What is dwm.exe? Features and How Does it Work?

One of the most popular dwm.exe file is Microsoft Windows Desktop Windows Manager that is a valid Windows file that should be running on your PC. This procedure assists in maintaining the visual effects that are found in Windows Vista and Windows 7 mostly. They include the Flip3D Alt-tab windows switcher, transparent look, rendering of each of the Windows that is shown on the System.

The time more program windows are opened users would be able to see that the memory of this procedure will increase sometimes it is utilizing manymegabytes, which is not out of the ordinary.

In case you’re up for increasing the performance of your PC, or thinking about how much memory this method is utilizing, we recommend you to disable Windows Aero to see if this has any effect on it or not. After doing this if you still feel like disabling dwm.exe, you can do it by going through with the below instructions.

As first step tap the start button to open the Start menu.
Now in the Window Search Box, writeservicesand tap the Services link.
Then in the Serviceswindow, find and double-click Desktop Windows Manager.
After the completion of above steps in the Desktop Windows Manager window, pressStop so you can disable the service.
At the end in case you want this method never to begin when Windows loads, change the Startup write option from Automatic to Disabled.

Resolving DEM.exe Errors

Step by step procedure is mentioned below:

Method 1: Checking Your System for Virus

In case dwm.exe is utilizing much CPU power or memory, it can be the reason of virus present in your PC. There are many users who have complained that after scanning their system with Malwarebytes and deleting all the files that are causing errors the problems with dwm.exe were solved, so confirm that you have done it.

Method 2: Restarting Explorer.exe

There are many users who have complained that at times dwm.exe uses too much RAM, but there’s an easy method that can be applied to solve this problem. Users have said that they can solve this issuefor the time being by restarting explorer.exe method or by restarting their system. To restart explorer.exe users can go for the below steps:

As initial step press Ctrl + Shift +Esc to initiateTask Manager.
Go to the Details tab when you see that the Task Manager has started.

Then locate explorer.exe, right click it and select End Task.

Now just go to File > Run a new task.
Here enter explorer and press OK.

Users can also solve this issue by logging out and logging back in to Windows 10. Remember that this is not an ultimate solution and you have to go for it every time this problem starts.

Method 3: Deleting Third-party Antivirus Programs

Antivirus software can be the reason for the error dwm.exe and in case you have any issues with this procedure we suggest you to delete all third-party antivirus programs from your system. There are many users who have complained that Avast and AVG are the reason of error with this method, so just confirm that you have deleted all these tools from your system. As we have mentioned it before that all antivirus programs are the reason for the main issue so just keep in mind that you have removed them. In case you have deleted all third-party antivirus programs from your system, your PC will still be secured by Windows Defender.

Method 4: Disabling Problematic Services

Users can go for it by the following steps:

As first step tap Windows Key + R and enter services.msc. Then click Enter or press OK.

When you see that the Services window has opened you have to disable Google Update ,Skype Updater and Google Update services. You can do it by finding the service that you need to disable and then double click it.
You will see that the properties window starts just change Startup write to Disabled and tap Apply and OK to save changes.

At the end confirm that you have disabled all services explained in Step 2 above.

Note: Dissimilar services can be the reason of error on your system, so you have to disable third-party services to resolve this issue.

Method 5: Checking USB Devices

Some users have complained that dwm.exe crashed on their computer and become the reason of BSoD problem. This issue is caused by wired Xbox controller and after users replace the controller the error is solved. In case you don’t have an Xbox controller interconnected to your system you should try to delete or replace the USB devices and see in case that solves the issue.

Method 6: Deleting the mdi264.dll

At times that an unknown file named mdi264.dll is the reason of dwm.exe to crash. No need to worry about it because you can resolve this error by deleting the file from Command Prompt that is causing issue. By the following steps users can do it:

As initial step press the Start button, tap and hold the Shift key and press the Restart button.

When you see that your system has restarted select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.
As Command Prompt initiates, enter the following:
C:
cdUsersEliasAppDataLocalTemp
del mdi264.dll
At the end after you remove the file close Command Prompt and restart your system.

Method 7: Disabling Chrome Pepper Flash Extension

Sometimes Chrome extensions can be the reason of error with dwm.exe on Windows 10. Users can solve it by disabling the Chrome Pepper Flash extension. By going for the below steps, you can do it:

Just open Chrome.
Now in address bar enter chrome://plugins and click Enter.

