From HowToGeek

Desktop Window Manager, or DWM, is the window manager in Windows Vista that provides the graphical backend for Windows Aero and Flip3D.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Service Information 3 Similar Technologies 4 See Also

Overview

A compositing window manager like DWM handles drawing to the screen for all applications. All of the running applications write to DWM, which then creates a composite image and writes that to the actual display.

This allows DWM to handle things like transparency, or the live thumbnail images that you see in Alt+Tab, Flip3D or even the taskbar preview thumbnails.

DWM uses DirectX to write directly to the graphics card, as well as use the special features of a graphics card such as 3D accelleration, saving your CPU from having to do the processing.

Service Information

Path to file: C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k LocalSystemNetworkRestricted

Startup Type: Automatic Todo: Break into two articles, one for service and one for the window manager.

Similar Technologies

Vista is not the only operating system with this type of functionality. Both Mac OS X and Linux have a similar architecture.

• Quartz (OS X)
• Compiz (Linux)

See Also

• Windows Aero
• Flip3D
• Switcher

List of Windows Components v
Features	Windows Aero - System Restore - Previous Versions - SuperFetch - User Account Control (UAC) - Offline Files - ReadyDrive - Instant Search - Windows Sidebar - Parental Controls - Speech Recognition - ClearType - DirectX 10 - ReadyBoost - BitLocker - Flip3D - Remote Desktop - Search Folders - Tablet PC - Windows SideShow
Services	Task Scheduler - Desktop Window Manager - Application Experience - Application Host Helper Service - Application Information - Application Layer Gateway Service - Application Management - Background Intelligent Transfer Service - Base Filtering Engine - Block Level Backup Engine Service - Certificate Propagation - COM+ Event System - Computer Browser - DHCPClient
Applications	Notepad - Windows Mail - Internet Explorer - Command Prompt (Cmd.exe) - Windows Calendar - Mobility Center - Task Manager - Photo Gallery - Windows Media Center - Windows Media Player - Wordpad - Windows Sidebar - Snipping Tool - Windows Contacts - Device Manager - Disk Defragmenter - Event Viewer - Fax and Scan - Windows Journal - Windows Meeting Space - Windows DVD Maker - Windows Easy Transfer
Security	User Account Control (UAC) - Windows Defender - Windows Firewall
Admin Tools	Control Panel - Device Manager - Microsoft Management Console (MMC)