is useful not only for games, but also when working with graphic editors and watching movies in high resolution;
simultaneous configuration of several screens connected to the video card (computer displays or TVs);
Software updates for video adapters, in most cases automatic.

The advantages of using AMD CCC include low requirements for computer resources, a built-in game manager and the possibility of hardware acceleration of video cards.

Control Center works on both modern high-end PCs and legacy devices, allowing you to speed up graphics and add a few frames per second to your gameplay. Using the same utility, you can adjust the frame rate manually.

AMD Catalyst Control Center: Setup for Gaming

Playing using the CCC control center is more convenient and easier, and the process of setting up games takes no more than a few minutes. And the only problem typical for laptops with both integrated and discrete graphics installed occurs when there are no video card settings in the utility menu and there is no option to optimize the image.

The issue is resolved by switching from one graphics adapter to another - through the BIOS, using the Catalyst Control Center, or by selecting the appropriate GPU, which is offered to the laptop user when changing the power source.

When deciding on the video card settings for a game, you should decide whether changes need to be made. If the frame rate during gameplay is high enough and there are no graphical problems, it is recommended to leave the control center set to default. If you need to increase the fps level, you should do the following:

Open AMD Catalyst Control Center.
Select the game tab in the left column.
Click on the “Add” button located in the application settings section.
Find the executable file of the game in the list (has the extension .exe and is designated as “Application” in Windows) and click “OK”.

The utility automatically analyzes game settings and optimizes integrated or discrete graphics. Thanks to this, the video card not only works faster, but also wears out less during operation.

When manually adjusting graphics, the user has the opportunity to independently choose the maximum image quality, high game speed, or standard settings that involve a compromise between fps and resolution.

How to Launch AMD Catalyst Control Center

The control center requires special attention when starting up for the first time. Before opening the AMD Catalyst Control Center, the user selects a configuration mode:

basic, which sets the default video card parameters and allows you to further configure the resolution, quality and number of connected image output devices;
advanced, providing manual adjustment of most graphics characteristics.

If there is no need to change the video card parameters, it is recommended to select the normal mode. An experienced user who is planning to optimize the performance of games should give preference to the second option.

If a problem arises that AMD Catalyst Control Center does not open, just update the drivers by first removing the old ones.

How to Update AMD Catalyst Control Center

To update the control center, the user will need to do almost the same steps as when installing new drivers for any other computer component. You can get the new version of the utility along with control programs for the graphics adapter on the company’s official website.

Where to download AMD Catalyst Control Center

The only correct option when downloading the CCC control center is the official website of the video card manufacturer AMD. After going to the main page, the computer owner must open the software tab “Download AMD Drivers & Software”.

After that, on the right half of the page you can see a menu for manually selecting an AMD video card and find the appropriate series and model. The last item “Select the supported operating system that you have” allows you to select one of the operating systems supported by the card:

for older video adapters this will be Windows XP and Unix platforms;
for video cards of later years of release - Windows 7 and 8;
for the latest desktop models - only Windows 10.

Having chosen the appropriate option, you should download this version and run the installation on your computer. It is not advisable to use third-party sites for downloading. The result may not only be the installation of outdated software, but also an increased risk of infection of the system with viruses.

How to Install AMD Catalyst Control Center

Installation of the control center is carried out in three ways:

Go to the manufacturer's official website and select the appropriate video card model. After downloading the installation file, it is installed on your computer.
By choosing to automatically detect the video adapter model on the same website.
Using utilities to automatically update drivers such as Drivers Pack Solution.

AMD Catalyst does not start: what to do?

Problems that arise when installing and launching a software package are often associated with the wrong system bit size. Correct operation of the program is only possible if the version downloaded from the manufacturer’s resource matches the Windows bitmap. For example, for 32-bit Windows, an installation error for the AMD Catalyst package occurs when trying to install the control center for a 64-bit platform.

The utility does not start even if there are problems with version compatibility. Therefore, if you cannot start AMD Catalyst Control Center, you should remove the already installed software for the video adapter.

How to completely remove AMD Catalyst Control Center

One way to solve the problem with the control center starting is to completely remove AMD CCC from the computer. To do this, the user must do the following:

Open the control panel.
Select Programs and Features (or Add or Remove Programs for Windows XP).
Find the utility to be removed in the list that opens and select its removal.

When the program is completely removed from the computer, you should restart the system. Now the PC (or laptop) is ready to install the new version of the control center.

Best Setting for Gaming: Video

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Standard AMD drivers include a utility that helps you unlock the full potential of your powerful graphics accelerator. Up to driver version 15.11.1 inclusive, this was AMD Catalyst Control Center. Its latest version was developed 4 years ago and can now be used for graphics accelerators up to the R9 280/290 series inclusive. Official support this program has been discontinued.

