PC Pitstop is the undisputed leader in PC diagnostics. Our running process library is culled from our database of over 100 million PC diagnostics and scans.

Tip from the PitCrew

Every process running on your computer takes up CPU cycles and valuable memory. For optimal PC performance and resource utilization, you should be aware of every process on your computer. PC Pitstop designed this process library to help you know which processes are worthwhile and others that slow system performance.

Furthermore, perhaps the quickest and most straight forward method to detect malware is through a running process analysis.

Process Library

  

Click here to run our free scan and see if your computer's processes are safe.


dwm.exe (Dwm.exe)

Percentage of recently scanned PC's with this process running: 8.68%
Average CPU use for this program: 0%
Average RAM for this program: 31 MB


PC Pitstop Analysis

Dwm.exe is Vista's Desktop Window Manager. Shutdown will cause loss of special effects.


Recommendation

Win Patrol

dwm.exe is a user invoked program and a normal part of PC operations. No action required.

PC Pitstop recommends WinPatrol Plus for monitoring all of the background activity on your PC. WinPatrol Plus provides a easy to understand descriptions of over 15,000 processes and programs.



Identification

In addition to the file name, dwm.exe, the following version information is used to identify the file. If the file does not match this information, it may be a different file. To ensure the file is absolutely correct, run a free and comprehensive scan.

Vendor contains:Microsoft
Product contains:Microsoft

To view version information with Windows Explorer, right-click the file and click Properties, Version.


MD5 Hashes

MD5 hashes is the way that computers can define the uniqueness of a file. Anti malware vendors frequently use this technique to detect and clean malware. It is common for a program to have multiple MD5 hashes as the developers create newer versions of the program. For the program called dwm.exe, we have detected more than 20 different MD5 hashes. Click on a hash to research the hash in Google.
MD5 Report Summary
Program NameMD5 Count
dwm.exe> 20
#MD5Size
10x31ab5bac3528bf58e28a014149455b8483456 bytes
20xad444494cb29876ae8e82ce911db05df82944 bytes
30xe87b968f3d49117445893eb0503fe34f83456 bytes
40x10c7692e53b215947d6148a672fad09881920 bytes
50x7251ebdc0485e1953163402619c95bcb83456 bytes
60xdea87d1f171da986b343c36f773a477d82944 bytes
70x8292fcee45c4f5390022f5efe3b3082182944 bytes
80x7879899db29facffd158f95ae4ed81ed81920 bytes
90xa4f733c15b8a4c0abc55aff1a8037a2581920 bytes
100x5cf9e88a59c714a54bf308bb6ff8a09581920 bytes
110x6312619cb3f26da02deada3b02e2cd3881920 bytes
120xe28568aebbfdd593452e732fe1dad8c282432 bytes
130x59903071d7ace6a02093c47e9e38af9781920 bytes
140x14634576c1eafca661d4bdc3f68520d781920 bytes
150x7c605ddadc7898545d2f7284de80167981920 bytes
160xc27a95e70019bbf91a46238521c1e56281920 bytes
170x18341cb405b2fd0791d86682d2a9589a260608 bytes
180xba16ee81544a6bd480eb291b94e7bb9386528 bytes
190x40135043f834a9e29bea082afb70e60c81920 bytes
200x0fead697b99c50aa93da3f3309d9a72482432 bytes

PC Pitstop Database Comparisons

Every week, we update our information about the running programs identified during the previous week's testing. dwm.exe (Dwm.exe) has been seen on 8.68% of systems tested at PC Pitstop. As a point of comparison, it is rare for a particular malicious program (virus or spyware) to be seen on more than one or two percent of all systems tested. The average RAM memory usage for this process was 31 MB. The average CPU load for this program was 0%.


Vendor or Distributor's Web Site

http://www.microsoft.com/

Detailed Description and/or Removal Instructions

http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager/process/dwm.exe.html

Important note: A file name alone may not be enough for positive identification. PC Pitstop's Overdrive tests and spyware scan use information such as the company name, product name, or install directory. If you are unable to identify a file, ask about it in our forums after running our full tests.