Windows 10 can be crashed unexpectedly by opening and closing your laptop

Microsoft has recognized a brand new concern that causes Desktop Windows Manager (DWM) to crash when a person repeatedly opens and closes their laptop computer.

The issue reportedly impacts laptops operating any model of Windows 10 and configured to function at 4K decision, whether or not by way of an exterior monitor or the machine show itself.

In keeping with a latest Microsoft Support entry, the DWM crash is brought on by a bug within the Microsoft DirectX Video Memory Management component and has nothing to do with a {hardware} concern.

Windows 10 crash

First introduced with Windows Vista, Desktop Windows Manager dictates how any given utility shows pixels on the screen.

“When desktop composition is enabled, individual home windows now not draw on to the display screen or major show machine as they did in earlier variations of Windows,” explains documentation on the Microsoft web site.

“Instead, their drawing is redirected to off-screen surfaces in video memory, that are then rendered right into a desktop picture and offered on the display.”

Merely put, the Windows feature is answerable for enabling visible results tied to desktop actions and supporting excessive decision show, together with 4K.

In keeping with members of assorted on-line boards, DWM crashes can have a range of different results, starting from the minor to the debilitating.

Some customers discovered their desktop icons had been rearranged and resized, others had been unable to activate Windows Aero themes (which support 3D window switching, taskbar previews and transparency), whereas the unluckiest had been served a black display screen, fixable solely with a restart.

As demonstrated by two scenarios set out by Microsoft, the issue is just triggered if numerous particular standards are met.

Scenario 1:

  • You plug an HDMI monitor right into a laptop computer laptop that’s running Windows 10
  • The monitor is configured to function at 4K resolution
  • You repeatedly play a 4K H264 video in Movies & TV on the pc
  • In Management Panel, you open the Advanced settings screen of the Power Choices merchandise, and you then set the Lid shut motion as Do nothing
  • While the 4K video is playing again, you repeatedly shut and open the pc lid

Scenario 2:

  • You connect two 4K monitors to a Thunderbolt three docking station
  • You connect a laptop that has a 4K answer monitor to the docking station, and you then configure a triple 4K show configuration in both “clone” or “lengthen” mode
  • You repeatedly undock and redock the laptop computer

The company is at the moment working to deliver a patch for the DirectX issue, however has not specified when that may arrive.