Quick answer
Most Afterburner problems fall into a few buckets: the overlay not showing, settings resetting, a greyed-out slider, or the GPU not detected. Work through the fixes below. If it will not launch at all, reinstall the genuine build from our download page.
Download MSI Afterburner
MSIAfterburner466.exe · v4.6.6 · ~53 MB · free, from this site
Step-by-step guide
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1
Overlay / FPS counter not showing
Confirm RTSS is running (tray icon). Then disable conflicting overlays — Steam, Discord, Xbox Game Bar, GeForce Experience. Some anti-cheat games block overlays by design. -
2
Settings reset after reboot
Click the Windows icon to enable Apply overclocking at system startup, and turn on Start with Windows in Settings, so your profile loads at boot. -
3
Voltage slider greyed out
Open Settings, General and tick Unlock voltage control (and Unlock voltage monitoring), then apply. Some cards limit voltage at the hardware level. -
4
GPU not detected
Install or update your GPU drivers and restart. A brand-new card may need the latest beta build to be recognised. -
5
App will not launch or closes instantly
Run as Administrator, update GPU drivers, reinstall the latest version, and temporarily disable antivirus that may block it.
Overlay broke after a Windows update
Windows updates occasionally break the RTSS hooks. Do a full uninstall of both RTSS and Afterburner (with profile removal), then a clean reinstall of the latest version. That resolves it in most cases.
Changes do not apply
If core or memory clock changes seem to do nothing, make sure you click Apply (the checkmark) and then save to a profile slot. Very new hardware may also need a newer build.
Frequently asked questions
Why is MSI Afterburner not detecting my GPU? +
Update your graphics drivers and restart. New cards may need the latest beta build to be recognised.
Why does my overlay keep disappearing? +
A conflicting overlay is usually the cause. Disable Steam, Discord or GeForce Experience overlays and keep only RTSS.
Why do my settings not stick? +
Enable Apply overclocking at system startup and Start with Windows so the profile loads each boot.
Afterburner closes right after opening — what do I do? +
Run as Administrator, update drivers, reinstall the latest version, and check that antivirus is not blocking it.