At the end you will see the list of active plugins will pop up. Just locate Chrome Pepper Flash and press Disable.

Method 8: Downloading Older graphics Card Drivers

There are users who have complained that newest Nvidia driversare the reason of crashing dwm.exe files and you can solve this issue by going back towards the previous version of Nvidia drivers. You can do it by the below steps:

As first step click Windows Key + X to start Power User Menu and choose Device Manager from the list.

The time you see that Device Manager has opened just locate your graphic card driver and double click it.
Then go to the Driver tab and tap the Roll Back Driver button.

Now wait for the procedure to finish.

Some users have said that integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics are the reason of error; in this case just confirm to go back towards the older version.

In case downloading older driver version doesn’t solve your issue go for the newest version. If you don’t need to do it on your own then we recommend you to do it via automatic process with the help of Tweakbit’s Driver Updater tool. This device has been approved and suggested by Microsoft and Norton Antivirus. Experts have recommended that this is the best method to solve your error via automatic processing. Go for the following steps to do it:

As first step install TweakBit Driver Updater

The program will begin scanning your system after installation for old drivers in automatic way. You would be able to see that driver updater will check your downloaded driver versions with its cloud database of the newest versions and suggest suitable updates. You just need to wait so the process of scanning ends.

When scanning ends, you will get a report on all drivers found on your system that are problematic. Just check the list and see in case you want to update all drivers one by one or altogether. You can update one driver at a time, by tapping the ‘Update driver’ link next to the driver name. Or be pressing the ‘Update all’ button at the bottom to download all suggested updates via automatic processing.

Note: There are some drivers need to be downloaded in more than one steps so you will have to press the ‘Update’ button many times till all of its parts are downloaded.

Method 9: Managing Performance Settings

You can do it by going through the following steps:

As first step go to Search, write performance, and open Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.
Go and check Adjust for best performance in Visual Effects tab
As last step save the changes and restart your system.

Method 10: Running the SFC Scan

In case none of the methods solve the issue we will go for a few troubleshooting options that are accessible in Windows. First one is to try the SFC scan. Users can do it by running the SFC scan in Windows 10:

As initial step go to Search, write cmd, and run Command Prompt as Administrator.
Then write the below instruction and click Enter: sfc/scannow

Now wait for the procedure to end as it takes some time to end. Then restart your PC.

Method 11: Running DISM

DISM is another troubleshooting feature that can be done.Users can go for it by following below steps:

As first step open the Command Prompt as Administrator.
Now in the command line, copy-paste these lines one after another and click Enter after each:

DISM /online /Cleanup-Image / ScanHealth

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Now wait till the procedure finishes.
At the end restart your system.

Method 12: Running Performance Troubleshooter

As first step open the Command Prompt as Administrator.
Then write the following instruction and click Enter: msdt.exe /id Performance Diagnostic
Now wait till the procedure ends and restart your PC.

Method 13: Changing the wallpaper/screensaver

Users can go for the option of altering wallpaper and screensaver to fix the error. You can do it by following below steps:

As first step go to Search, write lock screen, and open Lock Screen Settings.
Then go to Screen Saver Settings.
Now under Screen Saver, pick <None> from the dropdown list.
At the end save the changes and restart your system.

Method 14: Disabling Hardware Acceleration in Office Programs

As the first step open any Office app.
Then go to File > Options > Advanced.
Now locate Hardware Acceleration and disable it.

Now try to initiate Word 2016 again.

In case you are unable to disable Hardware Acceleration, we will go to turn to the Registry Editor once again:

As initial step open Registry Editor.
Now in the left pane navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common key.
Then right click the Common key and select New > Key from the menu.

After the completion of above steps Enter Graphics as the name of the new key.
Then right click Graphics key and pick New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value Disable Hardware Acceleration.

Here double click Disable Hardware Acceleration value and set its Value data to 1.Tap OK to save changes.
Now close Registry Editor and check in case the error is solved.

Method 15: Deleting Logitech SetPoint Software

Devices like Logitech SetPoint can be the reason of problems with dwm.exe. It is suggested to delete this tool, as it has been said that by deleting this tool fixed the problems can be solved. Dwn.exe is a significant procedure, and many problems with it can happen, but we hope that you can solve those problems by utilizing one of our procedures.

In case you’re still having errors on your system or you don’t want them in future, we suggest you to install this device to solve many PC issues, like virus, corrupted files, and hardware failure.