[German]Brief note for people who run a Windows 10 with Intel processors of the 6th to 10th generation. If sporadic system crashes occur under Windows 10 (64 bit), a faulty Intel graphics driver newer than version 27.20.100.8587 may be the cause. The graphics drivers cause a memory leak in the Desktop Windows Manager. The problem is known since 2020, if my research is not deceiving. However, there has been a fix from Intel since Dec. 2021 in the form of the Windows DCH driver 30.0.101.1191.
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Old bug from 2020?
While researching a memory leak in the Desktop Windows Manager, I came across reports that date back to 2020. As early as Sept. 5, 2020, there is this Microsoft Answers forum thread stating a memory leak in Desktop Windows Manager (dwm.exe) under Windows 10 version 2004.
The thread is 16 pages long and one solution said that an Intel graphics driver was the cause. The remedy was the reddit.com post to uninstall the driver and install an older version.
The bug also seems to have affected users as late as March 2021, according to this Microsoft Answers forum post. Intel has this forum post from October 2020 that also addresses the problem. In November 2021, an Intel employee has come forward and reported that a beta driver 101.1121 fixes this issue.
Intel confirms the problem, fix available
The days I came across the issue described by a user on 4/19/2022 via the patchmanagement.org mailing list. There is a support post from Intel with revision level Feb 17, 2022 titled dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) Produces a Memory Leak with Drivers Newer Than 27.20.100.8587.
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Summary
Describes an issue where drivers newer than 27.20.100.8587 are causing dwm.exe (Desktop Windows Manager) to produce memory leaks.
Description
dwm.exe produces memory leak with 6th Generation Intel® processors through 10th Generation Intel® processors. The dwm.exe memory usage starts low (~30MB), accumulates over time, and may result in a system crash.
Resolution
Install Intel® Graphics – Windows* DCH Drivers driver 30.0.101.1191 or a newer version to fix the issue. If Windows Update distributes a different driver, a clean driver installation should be performed before installing driver 30.0.101.1191, which includes a fix for the dwm.exe leak.
Intel graphics drivers newer than version 27.20.100.8587 for Windows 10 cause a memory leak in the Desktop Windows Manager dwm.exe. This affects Intel® processors of the 6th to 10th generation with the following graphics units.
- Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
- Intel® UHD Graphics for 10th Gen Intel® Processors
- Intel® HD Graphics 510
- Intel® HD Graphics 515
- Intel® HD Graphics 520
- Intel® HD Graphics 530
- Intel® Iris® Graphics 540
- Intel® Iris® Graphics 550
- Intel® Iris® Pro Graphics 580
- Intel® HD Graphics 500
- Intel® HD Graphics 505
- Intel® HD Graphics 610
- Intel® HD Graphics 615
- Intel® HD Graphics 620
- Intel® HD Graphics 630
- Intel® HD Graphics P630
- Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 640
- Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 650
- Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 655
- Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics 645
- Intel® UHD Graphics 605
- Intel® UHD Graphics 610
- Intel® UHD Graphics 615
- Intel® UHD Graphics 617
- Intel® UHD Graphics 620
- Intel® UHD Graphics 630
- Radeon™ RX Vega M GH Graphics
- Radeon™ RX Vega M GL Graphics
The remedy is to install the Intel® Graphics – Windows* DCH Drivers driver 30.0.101.1191 or a more current version. So if someone still suffers from the memory error under Windows 10, try the update.
