Dwm exe runtime error. What is the Windows Window Manager and why does it load the processor? How to reduce the load on resources in the simplest way

We are sure that you are reading this article because we have detected a suspicious process in Device Manager called Desktop Window Manager. In this article, we will find out what it is, why it keeps running, and whether it can be turned off.

What is a desktop window manager?

Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) is a compositing window manager that displays beautiful effects on Windows, for example, transparent windows, active taskbar thumbnails, Flip3D, and even high-resolution monitor support.

Instead of apps displaying their windows directly to your screen, they write an image of their window to a specific location in memory. Windows then creates one "shared" representation of all the windows on the screen before sending it to the monitor. Because Windows layouts and displays the contents of each window, it can add effects such as transparency and window animation.

Is it possible to disable the desktop window manager?

No, you can't do that. During the operating system Windows themes In Vista, this process was managed through a separate service that could be disabled. This way the user had the option to disable everything visual effects. However, starting from Windows versions 7, the desktop window manager has become an integral part of the operating system. This integration goes even deeper in Windows 8 and 10.

The good news is that the desktop window manager has become much better at managing resources, so regular user it rarely notices it, and, accordingly, there is no need to disable this process.

What if it uses RAM and CPU?

The desktop window manager should use very few resources. For example, I currently have several programs running on my computer, including Chrome with multiple tabs. Despite this, the desktop window manager uses less than 1% of the CPU and about 60 MB RAM. It should be noted that this is a standard load for this process.

But, if you find that the desktop window manager on your computer is consuming significantly more RAM or CPU, there are a few things you should do:

• Make sure that you have installed on your computer latest drivers, especially on the video card or integrated graphics adapter. Desktop Window Manager takes most of the load off GPU to reduce CPU load.
• Check your computer for malware. Some malware is known to cause problems with the desktop window manager.

Could this process be a virus?

The Desktop Window Manager process itself is an official Windows component. However, it is possible that the virus replaced the real process with a fake one. Of course, this is very unlikely, but even if it is so, it is very easy to check.

To do this, simply right-click on this process in the task manager and select the "Open file location" option.

If the file is stored in the Windows\System32 folder, you can be absolutely sure that it is not a virus.

If you are still in doubt, scan the dwm.exe file with your antivirus.

Now you know what a desktop window manager is and what it does.

Sometimes dwm.exe and other errors system errors EXE may be related to issues in the Windows registry. Several programs can use the dwm.exe file, but when those programs are uninstalled or modified, sometimes "orphaned" (incorrect) EXE registry entries are left behind.

Basically, this means that while the actual path of the file may have changed, its incorrect former location is still recorded in the Windows registry. When Windows tries to look up these incorrect file references (file locations on your PC), dwm.exe errors can occur. Additionally, a malware infection may have corrupted Windows-related registry entries. Thus, these corrupt EXE registry entries need to be fixed to fix the problem at the root.

Manually editing the Windows registry to remove invalid dwm.exe keys is not recommended unless you are PC service professional. Mistakes made when editing the registry can render your PC inoperable and cause irreparable damage to your operating system. In fact, even one comma placed in the wrong place can prevent your computer from booting!

Because of this risk, we highly recommend using a trusted registry cleaner such as %%product%% (Developed by Microsoft Gold Certified Partner) to scan and repair any dwm.exe-related registry problems. Using a registry cleaner, you can automate the process of finding damaged registry entries, missing file references (like the one causing the dwm.exe error), and broken links within the registry. Before each scan, a backup, which allows you to undo any changes with one click and protects you from possible damage to your computer. The best part is that eliminating registry errors can dramatically improve system speed and performance.

Warning: If you are not experienced user PC, we DO NOT recommend manually editing the Windows registry. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems and require Windows reinstallation. We do not guarantee that problems resulting from incorrect use of Registry Editor can be corrected. You use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Before manually restoring Windows registry, you need to create a backup by exporting a portion of the registry associated with dwm.exe (eg. Windows):

1. Click on the button Begin.
2. Enter " command" V search bar... DON'T CLICK YET ENTER!
3. While holding down the keys CTRL-Shift on your keyboard, press ENTER.
4. A dialog box for access will be displayed.
5. Click Yes.
6. The black box opens with a blinking cursor.
7. Enter " regedit" and press ENTER.
8. In the Registry Editor, select the dwm.exe-related key (eg. Windows) you want to back up.
9. On the menu File select Export.
10. On the list Save to select the folder where you want to save the backup Windows key.
11. In the field File name enter the name of the backup file, for example " Windows backup copy".
12. Make sure the field Export range value selected Selected branch.
13. Click Save.
14. The file will be saved with extension .reg.
15. You now have a backup of your dwm.exe-related registry entry.

The following steps for manually editing the registry will not be described in this article, as they are likely to damage your system. If you would like more information about editing the registry manually, please check out the links below.

Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) in Windows is a system process that manages the display of application windows, is responsible for visual and 3D effects and Windows themes, builds window thumbnails on the taskbar, provides support for high-resolution displays and devices, etc. This process collects graphic information from everyone open applications and builds the final image that the user sees.

Each application writes an image of its window to a specific location in memory. Desktop Window Manager combines them into the final image and sends all graphics through the media integration layer. At this stage, DWM can add various effects, such as transparency, window animation, etc.

The dwm.exe process is always running in background and uses a small amount of computer resources. Open Task Manager and on the Process tab in the section Windows Process Find Desktop Window Manager. Typically, the process uses 0.5-2% of the CPU and up to 50 MB of RAM (depending on screen resolution, number and type of applications running).

Right-click the Desktop Window Manager process and select Go to details. You will switch to the Details tab, where you will see a list of processes running on the system. As you can see, this process corresponds executable file C:\Windows\System32\dwm.exe.