Video cards released before 2015 do not have the functionality implemented in the latest video accelerators, so there is no point in installing the latest drivers on computers with such video cards. They may not install with an old video card, and also contain functionality that is not supported by old hardware, which will take up computing resources. The new AMD utility, which replaced it, has approximately the same functionality, so it is easy to master if you know how to handle the good old Catalyst.

Why do you need a special utility for video cards?

This software is designed for fine adjusting the operating mode video accelerator that launches itself as a system process ccc.exe. Management in progress such parameters:

general performance indicators;
appearance of the desktop and screen settings;
setting the required performance during normal operation and during video file processing;
setting up the sharing of several video accelerators in CrossFire mode;
fine selection of values to achieve optimal gaming performance;
setting energy consumption parameters;
maintaining AMD utility programs up to date, as well as informing the user about company news;
providing information about the software version in use and the hardware features of the video card;
video core frequency control;
selection and installation of parameters of monitors connected to different outputs.

Video adapters produced using the 28 nm process before 2015 and now without problems suitable for any modern games. Their only drawback is significantly higher power consumption at maximum load than modern video cards.

To ensure high-quality gaming experience and optimally adjust power consumption, Catalyst serves. In addition, it will adjust the distorted color rendition of the monitor, problems with contrast and brightness indicators.

Where can I download and how to install CATALYST

Although Catalyst is no longer supported, there is a page on the AMD website http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/latest-catalyst-windows-beta.aspx#, with links to download Catalyst version 15.201. 1151.1010:

Unfortunately, as of early June 2018, these links don't work. When activated, a window appears containing a message about problems downloading the file:

But, as we know, the seeker will find. You can download the latest version of Catalyst Control Center for Windows 7, 8, 10 from other sites, for example:

When downloading, you must correctly select version, corresponding to the operating system you have installed. In this case, you also need to pay attention to its bit size (32 or 64 bit). The distribution kit for the 64-bit version of the system takes up 308 megabytes of space.

The utility is installed together with the driver package and is intuitive. When you double-click on the downloaded file (most often with the name ati catalyst install manager), a window will appear prompting you to select the path to unpack the driver and utility files; you can leave it as is:

Then in the pop-up window you need to click next and select the item quick installation:

You will also need to agree with license terms:

After this, you need to restart your computer and you can use the program:

The whole process can be seen in the video:

Launching and configuring the utility

The program interface is very simple, but it is still necessary to consider it in more detail.

First, a window appears asking you to configure playback quality video files:

When you go to the video quality tab can be configured sharpening, noise reduction, blocking, and deinterlacing:

For powerful video cards such as Radeon P9 280/290, all settings can be set to maximum. But if you use a laptop or a weak video card, then it is better not to use the proposed improvements, as the computer may begin to slow down significantly.

The program interface has many options that need to be considered in more detail.

Menu home page contains links and addresses of AMD, its support service and Twitter:

Allows you to create and assign specific key combinations to presets:

Desktop contains several submenus that allow you to control display settings that are associated with a monitor or multiple monitors. You can control multiple displays connected to your computer:

Conveniently organized access to change desktop resolution, color, refresh rate and rotation.

It is possible to calibrate the monitor’s color gamut and adjust brightness and contrast settings:

Access to opportunity screen rotation designed in a visual style:

The commands in the video section allow you to adjust video quality parameters:

Available on the games tab:

The information section shows information about installed drivers:

Submenu hardware devices shows detailed features of the video adapter:

You can also watch the full settings in the video:

How to configure CATALYST to speed up work

You can speed up the performance of the video subsystem in video tabs and 3D applications. In addition, it is necessary to relieve the processor and reduce the use of RAM by disabling the automatic execution of unnecessary services.

Speed up performance when watching a video It is possible if you set all relevant options to minimum. In addition, you can reduce the resolution and lower the screen refresh rate on the desktop properties tab:

The global video quality submenu contains an item to force smooth playback of the video from which you want to deselect:

The color submenu does not affect performance; you can customize the color scheme to your liking:

It is important submenu quality on the video tab:

Here you also need to deselect all items to reduce the load on the video system. Deinterlacing can be left in automatic mode, and if possible, disabled.

At availability of items“accelerated video conversion” or “enable hardware acceleration” they must be enabled in order to activate the hardware units of the video processor.

Optimizing game mode in CATALYST

A significant increase in performance in games can be obtained by disabling all options that load the video core. In the submenu " Smoothing» All types of anti-aliasing are disabled or the choice is left to the applications themselves. Filtering is left standard, and the smoothing method is switched to multiple sampling:

In submenu texture filtering disable anisotropic filtering, reduce texture filtering to a minimum, or switch to performance. Surface format enhancement is also disabled when this submenu is present. In the frame rate submenu, vertical refresh and triple buffering are turned off.

