Category: Troubleshooting / GPU acceleration troubleshooting
Q: Why Passware Kit does not use a GPU when recovering a password for my file?
A: The most probable reason is that the password recovery process for this type of file can not be accelerated with GPU cards.
Passware Kit uses GPU acceleration for: Adobe Acrobat Revisions 3-4, MS Office 2007-2019 documents, Zip, 7-Zip and RAR archives, PGP, BitLocker, TrueCrypt, FileVault2/APFS and Apple DMG disk images, Android and iTunes backups, Android mobile images, Mac keychain, Lotus Notes ID files, etc. These types of files are marked with the "Hardware acceleration possible" message in the software as displayed below:
The full list of file types, for which the password recovery process can be accelerated with GPU cards, is displayed on the website with the green "Yes" icon in the "GPU Support" column:
https://www.passware.com/kit-forensic/filetypes/
Types of files without a "Yes" in the "GPU Support" column are not supported for GPU acceleration and will be utilizing CPU only.
Q: What models of GPU cards does Passware Kit support for hardware acceleration?
A: Passware Kit supports all models of NVIDIA and AMD (ATI) cards with OpenCL 2.0 and higher technology.
For some older NVIDIA cards, you need to add an environmental variable for them to work with the latest version of Passware Kit. Please use the steps below:
- Make sure that the Passware Kit is closed.
- Open Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts. There will be an option on the left: "Change my environment variables". A new window will appear. On the top, in the group "User variables for <...>" click New...
- In the appeared window in the field "Variable name" enter PASSWARE_SINGLE_GPU_CONCURRENCY. In the "Variable Value" field, enter "1". Click"OK".
- Delete "gpu-calibration-data.json" and "GPUCache" folder from C:\Users<CurrentUser>\AppData (Hidden folder)\Roaming\Passware\Passware Kit\Current
- Launch Passware Kit again and see if GPU cards are starting to contribute
Q: How do I know that Passware Kit is using my GPU card for the acceleration of the password recovery process?
A: When Passware Kit is using a GPU card, it displays the message "Using GPU device..." in the Log tab as shown below:
Also, in the Resources Tab, the status for the card will show "Running" or "Running with partial load" status.
Q: Why is the password recovery speed on my NVIDIA card much lower than advertised?
A: To measure hardware performance on typical password recovery tasks such as MS Office, APFS, iTunes backup, RAR, BitLocker, etc. use Hardware Benchmark. If the speed on your computer is much lower than the one listed on our website, try updating the driver for your GPU. You can download the latest driver from the NVIDIA or AMD website.
NOTE: Password recovery speed also depends on the encryption type and attack model assigned. The speed of the recovery process for a 1-5 Xieve attack and a 7-7 Brute-Force attack might be different with the same files and hardware.
Q: Why are not all of my NVIDIA cards used by Passware Kit?
A: First of all, make sure that Passware Kit lists all of your GPU cards at Tools | Options | Hardware and that all of them are enabled as displayed below. You might also need to uncheck the box Disable GPU acceleration when the user is active there.
Please install the patch for GPU devices for your system and reboot the PC.
If still not all of your cards are listed in Tools | Options | Hardware, use the GPU Caps Viewer utility to check whether the system is able to recognize all of your GPU cards. Then launch GPU Caps Viewer, go to the OpenCL tab and check the "Number of CL devices" record as displayed below:
If the number of GPU cards in GPU Caps Viewer is correct, but Passware Kit still does not list all of your GPU cards at Tools | Options, please contact our Support for assistance.
If the GPU card number in the GPU Caps Viewer is incorrect, the problem is most likely caused by the driver. You may need to update the driver to the latest version and perform a clean install of the drivers. Also, try disabling the SLI mode (NVIDIA) or CrossFire™ (AMD) in the GPU card settings.
Additionally, please make sure that the cards are not in the same PCI slot. If you are unable to change this, please contact our Customer Support for a solution.
For stable performance, please use our recommendations for hardware systems.
Q: Why has Passware Kit unexpectedly stopped using my GPU card for password recovery?
A: If Passware Kit started using your GPU card, but as the password recovery process went on, it then stopped using it, the problem is likely connected with the overheating of your GPU card. In this case, the Passware Kit displays messages "Stopped using GPU" and "Hardware acceleration error" in the Log tab. Also, in case of overheating, the Passware Kit will automatically turn the acceleration on the card to prevent it from malfunctioning. The default temperature set is 85C, it can be changed in Tools | Options | Hardware according to the recommended GPU card max temperature.
The only solution to prevent your GPU cards from overheating is installing a corresponding cooling system.
The problem with the unexpected failure of GPU acceleration may also be connected to power supply units. Make sure your power supply unit and its components meet our recommendations. You can also check if your system instability is related to the power supply at:
https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-104