When you launch an application, you run into the Nvidia OpenGL Driver ran out of memory error. The full error message says “An application has requested more GPU memory than is available in the system. That application will now be closed.”. That can be frustrating. To fix the error, you can try the methods below.
Method 1: Roll Back Your Nvidia Graphics Driver
Method 2: Update Your Nvidia Graphics Driver
Method 3: Close Unnecessary Background Programs
Method 4: Consider Switching Your GPU
Method 1: Roll Back Your Nvidia Graphics Driver
Some users faced this error after the installed new Windows Updates or new Nvidia graphics drivers. If you’re one of them, to fix the error, we recommend you to roll back your Nvidia graphics driver to the previous version, as the error is possibly caused by graphics driver updates.
Follow these steps to roll back your Nvidia graphics driver:
1) Open Device Manager.
2) Expand the ‘Display Adapters‘ tab and select Properties.
3) Click the Driver tab and then click on Roll Back Driver.
If you see the Roll Back Driver button is greyed out, it means you can’t roll back the driver. There are two situations, either the driver can’t be rolled backed in this way or the driver was not updated. You can go to the manufacturer’s website to check and download the previous version of the driver. If the driver was not updated, it may need a update.
Read: How to Check the Driver Version of a Driver
Method 2: Update Your Nvidia Graphics Driver
Outdated Nvidia graphics drivers can cause Nvidia OpenGL driver ran out of memory issue. If you haven’t updated your Nvidia driver, you can do it now and see if it helps fix this error.
You can update your Nvidia driver using GeForce Experience or download the latest version of Nvidia driver from Nvidia’s official website. The GeForce Experience is the recommended way to go as it doesn’t require you driver knowledge. If you don’t have it, you can download it from Nvidia’s website.
Tip: To update drivers easily, you can use a third-party driver updater to help you. We Recommend Driver Easy. Driver Easy can scan your computer to detect any outdated and missing drivers, and then provide you with the latest official drivers. To update a driver, you just need to click your mouse several times. It's pretty easy and time-saving. Download Driver Easy from the vendor's official website: https://www.drivereasy.com.
Method 3: Close Unnecessary Background Programs
Some programs might be running in the background and consuming the memory resources. This cause that the application doesn’t have enough memory. Closing all unnecessary background programs might help resolve the error.
Here’s how to close a background program:
1) Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the Task Manager.
2) Click on the Processes tab.
3) Right-click on a running program that you wish to exit and select End task.
Method 4: Consider Switching Your GPU
The error message indicates more GPU is requested, which means you might need a GPU with more memory. After you try the above methods but the error still persists, you can consider switching your GPU to one with more memory.
Hopefully you find this post helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below.