If you are one of those users who are interested in running Windows processes 10, 8.1 o Windows 7, you might be wondering what is the dwm.exe or desktop window manager procedure that runs constantly and generally consumes a significant amount of CPU or RAM resources. .
This post details the purpose of the dwm.exe procedure on Windows, the ability to disable it and other additional nuances. On an equivalent topic: What is the csrss.exe procedure? What is runtimebroker.exe? Why is the tiworker.exe processor loaded?
The purpose of the desktop window manager
Windows Desktop Window Manager, which is run as part of the dwm.exe procedure, is a system procedure responsible for the display effects of the system windows: preview icons on the taskbar, transparency effects, shades, animations and zoom control on high resolution displays.
Technically, running programs do not immediately display their windows on the screen, instead they send them to RAM, from where Windows uses dwm.exe to capture this data, process them and display the window images on the desktop with uniform settings.
Can dwm.exe be disabled or uninstalled?
In modern versions of Windows 10, 8.1 and Windows 7, cannot disable dwm.exe or Desktop Window Manager; the procedure is deeply integrated into the system and is required to display the user interface.
What to do if the dwm.exe procedure uses CPU or a large amount of RAM
As a general rule, no problems with a high load by the dwm.exe procedure: CPU is generally busy in the one percent range and RAM usage does not exceed 100 MB. Despite this, if you find a different image, try the following
- Update your video card drivers. And not just the discreet, but also the integrated one if you have it. Do it manually from the official NVIDIA websites / AMD / Intel.
- If you have installed a utility that changes the Windows user interface and layout, its operation can cause a high consumption of resources by dwm.exe.
- In some cases, malware on your computer may be the cause, use special malware removal tools.
The dwm.exe procedure itself is safe as long as it is in C: N -WindowsN -System32. If the procedure file is in a different location, I recommend checking that file for viruses, as an example, in VirusTotal and choose to remove it based on the result. It can also be useful: How to check Windows processes for viruses.
