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Ollama runs as a native Windows application with full GPU support for NVIDIA and AMD Radeon cards.

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System Requirements

  • Windows: 10 22H2 or newer, Home or Pro
  • NVIDIA: Driver version 452.39 or newer
  • AMD Radeon: Latest drivers from AMD Support
  • Storage: At least 4GB for installation, plus space for models
Ollama uses Unicode characters for progress indicators. If you see unknown squares in Windows 10, try changing your terminal font settings.

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Installation

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Quick Install

Install using PowerShell: 
irm https://ollama.com/install.ps1 | iex

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Manual Installation

  1. Download OllamaSetup.exe
  2. Run the installer
  3. Ollama will start automatically in the background
The installer does not require Administrator rights and installs to your user profile by default.

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Using Ollama

After installation, Ollama runs in the background and the ollama command is available in PowerShell, Command Prompt, or your preferred terminal.

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Run Your First Model

ollama run gemma3

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Check Running Models

ollama ps

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View Installed Models

ollama list

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Configuration

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File Locations

You can access these locations in File Explorer by pressing Win+R and entering:
ShortcutLocationContents
%LOCALAPPDATA%\OllamaLogs and updatesserver.log, app.log, upgrade.log
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\OllamaBinariesExecutable files (added to PATH)
%HOMEPATH%\.ollamaModels and configDownloaded models and configuration
%TEMP%Temporary filesollama* directories with temp executables

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Custom Installation Directory

To install Ollama in a custom location: 
OllamaSetup.exe /DIR="D:\Programs\Ollama"

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Changing Model Storage Location

If your home directory doesn’t have enough space for models:
1

Open Environment Variables

  1. Open Settings (Windows 11) or Control Panel (Windows 10)
  2. Search for “environment variables”
  3. Click “Edit environment variables for your account”
2

Set OLLAMA_MODELS

  1. Click New or select existing OLLAMA_MODELS variable
  2. Set the value to your desired path (e.g., D:\OllamaModels)
  3. Click OK to save
3

Restart Ollama

  1. Right-click Ollama in the system tray
  2. Select Quit
  3. Relaunch Ollama from the Start menu

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Environment Variables

Set environment variables through Windows Settings:
1

Quit Ollama

Right-click the Ollama icon in the system tray and select Quit.
2

Open Environment Variables

  1. Open Settings (Windows 11) or Control Panel (Windows 10)
  2. Search for “environment variables”
  3. Click “Edit environment variables for your account”
3

Add/Edit Variables

Create or modify variables like:
  • OLLAMA_HOST
  • OLLAMA_MODELS
  • OLLAMA_DEBUG
Click OK to save.
4

Restart Ollama

Launch Ollama from the Windows Start menu.

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Common Environment Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
OLLAMA_HOSTServer bind address127.0.0.1:11434
OLLAMA_MODELSModel storage location%HOMEPATH%\.ollama\models
OLLAMA_DEBUGEnable debug logging0
OLLAMA_NUM_PARALLELMax parallel requests1
OLLAMA_KEEP_ALIVEModel keep-alive duration5m

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GPU Support

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NVIDIA GPUs

Ollama automatically detects NVIDIA GPUs with compatible drivers:
  • Required: Driver version 452.39 or newer
  • Supported: Compute capability 5.0+ (GTX 750 Ti and newer)
Verify GPU detection: 
nvidia-smi

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AMD Radeon GPUs

Ollama supports AMD Radeon GPUs via ROCm: Supported GPUs include:
  • Radeon RX 7000 series
  • Radeon RX 6000 series
  • Radeon PRO W7000/W6000 series

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Standalone CLI

For advanced use cases like running Ollama as a Windows service:

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Download Standalone ZIP

  1. Download ollama-windows-amd64.zip from releases
  2. Extract to your desired location
  3. For AMD GPUs, also download and extract ollama-windows-amd64-rocm.zip to the same directory

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Run as a Service

Use NSSM to run Ollama as a Windows service: 
nssm install Ollama "C:\path\to\ollama.exe" serve
nssm start Ollama
If upgrading from a prior version, remove old directories first.

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API Access

Ollama’s REST API is available at http://localhost:11434: 
(Invoke-WebRequest -Method POST -Body '{
  "model": "gemma3",
  "prompt": "Why is the sky blue?",
  "stream": false
}' -Uri http://localhost:11434/api/generate).Content | ConvertFrom-Json
See the API documentation for complete reference.

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Updates

Ollama automatically downloads updates:
  1. Click the Ollama icon in the system tray
  2. When an update is available, select “Restart to update”
Or download the latest installer manually.

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Disable Auto-Start on Login

To prevent Ollama from starting automatically:
  1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc)
  2. Go to the Startup apps tab
  3. Find Ollama and click Disable
This setting persists across updates.

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Logs and Debugging

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View Logs

Access logs through File Explorer: 
explorer %LOCALAPPDATA%\Ollama
  • server.log - Most recent server logs
  • app.log - GUI application logs
  • upgrade.log - Update logs

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Enable Debug Logging

In PowerShell: 
$env:OLLAMA_DEBUG="1"
& "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Ollama\ollama app.exe"

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View Logs in PowerShell

Get-Content $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Ollama\server.log -Tail 50 -Wait

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Troubleshooting

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Ollama Not Starting

  1. Check if Ollama is running: 
    Get-Process ollama
  2. Check the system tray for the Ollama icon
  3. Review logs: 
    Get-Content $env:LOCALAPPDATA\Ollama\server.log -Tail 50

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GPU Not Detected

For NVIDIA:
  1. Verify driver version: 
    nvidia-smi
  2. Ensure driver is 452.39 or newer
  3. Restart your computer
For AMD:
  1. Update to the latest Radeon drivers
  2. Verify GPU is supported
  3. Check if ROCm libraries were extracted correctly

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Port Already in Use

If port 11434 is already in use:
  1. Set a different port: 
    $env:OLLAMA_HOST="127.0.0.1:11435"
  2. Restart Ollama

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Terminal Display Issues (Windows 10)

Older Windows 10 versions (like 21H1) have a bug where control characters display incorrectly:
  • Symptom: Long strings of characters like ←[?25h←[?25l
  • Error: “The parameter is incorrect”
  • Solution: Update to Windows 10 22H1 or newer

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Insufficient Storage

Models can be tens to hundreds of GB:
  1. Check available space: 
    Get-PSDrive C
  2. Change model location using environment variables

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Uninstallation

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to Apps → Installed apps
  3. Find Ollama and click Uninstall
If you’ve changed the OLLAMA_MODELS location, the uninstaller will not remove downloaded models.

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Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Get started with your first model

GPU Configuration

Optimize GPU settings and performance

API Reference

Integrate Ollama into your applications

Model Library

Browse available models

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