diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md
index c493ff357edb2..cb07033a680b6 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/README.md
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@ using the `startup_error_behavior` setting. Available values are:
 
   ## Optional: timeout for GPU polling
   # timeout = "5s"
+
+  ## Optional: Attempt to run nvidia-smi once on startup. If nvidia-smi returns a non-zero
+  ## exit code, the plugin will return an error. This is particularly useful
+  ## if used in conjunction with `startup_error_behavior` to allow the plugin to be 
+  ## disabled if nvidia-smi cannot run successfully.
+  # probe_on_startup = false
 ```
 
 ### Linux
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go
index 695b8c6f601ee..375ca8455987b 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi.go
@@ -27,12 +27,14 @@ var sampleConfig string
 
 // NvidiaSMI holds the methods for this plugin
 type NvidiaSMI struct {
-	BinPath string          `toml:"bin_path"`
-	Timeout config.Duration `toml:"timeout"`
-	Log     telegraf.Logger `toml:"-"`
-
-	ignorePlugin bool
-	once         sync.Once
+	BinPath        string          `toml:"bin_path"`
+	Timeout        config.Duration `toml:"timeout"`
+	ProbeOnStartup bool            `toml:"probe_on_startup"`
+	Log            telegraf.Logger `toml:"-"`
+
+	ignorePlugin  bool
+	once          sync.Once
+	nvidiaSMIArgs []string
 }
 
 func (*NvidiaSMI) SampleConfig() string {
@@ -47,6 +49,11 @@ func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Start(telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 		}
 		smi.BinPath = binPath
 	}
+	if smi.ProbeOnStartup {
+		if _, err := internal.CombinedOutputTimeout(exec.Command(smi.BinPath, smi.nvidiaSMIArgs...), time.Duration(smi.Timeout)); err != nil {
+			return &internal.StartupError{Err: err}
+		}
+	}
 
 	return nil
 }
@@ -60,7 +67,7 @@ func (smi *NvidiaSMI) Gather(acc telegraf.Accumulator) error {
 	}
 
 	// Construct and execute metrics query
-	data, err := internal.CombinedOutputTimeout(exec.Command(smi.BinPath, "-q", "-x"), time.Duration(smi.Timeout))
+	data, err := internal.CombinedOutputTimeout(exec.Command(smi.BinPath, smi.nvidiaSMIArgs...), time.Duration(smi.Timeout))
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("calling %q failed: %w", smi.BinPath, err)
 	}
@@ -119,8 +126,9 @@ func (smi *NvidiaSMI) parse(acc telegraf.Accumulator, data []byte) error {
 func init() {
 	inputs.Add("nvidia_smi", func() telegraf.Input {
 		return &NvidiaSMI{
-			BinPath: "/usr/bin/nvidia-smi",
-			Timeout: config.Duration(5 * time.Second),
+			BinPath:       "/usr/bin/nvidia-smi",
+			Timeout:       config.Duration(5 * time.Second),
+			nvidiaSMIArgs: []string{"-q", "-x"},
 		}
 	})
 }
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go
index 23c57e5f6a3b6..b30673666f3fe 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/nvidia_smi_test.go
@@ -4,16 +4,65 @@ import (
 	"errors"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf"
+	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/config"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/internal"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/models"
 	"github.com/influxdata/telegraf/testutil"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
+func TestOnStartupError(t *testing.T) {
+	var binPath string
+	var nvidiaSMIArgs []string
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		binPath = `C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe`
+		nvidiaSMIArgs = []string{"-Command", "exit 1"}
+	} else {
+		binPath = "/bin/bash"
+		nvidiaSMIArgs = []string{"-c", "exit 1"}
+	}
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		ProbeOnStartup bool
+	}{
+		{
+			ProbeOnStartup: true,
+		},
+		{
+			ProbeOnStartup: false,
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		plugin := &NvidiaSMI{
+			BinPath:        binPath,
+			ProbeOnStartup: tt.ProbeOnStartup,
+			Timeout:        config.Duration(time.Second),
+			Log:            &testutil.Logger{},
+			nvidiaSMIArgs:  nvidiaSMIArgs,
+		}
+		model := models.NewRunningInput(plugin, &models.InputConfig{
+			Name: "nvidia_smi",
+		})
+		require.NoError(t, model.Init())
+
+		var acc testutil.Accumulator
+		var ferr *internal.FatalError
+		err := model.Start(&acc)
+
+		if tt.ProbeOnStartup {
+			require.False(t, errors.As(err, &ferr))
+			require.ErrorIs(t, model.Gather(&acc), internal.ErrNotConnected)
+		} else {
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestErrorBehaviorDefault(t *testing.T) {
 	// make sure we can't find nvidia-smi in $PATH somewhere
 	os.Unsetenv("PATH")
diff --git a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf
index 8879b3923a2cc..0582ac3cb8bf7 100644
--- a/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf
+++ b/plugins/inputs/nvidia_smi/sample.conf
@@ -7,3 +7,9 @@
 
   ## Optional: timeout for GPU polling
   # timeout = "5s"
+
+  ## Optional: Attempt to run nvidia-smi once on startup. If nvidia-smi returns a non-zero
+  ## exit code, the plugin will return an error. This is particularly useful
+  ## if used in conjunction with `startup_error_behavior` to allow the plugin to be 
+  ## disabled if nvidia-smi cannot run successfully.
+  # probe_on_startup = false