IN tessellation submenu All items must be set to optimized.

Overclocking system performance done on the performance tab. Drivers containing Catalyst have built-in Over Drive technology, which makes it possible to overclock the video system using the capabilities built into the drivers. It is not installed on mobile devices. A netbook with an AMD video card has limited overclocking capabilities:

When using a discrete video card on a desktop computer, you may experience additional options, which are used to adjust quality and performance to a specific user. The general rule if you want to increase productivity is to turn off everything unnecessary. Also, if you have the AMD OverDrive menu, you can try increase frequency GPU, memory, power consumption limit, adjust fan speed. But this increases the risk of damaging the video card. This tab looks like this:

Power tab provides access to adjusting the power consumption mode:

In submenu power profiles You can change the display's idle time, sleep time, and brightness:

How to update AMD drivers

The software update tab allows you to update your AMD software:

When you click this button, a pop-up window appears allowing you to select a new set to install:

Since Catalyst is no longer supported by AMD, the download page will take you to general information Online. To get updates you need to click download now:

The resulting package is installed in the same way as during the initial installation. The update will replace the Catalyst program with a newer package from AMD Radeon Crimson Edition with a similar interface:

This software package is designed for AMD video cards released in the last few years. The menu is simpler and more clear. The utility is now contains access to games, video playback, Relive capabilities, monitor settings and displays system features. The purpose of the tabs is similar to the AMD Catalyst Control Center. Through the video menu, you can adjust the color display, brightness and contrast levels.

Release is necessary when recording video files, for example, while playing a game.

In the display submenu you can change the desktop resolution, color scheme, and scale the image.

The system tab allows you to see which driver is used, frequency indicators, information about the core, and detailed technical parameters of the computer.

Uninstalling the CATALYST software package

It is best to remove the entire AMD driver package using special utility amdcleanuputility to clean the system from AMD. The standard operating system uninstaller does not completely remove drivers and utilities, so failures may occur later. By default, the utility is located in the folder with installed drivers along the path C:\ProgramFiles\Amd\CIM\Bin64. In addition, it is available on the AMD website: https://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMD-Clean-Uninstall-Utility.aspx

To uninstall the entire software package from AMD, click on the program icon for cleaning, as a result of which you receive the following warning:

This useful tool itself will uninstall and then prompts you to reboot.

As a result of various failures, sometimes the catalyst Control Center does not start and the tray icon, usually located in the system tray, disappears. To restore it you need will reinstall AMD driver package. Before this, it is advisable to completely clean the system of faulty AMD programs.

The use of the time-tested Catalyst software package is still appropriate on computers released before 2014. Use does not require special qualifications and fully reveals the capabilities of the computer.

Catalyst Control Center is a special program from AMD, which was created for displaying images on the screen, monitoring driver updates and all other functions. The developers are very proud because they have created a single control center in the form of the Catalyst Control Center. What is this program? You will find out by reading this article.

Utility functionality

The company began attaching this program to drivers for its video cards starting in 2007. Over the course of 9 years, with the release of new generations of graphics chips, this utility has been improved and refined. Every year, AMD video cards become more powerful and cooler. However, without proper configuration and control by the software, the iron part cannot independently allocate resources correctly, which often leads to low performance. Or vice versa: the video card can operate at full capacity and overheat because of this, which will lead to malfunctions or complete breakdown of the equipment.

But this software can be useful not only for modern platforms. On fairly old machines, this program can help optimize performance and squeeze out a little FPS for your favorite game. The application is also able to track all changes and updates in drivers and carefully notify the user about this. In addition to the described tasks, the program configures several screens connected simultaneously, allows you to adjust color reproduction, contrast and other parameters, bypassing the monitor settings, and much more. Not a single owner of a system assembled on the AMD platform will give up on the program and what its tasks are, we figured it out. Now let's move on to the installation.

Program installation

To do this, you need to go to the official AMD website amd.com. Go to the "AMD Software" tab in the left menu column. A page will appear here with a full description of the program we are interested in and its capabilities. If you wish, you can familiarize yourself with it and learn something new for yourself. At the bottom of the text there is a button “Download here” - click on it.

You will be redirected to the download page for all drivers and software. In the menu, select your operating system, its bit depth (the most important) and video card model (just specify the series). Next, you will be taken to a page with all the available software for your video card and OS characteristics. Download Catalyst Control Center from this page. Next, open and follow the instructions. During installation, you can select the components you want to install. You have the opportunity to immediately install the updated version of the drivers along with the software. Now you know how to install Catalyst Control Center.

To remove the program, you need to use the Windows control panel or go to the folder with the installed program and open the uninst.exe file. Be careful not to delete the driver for your video card along with the setup application by mistake. You know how to remove Catalyst Control Center, now let's move on to the first launch.

