How to Disable Dw20.exe

Dw20.exe – Its purpose

Dw20.exe is a Windows error reporting tool that is included in Microsoft Office. When an Office product, such as Microsoft Word crashes or fails to respond, the dw20.exe file automatically collects information and allows users to send a report directly to Microsoft.

Is dw20.exe an essential process?

Dw20.exe is a useful process but not an essential one. If you do not want this process to run on your PC, you can safely disable the Application Error Reporting tool.

How to disable the Error Reporting tool in Windows XP

You can disable the Error Reporting tool through the Windows registry, Control Panel, or Computer Management window. Each of these three methods is discussed in detail below.

Disable Error Reporting tool through the registry

Warning: The steps illustrated below require you to edit the registry. Please proceed only if you are comfortable in working with the Windows Registry. A mistake while modifying the registry can cause irreparable damage. As a precaution always back up the registry before editing it. This allows you to roll back the registry to its previous working state in case a complication arises. You may use a reliable registry maintenance tool, such as RegGenie to make a registry backup.

1. Click Start and then click Run.
2. Type regedit in the Run box and press Enter.
3. Locate and select the following key in the left-pane of the Registry Editor window:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Common
4. Click the Edit menu, select New, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Next, type DWNeverUpload.
6. Double-click DWNeverUpload and in the Value Data box type 1 and click OK.
7. Click the File menu and then click Exit to close the Registry Editor window.

Disable Error Reporting through the Control Panel

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click System.
3. Click the Advanced tab in the System Properties dialog box that opens.
4. Click the Error Reporting button.
5. Next, click Disable error reporting and then click OK.
6. Finally, click Apply and then click OK to close the System Properties dialog box.

Disable Error Reporting through Computer Management window

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop and click Manage.
2. In the Computer Management window, click Services and Applications.
3. Next, in the right-pane of the Computer Management window, double-click Services.
4. Locate and double-click Microsoft Application Error Reporting and then in the Startup type drop-down list select Disabled.
5. Click Apply and then click OK.
6. In the Computer Management window, click the File menu and click Exit.

Dw20.exe high CPU usage issue

In case you find that the dw20.exe process is consuming huge amounts of system resources in terms of memory and CPU usage, you can choose either of the methods discussed in the above section to disable the Error Reporting tool.

Dw20.exe – Security Report

The dw20.exe is a safe process and is not known to be associated with any malware. However, having said this, it is important to understand that processes associated with malware programs, like viruses, worms, and spyware often have similar names as legitimate processes.

If you suspect malware-related processes may be running on your computer, run a malware scan on your entire computer using advanced security tools, such as Antivirus Plus and StopZilla. If the scan results show any security threats, immediately remove them to ensure that your computer is safe.