dwm.exe constant 10%-15% cpu usage after boot

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KayT3X

KayT3X

Commendable
Oct 5, 2016
9
0
1,510
I have been using Windows 7 Professional since its launch day. I am loving this OS until recently.

A week ago, my system began to stuttering during idle or gaming. Using a freeware to monitor system processing similar to Process tab of Task Manager, I noticed that dwm.exe is constantly using CPU by 10~15%. I waited for 1 hour, and it is still being processed. I changed to Basic or Classic Theme, and this process stopped like no more stuttering. I could keep using Basic Theme, but I would like to know what was a cause and how to fix this issue.

As I went troubleshooting, OS was running smoothly on Aero Theme for a couple of minutes. I have noticed this issue when I was watching a video and when I launched a game 'Battlefield 1'. Weird thing is that when I launched other game, 'Rainbow Six Siege', it was fine after played one match. But then a few minutes later, system started to stutter.

I have tried every solution that is related to this issue like uninstalling anti-virus programs, disabling all third-party services at msconfig, etc.. but no luck. I heard that it may be GPU driver issue, so I rolled back but no luck.

That is all I know of this situation. Is there a way to fix this issue beside keep using Basic or Classic Theme?
 
Solution
SoggyTissue
system specs please :)

do you have windows auto-update enabled? disable it. *(this is because microsoft like to push broken patches to old systems to 'prompt' you into upgrading to their new stuff).

if you can recall a time when your windows worked without stutter, and it was after installing 'something' use system restore to roll back to pre-change period.

dwm only really uses a high amount of cpu if you got a live background enabled, it shouldnt really be causing you issues. check to see if you have accidentally loaded a live background - disable.

dwm may exhibit large cpu time if you have several users logged in at same time (due to keeping them 'live but suspended'. - log out of other user accounts.

cannot tell if its a gpu...
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SoggyTissue

SoggyTissue

Estimable
Jun 27, 2017
1,029
0
2,960
system specs please :)

do you have windows auto-update enabled? disable it. *(this is because microsoft like to push broken patches to old systems to 'prompt' you into upgrading to their new stuff).

if you can recall a time when your windows worked without stutter, and it was after installing 'something' use system restore to roll back to pre-change period.

dwm only really uses a high amount of cpu if you got a live background enabled, it shouldnt really be causing you issues. check to see if you have accidentally loaded a live background - disable.

dwm may exhibit large cpu time if you have several users logged in at same time (due to keeping them 'live but suspended'. - log out of other user accounts.

cannot tell if its a gpu issue because windows should be using the intel chip for desktop. check nvidia setting that desktop is using 'default' or gforce card .... try changing it to see if it fixes your issue. - check to see if you had an intel gpu update - roll back.


have you tried:
>control panel
>system
>advanced system settings
>advanced tab
>performance settings button
visual effects tab >custom settings: enable desktop compo / eneable taskbar transparency / thumbnails instead of / smooth edges of screen font / use visual sytles. (this will turn off aero peek live window but still allow a snapshot peek).

whislt youre there >advanced tab
>virtual memory button
>manage your own pagefile size .... the default is windows set, and it will warn you if you change it. generally this should be hard set to 2 times the size of your RAM + your gpus VRAM, but not everyone has a large amount of free space to do this.
ensure your hdd isnt full - windows managed size tries to grow when demand increases, this can cause lag if your hdd is busy doing something already (which it usually is) and fail if there is no hdd space to grow. fail as in data killing which leads to lag.
 
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Solution
KayT3X

KayT3X

Commendable
Oct 5, 2016
9
0
1,510
@SoggyTissue

My apology for not posting my spec. Here there are.

System 1
MB: GA-990XA-UD3 (rev. 1.x) [v. F13]
CPU: AMD FX-8300 Vishera w/ CoolerMaster T4 (overclocked to 4.2Ghz)
RAM: V-Color Vulcanus DDR3-1600 (8GB x 2) (CL Timing 9-9-9-27)
GPU: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1070 MiNi 8GB
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB x 2
HDD: Hitachi 1.5TB & WD Blue 1TB (7200rpm)
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE

After examining my rig with procexp64.exe, I noticed that my rig started to stutter once dwm.exe hits over 90 mega private bytes. In depth, dwmcore.dll uses CPU power by 12% constantly. When I tried to switch to Basic Theme and then switch back to Aero, "Troubleshoot problem with Transparency ..." text pops up and the theme is still Basic. So, I assumed that dwmcore.dll is corrupted. 90% of all Restore Points are gone, and only few Restore Points that are saved a couple of days ago are presented. So, I formatted a drive and reinstalled Windows 7 SP1.

Once I reinstalled Windows, I turned off Windows Update, and tweaked by following suggestions of your post (in addition, I set my pagefile size from 24GB to 40GB[16GB*2 + 8GB VRAM]). I only updated Windows by following instruction of this link, https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-update/how-to-update-windows-7-using-the-convenience/c2c7009f-3a10-4199-9c89-48e1e883051e , and never update my Windows.

So far, my windows runs fine. Even dwm.exe hits over 90 mega private bytes, my rig does not stutter.

Thank you for your help. I pick your post as this situation's solution.

UPDATE
I searched around on the internet what was the issue, and I found very interesting stuff. I found this forum post, http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/windows7-8-upda..., where it tells which updates should not be in computer. I think this update causes my issue.

KB2670838 (The EVIL Update, breaks AERO on Windows 7 and makes some fonts on websites fuzzy, Windows 7 specific update only, do not install IE10 or 11 otherwise it will be bundled with them, IE9 is the max version you should install)

Also, I looked on a list of "Select update to install" on Windows Update, and I found that update. We should avoid these "evil" updates.
 
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