Error after Start Up of dwm.exe

Hello…for quite some time now I have been getting an error message soon after start up which if i do not responding to by clicking OK, the desktop won’t load its items.

The error says as follows:
Could not load or run 'C:\Users..[my pc’s name]…\AppData\Local\Temp\dwm.exe specified in the registry. Make sure the file exists on your computer or remove the reference to it in the registry.

Any help?

OS Info: Windows Vista 32 Bit.

C:\Users\..[my pc's name]...\AppData\Local\Temp\dwm.exe
Try cleaning your temp files and see if that has any effect ?

TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/files/file/187-tfc-temp-file-cleaner-by-oldtimer/
TFC requires a reboot immediately after running. Be sure to save any unsaved work before running TFC.

Did it work ?

Whilst the dwm.exe file is a legit name, that is no guarantee that the file was legit. Given that the location of said file it isn’t in the usual location for the legit file. http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/what-is-dwmexe-and-why-is-it-running/

So my guess is that this registry entry might well be remnants of malware that has been used.

Unfortunately the TFC - Temp File Cleaner by OldTimer will have zero impact on this problem as a) it doesn’t remove redundant registry entries (as far as I’m aware) and b) the reason you are getting this error message is that the file doesn’t exist in that location.

So what you need is something to remove this redundant entry from the registry, something like ccleaner and its Registry cleaner. Or you could try and find this entry in the registry and remove it manually if you are comfortable/confident about working in the registry.

CCleaner - Temp File Cleaner, etc..

Hey guys, thanks for replying…I tried the TFC cleaner, after reboot the error still came and also tried the CCleaner…scanned in registry for issues and fixed them, after reboot the error was there.

@newbie101 do this

Download DDS and save it to your Desktop from here:
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/dds.scr

Double click dds.scr to run the tool.

* When done, DDS will open two (2) logs:
     1. DDS.txt
     2. Attach.txt

Save both reports to your desktop. Attach DDS.txt back to topic.

Hello…please find the attached logs from DDS

We heed to remove this malware.

Download ComboFix from here and save it to your Desktop.
If you are unsure how ComboFix works please read this guide carefully.
note: ComboFix must be downloaded to your Desktop.

Temporarily disable your AntiVirus program.
If you are unsure how to do this please read this Instruction.

Run ComboFix.
ComboFix will check if there is a newer version of ComboFix available.
Click Yes if prompted to download.
ComboFix will display DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY ON SOFTWARE.
Click Yes to allow ComboFix to continue.
If Recovery Console is not installed, ComboFix will offer download & installation.
Click Yes to allow ComboFix to install Recovery Console.

When the tool is finished, it will produce a log report for you. (typical location: C:[b]ComboFix.txt[/b] )
Post log reports ( ComboFix.txt) back to topic.