# What is Dw.exe?



## Shamrock (Dec 3, 1999)

What is Dw.exe?


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## beach51 (May 18, 2001)

Hi Shamrock,heres a link that will explain it.

http://and.doxdesk.com/parasite/DownloadWare.html


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## Shamrock (Dec 3, 1999)

When I do a find for Dw.exe there is one under C:\program files\Internet explorer. It says it's an application. Is this the same thing you are talking about?


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## beach51 (May 18, 2001)

Hi shamrock,yes it is.Go to Msconfig and see if you have it there in startup.


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## Shamrock (Dec 3, 1999)

No, It isn't in start up


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## beach51 (May 18, 2001)

Shamrock,go back to that link i posted and near the bottom of the page you will find how to remove it from the registry.


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## Shamrock (Dec 3, 1999)

I don't have the Dw.exe file in my start-up. Only listed under program files/Internet Explorer...162kb application.
I have windows 98. If I should get rid of this .exe could you walk me thru the steps?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Shamrock, I split this from the other thread for better support. The dw.exe that you are referring to looks like the Error Reporting tool associated with IE5.5 and IE6

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q276550


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## Shamrock (Dec 3, 1999)

Rollin' Rog: I have IE5.1 version but in Feb. this yr. I did install Turbo Tax and they automatically put in 5.5. I later uninstalled both. Could that be how I got the error reporting tool installed?

Anyway... The link said to remove 'Internet Explorer Error Reporting' from add/remove program. I don't have it listed there. So, should I just manually delete the Dw.exe that's listed under program files/Internet Explorer?


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Well, the question is, is it actually running and causing errors? Are you getting any of it's pop-ups as shown in the article?

If it's running, something is calling it and deleting it from the Programs folder without an uninstall is a recipe for trouble.

However if it is not running, there should be no problem in deleting it -- all you are doing though is reclaiming a little space. You could try renaming it first, to test.

You should be able to tell if it is running by going to Start>Run, enter *msinfo32* and click on Software Environment and Running Tasks.

If it is running, you should see a listing for dw.exe as a running task.


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## Shamrock (Dec 3, 1999)

Rollin' Rog: I didn't see the Dw.exe listed in the area you said to check. I don't get any pop-ups about it, however I use pop-up killer if that would stop it from popping up.
While I was in msinfo32 I saw a Tapisrv.exe that said Microsoft Windows Telephone.... is that for my dial-up? Just wondering if it is something that should be' running'.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Yes, tapisrv.exe is a necessary part of the modem interface to the net.

As for dw.exe, you can always just rename it for test purposes. If it is being called during startup or otherwise, you will get a complaint about it being missing. If no complaints after few sessions, you should be able to confidently delete it; though I don't know what is really accomplished by doing so other than saving a small amount of disk space.

Remember, I would imagine it would only be present in running tasks if IE itself were open.


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## tdexter (Aug 22, 2002)

I run XP which coem with IE 6.0 natively. My machine was running slow periodically, and when I checked the Task Manager it says my CPU is running at 100. To solve the issue, I checked out what was using up all of my resources in the processes tab. Sure enough dw.exe was the culprit. I turned it off, and now have no problems.

I don't know why it happens. Actually, I found this site researching the issue.


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## Rollin' Rog (Dec 9, 2000)

Since this thread seems to be coming up in researches on dw.exe I am going to include instructions for installing and running two utility programs that will remove that installation (if it is DownloadWare, but not the Reporting Tool) and any compatriots which have been bundled with it.

Highly recommend you try one or both of these to clean the system:

Installing and Running Ad-Aware
http://www.lavasoft.nu/

1. Download to a convenient folder the installation file:

http://www.wyvernworks.com/Lavasoft/aaw.exe

2. Download the Refupdate installation file:

http://www.jamcomputerservices.com/lavasoft/refupdate.exe

3. Run the Ad-Aware setup file (aaw.exe) to install Ad-aware and reboot.

4. Run the refupdate.exe installation file. Go to Start Menu>Programs and find the Lavasoft Refupdate entry and run it. It will want a connection to the internet to check and update the current signature file. When that is complete. Run Ad-aware itself.

5. Configure Ad-aware to scan all drives on which you have installed programs, memory and registry. When the scan is complete, check all entries it finds (do not select "Exclude" unless you specifically want something to be ignored!), click "Backup", to name and backup the items to be removed, and then continue to remove the selected items. Reboot afterwards.

====================

Installing and running Spybot:

http://beam.to/spybotsd

1 -- create a new, 'host' folder in a convenient location (not on the desktop)

2 -- download the spybot program to it and run the setup file.

3 -- go to the Start Menu, find the program and run it. Click the "online" tab and "Search for Updates", then make your selection and click "Download Updates". You will not need to update the "main" program and can probably ignore the language and PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) updates.

4 -- run the scan (click "check all"). You will see some boxes checked and others not. Remove the pre-selected items. The others are mainly "cleanup" options (you can disable this feature by clicking Settings > FileSets, and unchecking "Usage Tracking". "System Internals" should be unchecked as well unless you are confident you know what it deals with).

5 -- it is a good practice to reboot afterwards, even if not prompted.


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