Force Windows to reload color calibrations

Control Panel -> Color Management -> Advanced Tab has a button "Reload current calibrations", which apparently makes Windows to re-upload the video card's/driver's LUT table with the data from the currently specified monitor profile.

I would like to have a direct shortcut (say, literally: a desktop shortcut) that performs the same action. Is there a way to do that?

I see that Windows loads/reloads color calibrations based on a task stored in Task Scheduler under Microsoft -> Windows -> Windows Color System as "Calibration Loader". So, alternatively the above question can be rephrased as: how can I create a shortcut that would forcefully run a specific task from Task Scheduler? A naive attempt to drag-and-drop a task from Task Scheduler to the desktop does not work.

Inspection of the aforementioned task details reveals that internally it invokes C:\Windows\System32\mscms.dll in some way. So, perhaps someone knows which entry point from that DLL I can "rundll32" to make Windows reload the calibrations?

P.S. Yes, there are third-party utilities that do exactly that, but since this functionality is already part of Windows itself, I'd prefer to use what's already there.

You could write a script but using a 3rd party might in this case be a lot easier. hth.

krism said:

You could write a script but using a 3rd party might in this case be a lot easier. hth.

Click to expand...

Well, turns out one solution is indeed to manually trigger the Task Scheduler task, which can be done as

schtasks.exe /run /tn "\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsColorSystem\Calibration Loader"

(Appears to require Administrator privileges). This can be wrapped into a desktop shortcut.

AndreyT said:

Control Panel -> Color Management -> Advanced Tab has a button "Reload current calibrations", which apparently makes Windows to re-upload the video card's/driver's LUT table with the data from the currently specified monitor profile.

Click to expand...

Is there documentation of what exactly this stuff does and how it works?

I've used Calman and an i1D3 meter for over 10 years, and I rely on their Client 3 software to manage monitor profiles. Spectracal (now Portrait Displays) told me that Calman adds a 1D LUT to the ICM profile it creates for Windows, but Windows color management ignores it. In fact, going to Display Settings causes Windows to load the profile and undoes the LUT, which is instantly and visibly noticeable. I have to go to Client 3 and reselect it, which loads the LUT back into the video card. They said there was no way to detect when Windows zeroed out the LUT.

This 1D LUT is important, because it provides all the benefit for applications that aren't color managed. I've always thought Windows color management was only for color-managed apps.