As you can see, in my case there are two in the system running processes dwm.exe. This is due to the fact that this computer Two users are simultaneously connected to Windows 10 (local and remote via RDP). Accordingly for processing graphical representation desktop for each user, the system launched a separate process dwm.exe (DWM-1, DWM-2).

Windows Vista and Windows 7 had a special Desktop Window Manager service that could be stopped or disabled (this would disable all visual effects). Windows 10 / Windows 8.1 does not have this service, so you cannot leave the dwm.exe process.

In some cases, the dwm.exe process can use quite a lot of computer resources (CPU and RAM).

If you see that the Desktop Window Manager process is consuming more RAM or CPU than usual: it should, there are a few things you can try:

Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) is a window layout manager that allows you to create all those beautiful effects in Windows: transparent windows, live taskbar thumbnails, Flip3D and even high resolution monitor.

Thanks to the dwm.exe process, applications are first rendered to a specific location in memory. Windows then creates one "composite" view from all the windows on the screen before sending it to your monitor.

Thanks to compositing, Windows can show the contents of each window, as well as add effects such as transparency and window animation.

Is it possible to disable the desktop window manager

No, you can't! Ever since Vista controlled by a service that could be turned off - and, in turn, turn off all visual effects.

Starting with Windows 7, the Desktop Window Manager became an integral part of Windows as it became "vital" for creating a graphical user interface. Integration goes even deeper in Windows 8 and 10.

The good news is that the window manager has gotten much better at managing resources more efficiently, so there's no point in disabling it.

What to do to reduce memory and processor load

Desktop Window Manager uses quite a few system resources. On my system, where a dozen active applications are running, including Chrome and a dozen open tabs, Desktop Window Manager uses 0.1% of processor resources and about 36 MB of RAM. This is a fairly typical load.

If you see that the Desktop Window Manager is consuming a lot of RAM or CPU resources, you should do the following:

• Make sure your drivers are up to date, especially the drivers for your video card or integrated graphics adapter. The desktop window manager offloads most of the processes to the GPU to reduce the load on the CPU.
• Check your computer for malware. Some types of malware cause problems with the desktop window manager.

Could the dwm.exe process be a virus?

The desktop window manager process itself is official Windows components. While it is possible that a virus has replaced the real process, it is very unlikely.

If you want to be sure, you can check the source of the process. In Task Manager, right-click on the Desktop Window Manager process and select Open file location.

If the file is stored in the WINDOWS\system32 folder, then you can be sure that you are not dealing with a virus.

However, if you are still concerned about security, you can always check your computer for viruses using antivirus scanner.

By opening the Task Manager, you can see the DWM.EXE process. Some users panic, suggesting that it may be a virus. Let's find out what DWM.EXE is responsible for and what it is.

It must be said right away that in the normal state the process we are studying is not a virus. DWM.EXE is a system process "Desktop Manager". Its specific functions will be discussed below.

In order to see DWM.EXE in the list of processes "Task Manager", call this tool by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc. After that, go to the tab "Processes". DWM.EXE should be in the list that opens. If such an element is missing, this means either that your operating system does not support this technology, or that the corresponding service on the computer is disabled.

Functions and tasks

"Desktop Manager", for which DWM.EXE is responsible, is a graphical shell system in operating systems Windows line, starting with Windows Vista and ending latest version at the moment - Windows 10. However, in some versions, for example in Windows 7 Starter, this element is missing. For DWM.EXE to function, the video card installed on the computer must support at least DirectX 9 technologies.

Main tasks "Desktop Manager" is to ensure the operation of Aero mode, support for window transparency, preview window contents and support for some graphic effects. It should be noted that this process is not critical to the system. That is, in the event of a forced or emergency termination, the computer will continue to perform the assigned tasks. Only the level of graphics display quality will change.

On conventional non-server operating systems, only one DWM.EXE process can be launched. It runs as the current user.

Executable file location

Now let’s find out where the executable file DWM.EXE is located, which initiates the process of the same name.

Disabling DWM.EXE

DWM.EXE performs quite complex graphic tasks and loads the system relatively heavily. On modern computers True, this load is unnoticeable, but on devices with low power this process can significantly slow down the operation of the system. Considering that, as mentioned above, stopping DWM.EXE does not have critical consequences, in such cases it makes sense to turn it off to free up PC power in order to direct it to other tasks.

However, you don’t even have to completely disable the process, but only reduce the load it puts on the system. To do this, you just need to switch from Aero mode to classic. Let's see how to do this at Windows example 7.

But there is a possibility complete shutdown DWM.EXE. The easiest way to do this is directly through "Task Manager".

As mentioned above, this is the easiest way to stop this process, but not the best. Firstly, this stopping method is not entirely correct, and secondly, after rebooting the computer, DWM.EXE is activated again and you will again have to stop it manually. To avoid this, you need to stop the corresponding service.

DWM.EXE virus

Some viruses masquerade as the process we are considering, so it is important to identify and neutralize malicious code during. The main sign that may indicate the presence of a virus hiding in the system under the guise of DWM.EXE is the situation when "Task Manager" you see more than one process with this name. On a regular, non-server computer, there can only be one real DWM.EXE. In addition, the executable file of the present process can be located, as was clarified above, only in this directory:

C:\Windows\System32

The process that is launched by a file from another directory is viral. You need to scan your computer for viruses antivirus utility, and if the scan does not produce results, then you should delete the false file manually.

DWM.EXE is responsible for the graphical component of the system. However, stopping it does not pose a critical threat to the functioning of the OS as a whole. Sometimes viruses can be hidden under the guise of this process. It is important to find and neutralize such objects in a timely manner.