Windows 10: dwm.exe crashes repeatedly - eventually causes a system crash

Not spurred on by any update or other change, the following has been occurring for several days:Upon entering into a video game's first major loading screen or shortly after, at a reliable, reproducible point for each game tested with Tabletop Simulator, Honkai: Star Rail, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and Apex Legends, my screen will go black. Audio continues for a few seconds before it too fails. My fans spool up to maximum for up to 2-3 minutes before the computer fully crashes and does not restart unless the power button is pressed.The full event stack is copied into this google doc, and

:)

 

What is causing dwm to crash?

Hello, matt__thomas

Thanks for posting your report here.

Based on the information provided in the crash log, the crash of dwm (Desktop Window Manager) is caused by an exception with the error code 8898008d. The error message states: "No HW rendering device is available for this operation." This suggests that the crash is related to a problem with the hardware rendering device, which is responsible for rendering graphics on the screen.

If we need to dig deeper into this issue, can you please share additional information such as:

1. What rendering software is currently running before the crash occurs? If it is rendering software, can you describe the name of this software.
   
2. As of now, can you share the hardware information of the current PC? For example, the hardware of your GPU/CPU/RAM/motherboard. The version of Windows 11(Press Windows+R to call run window > Type winver.exe > then take a screenshot of version and attach it here.)
   

From the log analysis results, the following are some possible causes:

1. Graphics driver issues: The crash may occur due to outdated or incompatible graphics drivers. It's recommended to update your graphics drivers to the latest version compatible with your system. Assuming that the latest driver has been installed before and caused dwm.exe to crash, please try to Roll back driver version.
   
2. System resource limitations: Insufficient system resources, such as memory (RAM) or GPU memory, could cause dwm to crash. Ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements for running graphics-intensive applications and consider closing unnecessary programs or upgrading your hardware if needed.
   

In this regard, factors that may need to be considered include software issues and hardware issues, such as:

• Graphics hardware problems: There could be an issue with the graphics hardware itself, such as a malfunctioning GPU or insufficient hardware resources. In such cases, troubleshooting or replacing the graphics hardware may be necessary.
  
• Conflicting software: Certain software applications or utilities installed on the system could interfere with the operation of dwm, causing it to crash. Try to identify any recently installed software or updates and uninstall them to see if the issue is resolved.
  

The following are some discussions about the dwm.exe program in the Microsoft Learn community. Some users have solved the problem by re-plugging the graphics card, replacing the PSU, and removing the PCIe cable or USB-C device. You can try them one by one. and see if these steps work for your situation.

DWM Crashing randomly causing Black Screen - Microsoft Q&A

If the problem persists, you can also try to upload the newly generated dump file to the your cloud drive and post the link here to share with me, which will help us discuss how to proceed next.

Best regards,



Chandy |Microsoft Community Support Specialist

 

all games crash!

I suggest you run rthdribl > http://www.daionet.gr.jp/~masa/archives/rthdribl_1_2.zip
Increase the window size step by step and watch your vga temps permanently.
What happens?
If it crashes, run at stock speeds as suggested before and retry.

P.S.: When your system locks, does the display signal turn off after a time?
Stuttering sound or no sound at all when freezing?
What X1800XT model do you own exactly?

 

GPU-Z 0.7.5 causing crashes on load up

Any chance you could narrow it down to which running application causes GPU-Z to crash? Ideally steps to reproduce for me here.