You may have noticed in your Event ID 1000 in the Event Viewer that there is a faulty application. The faulting application name can be w3wp.exe, dwm.exe, msiexec.exe, svchost.exe_appxsvc, explorer.exe, startmenuexperiencehost.exe, lsass.exe, nvcontainter.exe, msmpeng.exe, and systemsettings.exe. In this post, we are going to determine if an application is faulting.
Fix Faulting application name errors in Windows 11/10
In this post, we will talk about the following faulting application names.
- Faulting application name w3wp.exe
- Faulting application name dwm.exe
- Faulting application name msiexec.exe
- Faulting application name svchost.exe_appxsvc
- Faulting application name explorer.exe
- Faulting application name StartMenuExperienceHost.exe
- Faulting application name Isass.exe
- Faulting application name NVDisplay.Container.exe
- Faulting application name msmpeng.exe
Let us discuss them in detail.
1] Faulting application name w3wp.exe
The w3wp.exe process is the IIS (Internet Information Services) worker process that handles web requests for applications running on your server. This issue is nothing but a bug that is caused by Microsoft Monitoring Agent (which is installed on your system). You can open the Control Panel, go to Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features, and then uninstall the application. If you want it back, you can go to your Azure portal and install it from there.
2] Faulting application name dwm.exe
The dwm.exe process is the Desktop Window Manager, which is responsible for the visual effects and user interface in Windows. If your Event Viewer’s log says that dwm.exe is the faulting application, you should first update your display drivers. For that, you can use one of the following methods.
- Go to the manufacturer’s website, download, and update your driver.
- Update your drivers from the Device Manager.
- Download one of the free driver update tools, then install it on your computer to keep your drivers updated.
Once you have updated your drivers, check if the issue is resolved. If it persists, roll back your display drivers if they were recently updated. If the issue persists, there is a high chance that your system files are corrupted. To resolve it, open the Command Prompt as an administrator and then run the following commands one by one.
sfc /SCANNOW
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Once done, check if the issue is resolved.
3] Faulting application name msiexec.exe
The msiexec.exe process is related to Windows Installer, which is used to install, modify, and remove programs. If you are facing any issues, such as a Windows Update error, you can try unregistering and reregistering this process using the following commands. Make sure to run them in the elevated mode of the Command Prompt.
msiexec /unregister
msiexec /regserver
However, if you are not facing issues, you can just not bother about it. It appears that you are using installer class custom actions to install the services, which is only needed for Visual Studio, and can be installed with Visual Studio setup. Windows Installer has built-in support for installing services without running any code. So, just skip this if there is no actual issue that you are facing, but if there is, repair system files using the Installation Media. Hopefully, this will do the job for you.
4] Faulting application name svchost.exe_appxsvc
The svchost.exe_appxsvc process is related to the AppX Deployment Service, which manages app installations on Windows. Crashing this process causes issues with app installations or updates. If you have an issue installing apps or updates, we recommend performing a Clean boot to find the culprit.
- Click Win + R to open the Run dialog box, type msconfig, and hit the OK button to open the System Configuration utility.
- Navigate to the Service tab, tick the Hide All Microsoft Services box, and click the Disable All option.
- Now go to the Startup tab, click the Open Task Manager link, and disable all startup items.
Once done, reboot the PC, and see if the issue persists. If it doesn’t, enable the services individually to find the culprit, then either disable or reinstall them.
5] Faulting application name explorer.exe
The explorer.exe process is responsible for the Windows File Explorer. When it crashes, it can cause your desktop or File Explorer to become unresponsive or restart repeatedly.
In case File Explorer keeps restarting or becomes unresponsive, users are recommended to restart Windows Explorer to resolve temporary glitches or issues. To do so, Click Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager, and find Windows Explorer in the list. Right-click on it and select the Restart option. Furthermore, ensure that the Graphics Driver is up-to-date, and if the issue persists, run System File Checker and DISM. This should resolve the issue.
Fix: ExplorerExtensions.dll crashes with Event ID 1000
6] Faulting application name startmenuexperiencehost.exe
The StartMenuExperienceHost.exe process manages the Windows Start Menu. When it crashes, it can cause issues with the Start Menu, such as freezing or becoming unresponsive. To potentially address the issue, re-register the Start Menu by opening the Command prompt with admin rights, and running the following command:
Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)AppXManifest.xml"}
Get-AppXPackage Microsoft.Windows.ShellExperienceHost | Foreach {Add-AppxPackagC -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
Once done, reboot the PC, and this should restore the normal functioning of the Start Menu. However, if it is still not functioning properly, look for any error logs related to StartMenuExperienceHost.exe in the Event Viewer to learn more about what’s causing the issue.
7] Faulting application name Isass.exe
First and foremost, ensure the error refers to lsass.exe and is not a fake or malicious file like (Isass.exe) which could indicate malware. The Isass.exe process is related to the Internet Information Services (IIS) Application Pool, which hosts web applications on Windows servers. LSASS is a critical system process for user authentication, and its failure can lead to system instability. This issue can be caused by malware, and to detect it, start by verifying the file’s legitimacy. The correct location is C:\Windows\System32\lsass.exe, and if it’s located elsewhere, use system repair tools like SFC or DISM or perform a system restore to revert the system to a stable state.
Read: How to Fix Application Error 0xc0000906 on Windows
8] Faulting application name NVDisplay.Container.exe
The NVDisplay.Container.exe process is related to NVIDIA’s Graphics Drivers and can cause issues with your graphics performance or display. Faults may occur due to corrupted or outdated Graphics Drivers, conflicts with other software, or corrupted system files. If the issue stems from Graphics Driver, it’s essential to ensure that the latest version is installed. If the problem persists, restart the NVIDIA container service via the Windows Service Manager. As a last resort, reinstall the NVIDIA Software suite, and verify the issue is resolved.
Read: Faulty Module Name Kernelbase.dll causing application crashes
9] Faulting application name msmpeng.exe
The msmpeng.exe process is part of Windows Defender, also known as the Antimalware Service Executable. The error typically indicates that the Windows Defender process has crashed or failed to function properly. In such situations, start the troubleshooting guide by restarting Windows Defender, and if the issue continues, check for malware, and reset Windows Defender.
To do so, go to the search bar, search Windows Security, right-click on it, and select Apps settings. Lastly, click on the Reset option to automatically reset Windows Defender. This should resolve the issue. If the issue persists, click on Repair to see if that helps. You can also, try repairing the system files using SFC and DISM commands (mentioned earlier).
Also Read: Fix SystemSettingsAdminFlows Error on Windows.