Dwm.exe actually represents Desktop Window Manager, the service that offers you visual effects for your Windows Vista window: transparency, 3D menu for Alt+Tab, adjustable size of icons.
What this process actually does is to record the image of each window in the memory of your computer and uses the video acceleration to create those nice effects, without any distortions.
How much memory does dwm.exe process require? well if you open the Task manager you will see that usually the dwm.exe process usually needs between 30-50 MB.
The quantity of used memory is given by the number of opened windows on your computer. If you have many open applications, then the used memory will also be higher.
If you want to remove the effects and use Vista Basic, the dwm.exe process will continue to exist, however it will require a lot less memory.
To choose the Vista Basic mode, you have to click right on your desktop, then pick Personalize and then Windows Color and Appearance.
Then click on the Classic appearance
From the open window pick Window Vista Basic then click on Apply.
How to stop the dwm.exe process forever?
The only way in which you can stop the process is to deactivate the service. To do this you have to access the Services option in Control Panel. Find the Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager, click on it and then click on the Stop Button.
To disable it permanently, double click the service and then pick Disabled from the Start Type menu.
If you prefer to use Command Prompt, there is a command for each action
- to stop the service: net stop uxsms
- to start the service: net start uxsms
- to disable the service: sc config uxsms start = disabled
- activating the service: sc config uxsms start = auto
