How to Fix if MSI Afterburner Greyed Out/Disabled?

Overclocking software like MSI Afterburner is widely used by enthusiasts and gamers alike. Using the application, users can tweak and monitor their graphics card settings for optimum performance.

Nevertheless, users often report that they receive ‘Greyed Out’ or ‘Disabled’ options within the software. It can be frustrating, especially when your GPU settings need to be adjusted.

In this article, we have mentioned some of the best fixes that have the potential and will help you resolve the MSI Afterburner Greyed Out/Disabled issue. Let’s check out the steps to fix it. 

What are the Common Causes of Greyed Out/Disabled Options?

MSI Afterburner can display greyed-out or disabled options for a variety of reasons, including:

1. Administrative Privileges: Certain MSI Afterburner features may not be available if you do not have administrative privileges.
2. Driver Issues: Incompatible or outdated graphics card drivers will cause MSI Afterburner to malfunction and disable options.
3. Compatibility Issues: There may be compatibility issues between MSI Afterburner and some graphics cards or systems.
4. Hardware Limitations: Due to limitations or restrictions imposed by a manufacturer, certain features may be disabled by default.
5. Software Bugs: MSI Afterburner is not immune to bugs or glitches that may disable or grey out certain features.

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Ways to Fix MSI Afterburner Greyed Out/Disabled Issue

Here are some steps that will help you resolve the Afterburner Greyed Out/Disabled issue: 

Fix 1: Restart Your Computer

Initially, restarting your device before trying any other technical fix may help if the issue is not that severe. So, you must reboot your PC and check if MSI Afterburner gets enabled or not.

However, in case you find that the issue is still there, then you must perform the fixes mentioned below.

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Fix 2: Change Afterburner’s Theme/Skin

It is possible to enhance the appearance of MSI Afterburner by changing the theme or Skin. To change the theme or Skin of MSI Afterburner, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. On the top, click User Interface.

3. Thereafter, select Skin under the User Interface Skinning Properties and click OK.

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Fix 3: Enable MSI Afterburner Options

There are several troubleshooting steps you can follow to ensure MSI Afterburner has the necessary permissions and is functioning properly to enable greyed-out or disabled options. 

To enable the disabled options in MSI Afterburner, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. In the General Tab, select the Unlock Voltage Control and Unlock Voltage Monitoring checkboxes.
3. Thereafter, click OK and restart the app.

Now, check if the greyed-out options are still available.

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Fix 4: Download The Latest Version

These steps will guide you through the process of downloading and installing MSI Afterburner:

1. Choose a web browser of your choice.
2. Visit the official MSI Afterburner website. Search for “MSI Afterburner download” in your search engine to find it.

1. Find the latest version of MSI Afterburner on the download page.
2. Thereafter, to download the installation file, click on the download link or button.
3. Now, locate the MSIAfterburnerSetup.exe file you downloaded.
4. Afterward, to begin the installation process, double-click the installation file.
5. Install MSI Afterburner by following the instructions on your computer screen.
6. During the installation process, you may be prompted to select additional components or settings, which you can customize based on your preferences.
7. To test MSI Afterburner, launch it after installation is complete.

Here are the additional steps you should follow if you downloaded a custom skin for MSI Afterburner:

1. On your computer, extract the skin files.
2. On Windows, you can find MSI Afterburner’s installation directory at C:/Program Files (x86)/MSI Afterburner.
3. Add the extracted skin files (.xml and .png) to the ‘Skins‘ folder within the installation directory of MSI Afterburner.
4. Start MSI Afterburner and select “Settings“> “User Interface“.
5. Thereafter, under the ‘Skin‘ dropdown menu, select your newly installed Skin.
6. To change MSI Afterburner’s theme/Skin, click ‘Apply‘.

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Fix 5: Run Any Game or Resource-intensive Intensive App

MSI Afterburner can be tested by running a computer game or resource-intensive application on your computer to determine how well the program works. 

Your computer can run a resource-intensive game or app by following these steps:

1. Choose a resource-intensive game or application to run. Depending on your system, it might be a high-end game, video editing software, or another application that uses a great deal of power.
2. Launch any game by double-clicking on its shortcut or by navigating to its installation directory.
3. Then, launch other applications, double-click their shortcuts, or go to the Start menu and select them.
4. Launch MSI Afterburner.
5. Ensure that the real-time monitoring feature is enabled on your system.
6. MSI Afterburner will display a variety of metrics while a game or app is running, including GPU temperature, GPU usage, CPU usage, and RAM usage.
7. Keeping an eye on these metrics will help you determine if your system is running smoothly and efficiently. If performance spikes or drops unexpectedly, it may indicate hardware or software problems.

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Fix 6: Reinstall the Graphics Card Driver

Performance, compatibility, and functionality issues can be resolved by reinstalling the graphics card driver, particularly with software such as MSI Afterburner. To reinstall the graphics card driver on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Using the Windows + X keys together, select the Device Manager option.
2. Extend the ‘Display adapters‘ section in the Device Manager.
3. To uninstall a graphics card (such as NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon), right-click on it and select ‘Uninstall device‘.
4. Using the on-screen instructions, uninstall the driver.

5. To complete the uninstallation, restart your computer.
6. Go to the manufacturer’s official website:
   • NVIDIA
   • AMD
7. If you are having problems installing the latest driver, you can use the website’s driver detection tool or manually select the model of your graphics card and operating system.
8. For installation, locate the downloaded driver file and double-click it.
9. Afterward, once the driver has been downloaded, follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
10. If the changes have not been applied, restart your computer after the installation has been completed.

So, that’s all we have for you on how to fix the MSI Afterburner greyed out/disabled issue. Thank you for reading this guide. We hope it has been helpful. Let us know if you need more information in the comments below. 

Further Reading:

• How to Fix the “Your PC needs to be repaired” Error?
• 10+ Best Windows Cleaner Tools (Free And Paid)
• How to Check HDD and SSD Health in Windows?