HP Display Control not updating

[JC99London]

For the past few days I get the message:

"HP Display Control"

"Critical Update needed to use HP Display Control"

I download the EXE, run it, close the dialog. Later the same message returns.

What am I missing?

[VikramTheGreat · Accepted solution]

Hi @JC99London,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

It seems you're experiencing an issue with the repetitive update prompt for "HP Display Control" on your Windows 11 system. This can sometimes happen if the update process is not completing successfully or if there's a problem with the installation files. Here are some steps you can take to try to resolve the issue:
 

Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Ensure Successful Installation:
   • When you run the update EXE file, carefully follow the prompts and ensure that the installation completes without any errors.
   • Restart your computer after the installation, as some updates require a reboot to take effect.
      
2. Check for Pending Updates:
   • Open Windows Update in your system settings and check if there are any other updates pending. Sometimes system updates can interfere with software installations.
      
3. Administrator Permissions:
   • Right-click the update EXE file and choose "Run as administrator" to ensure it has all the necessary permissions to install.
      
4. Reinstall HP Display Control:
   • Uninstall the current version of HP Display Control from your system:
     • Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
     • Find and select "HP Display Control" and click Uninstall.
   • Re-download the latest version from HP's official site and install it again.
      
5. Check Event Viewer:
   • If the issue persists, check the Windows Event Viewer for any error messages or logs related to HP Display Control, as these can provide more insight into what might be going wrong.
      
6. Cross-Check with HP Support:
   • Visit Official HP® Support to ensure you have the latest version of HP Display Control compatible with your hardware and operating system.
   • Look for any specific fixes or notes regarding this issue in their support section.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

VikramTheGreat

[JC99London]

I removed and then reinstalled. Seems to have worked. Thanks.

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @JC99London,

That’s great to hear, I’m glad reinstalling the display controller resolved the issue 👍

If anything else comes up with your HP device, feel free to reach out anytime. We’re here to help.

Thanks for the update, and happy computing!

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

VikramTheGreat

[NannyNunu]

Me too. Does anyone have a solution to this problem?

[MartinT]

I have also been receiving the HP Display Control Service critical update required pop up every time I start my desktop computer. Following the advice I remove the app in Settings and then ran the downloaded update once again and it appears to have solved the problem. The fact that so many people are reporting this issue suggests that there is a problem when trying to update the current version and maybe HP should investigate this. The suggested solution only took a few minutes and when I rebooted afterwards I did not get the pop up any more. Hopefully this will now be okay.

[michmom]

I was going to follow the steps to uninstall & reinstall the  driver.  According to winver, my system is version 25H2.  My choices for download are windows 11, windows 11 ver 23H2 (64bit), windows 11 ver 22H2 (64bit) and windows 11 ver 24H2 (64 bit).  Which one would I select?

[pcomini]

I had the same issue (Win 11) and tried quite a lot - without success, at least until I tried the following:
1. Uninstall and Reinstall the HP Display Control Service
2. Open Task Manager and access Startup apps
3. Click on "Run new task" and open the following:
"C:\Program Files\Portrait Displays\HP Display Control Service\CTHelper.exe" Service\CTHelper.exe" BUT
DON'T click the check-box "Create this task with administrative privileges" since it isn't supported for security reasons! (don't ask me why this option is there ;).
4. Reboot your computer

This solved 2 problems:
1.  No update-popups anymore.
2. I'm again able to successfully switch between internal display-signal and external HDMI-signal again using <Ctrl>-<Shift>-<D>-<S> 🙂

Update: 18.02:2026 09:57 CET: Unfortunately this workaround stopped working again. No clue why. Once I have more insights, I'll let you know.

[pcomini]

As promised, I had a closer look and found the following workaround with the following two goals:

1. The HP Display Control Update Popup-Window is being closed automatically.
2. Switching Screens through <Ctrl>-<Shift>-<D>-<S> is possible (again).

STEPS REQUIRED:

Step #1: Install HP Display Control v. 4.9.25.0 and DON’T REBOOT yet!
Source: https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp145501-146000/sp145580.exe

Step #2: Copy/Paste the following folder
C:\Program Files\Portrait Displays\HP Display Control Service

next to (within the same folder)
C:\Program Files\Portrait Displays\HP Display Control Service – Copy

You should see the following files in the new folder copied:

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.txt

  cgt.exe

  CTHelper.exe

  DisplayControlService.exe

  icctool.exe

  PdiShellExt.dll

  ScalarInputUtil.exe

  Uninstall.exe

CTHelper.exe is the utility that allows Switching of Screens) through <Ctrl>-<Shift>-<D>-<S>. This requires DisplayControlService.exe to be up and running.
Why do we need a copy of the folder? For whatever reasons, are all files except of DisplayControlService and ScalarInputUtil being removed from C:\Program Files\Portrait Displays\HP Display Control Service somewhen after the reboot (following the installation). This copy makes sure, we don’t lose any of the required files that will be required for Ctrl>-<Shift>-<D>-<S>.

