The DWM.exe process is an important Windows component that is responsible for the visual design of the desktop. It provides effects such as transparency, animation, and window switching. However, sometimes you can encounter dwm.exe high memory usage situations, which leads to performance degradation of your device.
Aside from this, there is a thing that people call “Dwm.exe virus”. It is a malicious program that uses the name of a legit process to hide its activities. In this article, we will show you how to identify and fix problems related to the dwm.exe process.
DWM.exe Crashing to Black Screen – Ways to Fix
Aside from high CPU and GPU usage, DWM sometimes causes inconvenience by crashing. This leads to the screen blinking or turning off, window animations not working properly, and, in some cases, to the blue screen of death. I’ve managed to find several reasons for this, along with possible remediations.
Despite being a purely software component of the system and having minimal direct interaction with hardware, there is one thing DWM should work with – the graphics card. This interaction, more specifically, the software that arranges it is in fact a reason why dwm.exe crashes.
- Faulty Windows update. There was one specific Windows patch that made DWM fail a lot, causing black screens and screen freezing. It is not clear what exactly went wrong, but the issue persisted exclusively on systems with Nvidia GPUs. Joint effort of Microsoft and Nvidia managed to address the issue in the Windows update codenamed KB5026446.
- Improper power connection on the GPU. This is particularly the reason in the cases when dwm.exe continuously crashes during gaming. Almost every single graphics card nowadays requires a dedicated 6-pin power delivery connector. And during the heavy loads – like the gaming is – a bad connection is what may cause the GPU to suffer power starvation and shut down to prevent damage. A DWM crash in this case is more like a collateral damage, rather than the original issue.
- Damaged DWM file on your specific installation. It happens for Windows components to get damaged during an improper system shutdown or a system failure. The damage to DWM specifically may happen after the use of some sketchy tools that change the way the windows interact.
Troubleshooting Guide
Despite being a less typical issue, DWM crashing is not more complicated in troubleshooting. Let’s begin with the last reason I’ve mentioned, as it requires more interaction from the user than other methods.
Recover the dwm.exe file
To solve the issue with dwm.exe crashing due to the corrupted file, you need to “heal” it using SFC and DISM utilities. Those are built-in Windows tools meant for diagnostics and system repairing. To begin the recovery, run Command Prompt with administrator privileges, and paste there the following command:
SFC /scannow
This will run the System File Checker, which will detect and recover any system files that were potentially damaged. If the dwm.exe crashes continue to appear, there is another tool to rely on – DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management). Same as with SFC, run a Command Prompt with administrator privileges and paste the following command:
Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
This tool checks the integrity of the entire system, and recovers the elements that can malfunction. As the procedure works with the entire system image, it will take much longer to finish.
Install the Latest Windows Updates
As I’ve mentioned, the issue with DWM may be related to the issue in a specific Windows version. The latest version may contain a fix – consider checking the Update & Security tab in your settings. One particular Windows update that introduces a fix for dwm.exe crash is KB5026446.
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