OpenRGB: Fix for losing custom color profiles [SOLUTION] How to automatically reload RGB settings after sleep, restart, shut down

OpenRGB is a great solution for controlling all of the RGB on your system without needing to run resource-heavy, buggy applications like ASUS Armory Crate, MSI Mystic Light RGB, Aura, Corsair iCue, Lian Li L-Connect 3, Logitech G Hub, and others. Often a PC build will include RGB lighting from multiple brands which can mean running many different programs, which often conflict and won’t work at the same time.

Instead you can use OpenRGB, a free, open source, lightweight program to control all RGB from all brands in one simple interface. 


The Problem: How to fix OpenRGB forgets color settings

The problem with OpenRGB is that it doesn’t save, or doesn’t reload your color profile in many cases when it should. Any time the RGB devices are powered down, when they power back on they reset to default and OpenRGB doesn’t reload the custom RGB colors or effects you saved. For example any time my PC goes into sleep mode, then wakes or resumes from sleep mode, most RGB in my case will have reverted back to their default rainbow pattern. Basically everything but the RAM RGB reset.


The Solution: Automatically run OpenRGB to restore saved profile

The easiest solution is to manually reload your OpenRGB profile every time your RGB devices reset.  However of course we want this to happen automatically!

The automatic solution is to use Windows Task Scheduler run OpenRGB.exe with the argument added: --profile "YourProfileHere" and have it set to trigger any time you are having issues losing your custom RGB settings. There are some specific triggers you must use for this to work. Instructions below!

Here are the steps to fix this issue:

Step 0: Run OpenRGB as an administrator at least once (right click the shortcut – run as administrator)

Step 1: Create and save a profile with the settings you like in OpenRGB. Note the exact spelling of the profile name, you will use it later.

Step 2: Open Task Scheduler: in the Windows search bar, type “Task Scheduler” and click the App that comes up

Step 3: In the menu bar at the top of Task Scheduler, click “Action” then “Create Task”

Step 4: In the new task’s General tab:

  • enter a name and description like “OpenRGB reload color fix”
  • change the setting to select “Run whether user is logged on or not”
  • check the box to enable “Run with the highest privileges”

Step 5: Switch to the Triggers tab

  1. In the Triggers tab, click the “New…” button
    • set Begin the task to “At startup
    • optionally, set Delay task for: 5-15 seconds (especially for At startup)
    • make sure Enabled is checked.
    • Then click OK.
  2. Repeat step 1, but for Begin the Task choose “At log on
  3. Repeat step 1, but for Begin the Task choose “On workstation unlock
  4. Now create a “New…” task but select Begin the task “On an event
    • This event will trigger on most systems when waking from sleep
    • Settings: Basic
    • Log: System
    • Source: Power-Troubleshooter
    • Event ID: 1
    • Make sure enabled is checked
    • Optional: delay task for 15 seconds may help it work more reliably
    • Click OK
    • Screenshot of Task Scheduler Window

      Step 4 – New task window should look like this

  5. Now create a “New…” task but select Begin the task “On an event
    • This event will trigger on AMD systems when waking from sleep
    • Settings: Basic
    • Log: System
    • Source: Kernel-Power
    • Event ID: 107
    • Make sure enabled is checked
    • Optional: delay task for 15 seconds may help it work more reliably
    • Click OK

 

Screenshot of OpenRGB Triggers

Your triggers tab should look like this after you have created all 5 of the triggers

 

Step 6: Switch to the Actions Tab

  • then click the New… button
    • Set Action to “Start a program
    • Next to Program/script click the Browse… button
    • Navigate to your OpenRGB installation folder and then select the file called “OpenRGB.exe
      (It may just appear as “OpenRGB” if you have file extensions hidden.) In my case the installation folder was: C:\Program Files\OpenRGB\OpenRGB Windows 64-bit\
    • In the “Add arguments” box enter the following: --profile "YourProfileHere"
      • There are two hyphens/dashes – – before profile, no space between. (Some web browsers may combine them)
      • change YourProfileHere to match the profile name in OpenRGB that you want to load.
      • You must keep the quotes around the profile name
      • Exact spelling and spacing is important
Screenshot of Windows Task Scheduler

Your Actions tab should look like this after you have created the New action

Step 7: Conditions tab can be left at defaults

Step 8: Settings tab – most of these are optional, it should work with the default settings, but if not try these settings:

  • Enable “Allow task to be run on demand”
  • Enable “Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed”
  • Enable “if the task fails, restart every:” 1 minute, Attempt to restart up to: 3 times
  • Disable/uncheck “Stop the task if it runs longer than”
  • Set “If the task is already running, then the following rule applies:” Stop the existing instance
Screenshot of Task Scheduler Settings tab

Your Task Scheduler Settings tab should look like this when done

Step 9: Thats it! Now try entering sleep mode, then resuming to test, for me when my PC enters sleep mode, all RGB except the RAM goes dark. Then after my PC wakes up from sleep it always resets the fan and other RGB devices to the default Rainbow from Lian Li. With these steps the problem is fixed and, Windows Task Scheduler reloads my OpenRGB profile each time I log back in after sleep mode. 


Troubleshooting – If the above Task Scheduler fix isn’t working for you

Depending on your computer hardware and software it’s possible you might run into issues. here are things to try

In Windows Task Scheduler:

  1. Set a delay of 60 seconds after the trigger to ensure everything else is fully loaded before the OpenRGB task is run
  2. Make sure you have “run whether user is logged on or not” and “run with the highest privileges” check

In OpenRGB

  1. Be sure you have a profile saved with the name that matches what you typed into the arguments box
  2. Make sure you have run OpenRGB.exe at least once with administrator privileges (shift+right click on OpenRGB > Run As Administrator)
  3. Try saving your profile then closing and restarting OpenRGB. I’ve noticed sometimes the program forgets things and needs to be restarted for them to be implemented.

Do you have Armory Crate, Corsair iCue, Lian Li L-Connect, MSI Mystic Light / Aura etc?

  • You will likely need to go into each program and select “Sync RGB with motherboard.” It may be worded differently in each software, but basically you want all your RGB devices to be controlled by the motherboard, bypassing their proprietary RGB controllers and RGB software. You likely will need to do this step at least once for each different manufacturer/brand of RGB device you have.


Alternative fixes to reload OpenRGB custom color profiles quickly

You can create a Desktop shortcut top OpenRGB that you can quickly double click on to reload a specific color profile.

  1. Create a shortcut to OpenRGB
  2. then shift+right click on the shortcut and select Properties.
  3. In the “Shortcut” tab, in the Target box, add the following at the end of what is already there: --profile "YourProfileHere"
    • There are TWO hyphens before profile. Some browsers may combine them. Matching the exact spelling and spacing is required.
  4. Now you can just doubleclick on this shortcut any time to quickly reload the profiile. If OpenRGB is already running, as long as you ONLY added the argument listed in bold above, it won’t create a new instance of OpenRGB

Another option to quickly change or reload color settings in OpenRGB is to just right click on the icon in your Windows taskbar icon tray. In the menu that pops up, select Profiles> and click your desired profile.


If OpenRGB is not detecting or controlling an RGB device’s lighting at all:

You may need to install and go into the normal, branded software (for example Corsair iCue) for your RGB device at least once. You’ll likely need to select the option in that software for “sync with motherboard” or other wording for letting the motherboard control the RGB, rather than the proprietary software. This is especially true if you are using an RGB controller (different than a hub) or fan controller.

In general, your RAM and any RGB leds that are built into the motherboard itself should show up automatically in Open RGB.

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