Ollama allows you to run large language models locally on your computer. However, we, along with other users, have started noticing a weird trend when running any model on Ollama: Either the system crashes or Ollama crashes on Windows. Another pattern that we noticed is that this issue is happening only on NVIDIA GPUs. In this post, we are going to see what to do if Ollama crashes on Windows when using an NVIDIA GPU.
What causes Ollama to crash on Windows with NVIDIA GPUs?
Ollama crashes on Windows with NVIDIA GPUs can be due to outdated drivers, GPU acceleration conflicts, or compatibility problems with WSL. These issues often surface after system updates or driver changes. Checking Windows Event Viewer and examining crash dumps can help pinpoint the source, whether it’s related to hardware, software, or system configuration.
Fix Ollama Crashes on Windows when using an NVIDIA GPU
If Ollama crashes on Windows when using an NVIDIA GPU, you need to follow the solutions mentioned below.
- Update your driver
- Check the error log or crash dump
- Switch Environment
- Disable GPU Acceleration
- Roll Back Recent Windows or NVIDIA Driver Updates
- Reinstall Ollama
Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Update your driver
As mentioned earlier, this issue is persistent on PCs with an NVIDIA GPU; therefore, our first solution would be to update the driver. To do so, you can download NVIDIA drivers from their official website, make sure to download the latest version, and then install them on your computer. Doing so should resolve the issue for you; if not, go to the next solution.
2] Check the error log or crash dump
If your system crashes or if Ollama crashes, you should check the error log, as hopefully it gets registered in the Event Viewer. You can follow the steps mentioned below to check the error log.
- Open the Event Viewer by searching for it in the Start Menu.
- Now, go to Windows Logs > System.
- Click on Filter Current Log, and now tick Error, Warning, and Critical.
- Click on Ok.
Now, check if there are any logs related to the crash. If you see anything related, look for the cause and try to find the solution.
If you have a crash dump configured, check for files. These might indicate whether the NVIDIA driver or another component is responsible.
For mini-dumps, navigate to: C:\Windows\Minidump. For full system dumps, check for MEMORY.DMP in C:\Windows. Look for files with a .dmp extension. Note their creation dates; these should roughly correspond to the times of the crashes.
3] Switch Environment
To test whether Ollama crashes due to its environment, first run it natively in Windows: verify your environment using PowerShell or Command Prompt (ensuring you see a typical Windows path like C:), download and install the Windows version of Ollama from its official source, and then run simple commands (such as ollama run llama2) to see if it crashes or reports errors.
Next, test Ollama in a WSL environment, check that WSL is installed by using wsl --list --verbose (or install it with wsl --install if needed), set up the Linux version of Ollama by following its Linux-specific installation instructions and dependencies, and then run the same command in your WSL terminal. Compare the results from both environments. If Ollama crashes in one but not the other, it suggests an environment-specific conflict, which can help you pinpoint issues related to drivers or system configurations.
4] Disable GPU Acceleration
Disabling GPU acceleration means turning off the option that lets the application use your graphics card (GPU) to perform processing tasks. This can help avoid crashes related to GPU driver issues. So, go ahead and disable Hardware Acceleration. Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
Read: How to install Gemma 3 LLM on Windows 11 PC?
5] Roll Back Recent Windows or NVIDIA Driver Updates
In this solution, we need to uninstall the recent Windows and/or roll back the NVIDIA Driver (if you didn’t just update it in the first solution). To uninstall the recent Windows Update, you need to follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Settings by Win + I.
- Go to Windows Updates.
- Now, click on Update History, scroll down, and click on Uninstall updates from the Related settings section.
- Click on Uninstall associated with the latest update.
Once done, you need to check if the issue is resolved.
Now, you need to roll back your GPU driver if the issue persists.
5] Reinstall Ollama
If nothing works, there is a high chance that something is wrong with Ollama. So, our last resort should be to uninstall Ollama from our computer, remove all of its files, and then install a fresh copy of the same. Hopefully, this will resolve the issue.
Hopefully, with the help of these solutions, your issue will be resolved.
Read: Which AI Model can run on a regular PC?
How can I fix Ollama crashes when using an NVIDIA GPU on Windows?
To fix Ollama crashes on Windows with an NVIDIA GPU, first update your GPU drivers from the official NVIDIA website. Check for error logs using Event Viewer and inspect crash dump files in C:\Windows\Minidump or MEMORY.DMP. Test Ollama in both native Windows and WSL environments to rule out system-specific issues. If problems persist, roll back recent Windows or NVIDIA updates. As a last resort, uninstall and reinstall Ollama to remove corrupted files or misconfigurations. These steps often resolve the issue.
Also Read: Free tools to run LLM locally on Windows PC.