Step #3: Create a folder C:\Scripts

Step #4:Create a text-file named C:\Scripts\Close-HP-Display-Control.ps1 and add the following code to it:

$processes = Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.name -Match 'DisplayControl' }

foreach ($process in $processes) {

    if ($process.MainWindowHandle -ne 0) {

        # Sends a close request to the main window

        $process.CloseMainWindow() | Out-Null

    }

}

Step #5: In Windows 11, create a Scheduled Task using Task Scheduler

• Open Task Scheduler: Press Win + R, type taskschd.msc, and press Enter.
• Create a New Task: In the right-hand pane, click Create Task....  

Step #6: Configure the Task

• General Tab:
  • Name: Close HP Display Control Popup Windows

• Security options: Select Run only when user is logged on.
  (Run with highest privileges is not required.)
• Triggers Tab:

• Click New....
• In the Begin the task: dropdown, select On an event log.
• Configure the settings:
  • Log: Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
    You might need to install Sysmon for advanced process start events (Reboot required). Alternatively, you can use the standard Security log if process creation auditing is enabled, or Application if the target app logs an event on start).
  • Source: Sysmon
  • Event ID: 1 (Sysmon event ID for process creation)
  • Check Delay task for: and set it to 1 minute to ensure the process has fully initialized its window handle.

• Click OK.
• Actions Tab:

• Action #1:

• Click New....
• Action: Select Start a program.
• Program/script: Type powershell.exe
• Add arguments: Enter the following, which ensures the script runs without issue with the execution policy:
  -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Scripts\Close-HP-Display-Control.ps1"
• Start in: <leave empty>
• Click OK.

• Action #2:

• Click New....
• Action: Select Start a program.
• Program/script: Type "C:\Program Files\Portrait Displays\HP Display Control Service - Copy\CTHelper.exe"
• Add arguments (optional): Enter the following, which ensures the script runs without issue with the execution policy:
  -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "C:\Scripts\Close-HP-Display-Control.ps1"
• Start in: <leave empty>
• Click OK.
• Conditions Tab:
• (Optional but recommended) Configure any relevant conditions, such as Start only if the following network connection is available.
• Settings Tab:

• Ensure Allow task to be run on demand is checked.

• Click OK to save the task, and enter your user credentials if prompted.

Step #7: Reboot, wait 1 minute after the logon and see if everything works as expected 🙂

Security and Rationale

• Execution Policy: The -ExecutionPolicy Bypass argument allows the local script to run even if the system's execution policy is set to a more restrictive level like RemoteSigned.
• WMI Event Trigger: Using an event trigger is more efficient and secure than having a PowerShell script running in a loop to poll for the process start.
• Highest Privileges: Running the task with the highest privileges allows it to interact with the UI of other processes, which is necessary to minimize the window.

Remarks:

1. I completely reinstalled Windows 11 on my All-In-One HP HP ENVY All-in-One PC 32-a1000i (7ZD69AV) with the latest release (Windows 11 Pro 25H2) and incl. all updates just to be sure, that this workaround is working as expected.
2. You might have to adjust the delay (1 minute) within the trigger tab in order to execute Display-Control.ps1 soon after the popup appears.
3. I assume that the Sysmon-part could be replaced by something else that would trigger Close-HP-Display-Control.ps1 right after the popup appears, rather than starting after a defined delay (1 minute) after login. I simply had no addtl. time yet to spend on this.
4. I would be an easy catch for HP and https://www.portrait.com/ (who developed this application) to provide an updated version that doesn’t do unnecessary update-lookups and destroy (removal of existing/required files) the current installation.  Don't know why HP doesn’t care. Maybe it’s just because of EOL-Support  (?).

[Zorro28]

Hi

Where can i find the latest version download of HP Display Control for Pavilion ca2001 - keep getting critical update link that will not install and recommendation is to delete Display Control and reinstall but cannot find latest version on HP site

Many thanks