First launch of the program

When you first start, you need to choose one of two modes. If you are not very knowledgeable about settings, then choose the basic mode. Here you can set the screen resolution, adjust the picture quality and the number of connected monitors. It is also suggested in a simplified form to select the operating mode of the video accelerator: either quality or performance. The setting is made in the form of a slider; the default is balanced mode. In the last tab you can configure the video display. This is where the capabilities of the basic mode end.

If you can independently fine-tune the operation of the video card in all parameters, then select the advanced mode of AMD Catalyst Control Center. Setting up in the advanced mode is very simple, even if you selected the basic mode when you first started it. To do this, just click on the “Advanced” button. Here, an experienced user has room to roam. Let's consider this mode in more detail.

Additional settings

In advanced mode you will find everything you can imagine. Starting from changing the appearance of the window to fine-tuning the video card in the Catalyst Control Center. What kind of program is this, you ask, where are the settings? First, let's figure out in what direction you need to configure the operation of the graphics card.

If you know that the video card has enough power to spare, but it is not being used, you need to turn all the parameters to maximum. You can also configure the program for performance, which will allow you to get a small increase in FPS on a weak video card.

More details about the items

To configure 3D parameters, go to the “3D Graphics Settings” tab. The first sub-item is “Standard parameters”. Everything here is exactly the same as in the basic mode - a visual image that shows the changes, and the “Performance-Quality” slider. We set it to the position we need or leave it in the middle.

Responsible for detailing the surface of objects. The minimum parameter is 2X, and the maximum is 16X. Performance and quality work on the same principle as in the case of anti-aliasing. The detailing is adjusted in the same way.

The last sub-item is additional settings. Here you can select DirectX 3D and OpenGL accelerator options. As you can see, you can configure almost any characteristic of a video card using Catalyst Control Center. You know what kind of program this is and its configuration options. It remains to deal with possible problems.

If there are any problems with the launch or stable operation of the program, check its bitness and compare it with the bitness of your operating system. Catalyst Control Center also does not start due to an outdated version. Download the latest update for the utility from the official website.

If all else fails, try completely uninstalling the AMD software along with the video card driver and installing it again. Select the Program Files folder on the system partition of your hard drive as the installation location. The path to the folder must not contain Russian letters.

So that the computer user can configure how the image generated by the system and applications, video card developers supply special programs along with drivers for their equipment. In the case of AMD ATI graphics cards, the corresponding software is called . However, despite the fact that the company makes significant efforts to ensure that the user does not experience problems with their software, glitches may still occur in its operation. So at one point the user, when trying to open CCC, may see the following message: “The AMD Catalyst Control Center cannot be started at the moment.” Let's figure out what to do in this case.

Reasons why AMD Catalyst Control Center may not start

There may be several reasons why AMD Catalyst Control Center is currently not starting. Most often, the corresponding problem is caused by outdated drivers. In this case, the conflict can be caused not only by the video card driver, but also by other equipment (for example, the motherboard), since AMD by and large focuses on the latest hardware and software.

The second most common cause of problems starting AMD Catalyst Control Center at the moment is blocking some program components by antivirus. Many anti-spyware programs do not work perfectly, and therefore they can quarantine files that are completely harmless, but important for the operation of the system.

The third reason is incompatibility of the software with the operating system. Some users, after reinstalling Windows, do not download the latest drivers, but install them, for example, from the CD that came with the video card. If the corresponding software was developed, for example, for Windows 7, and the user’s computer already has Windows 10, then there is a possibility that it will not work correctly on it.

And the last reason: corrupted program files. It is possible that some components were accidentally removed or the corresponding sector of the hard drive was damaged.

How to resolve Catalyst Control Center failure to start

To fix the message “AMD Catalyst Control Center cannot be launched at this time,” you should try to reinstall the driver by downloading its new version from the official AMD website. To do this you will need:

Go to the website SUPPORT.AMD.COM;
In the “Drivers and Support” section, select your operating system version;
Download the software by clicking on the “Download” button;
Start the installation process.

In most cases, there is no need to remove old drivers first. The installer will do this himself, replacing the old software with new software. However, if you still want to clear the system of relevant programs in advance, then do the following:

Go to the folder “SYSTEM_DISK:\Program Files\ATI\CIM\Bin” and open the file “Setup.exe”;
In the window that opens, select “Delete”;
Click “Next”, and then “Finish”;
Restart your computer;
After that, install new drivers.

If the appropriate steps do not help fix the error “AMD Catalyst Control Center cannot be started at this time,” then try updating the drivers for all devices. It would also be a good idea to look into your antivirus and see what files it has quarantined. If there are AMD CCC components there, you will need to remove them from there.

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