Windows 7 64 Bit Pro Explorer (explorer.exe) keeps crashing and restarting randomly. This happens several times a day and its quite annoying. Sometimes happens when I search for files, sometimes when I click on an Program Icon, Sometimes when I open a folder and sometimes for no apparent reason. My Install was a Clean Install and I have had this issues from day 1. I have tried several “solutions” including Copying Explorer.exe from the Wow64 folder to System32 folder, fixing the SQM issue, Changing registry settings, Running sfc, Defragging my HDs Scanning for Viruses and Malware (using Multiple fully updated AV programs). Updating Windows and Drivers etc. etc. Nothing seems to work. I don't want to reinstall the entire OS if I will have these problems again. Please Help! Thanks. K. Chahal

A not-dissimilar situation has shown up in a couple different places, related to the nVidia M series video adapters. Apparently they have a mechanism whereby they flip in and out of high-performance mode depending on what's being demanded by currently running software. The problem is that in certain situations this switch can happen several times within a few milliseconds and create problems for Windows. (I've only seen this come up in relation to 64-bit versions.) The fix, copied from an OCZ forum, came courtesy of Winston Smith: Update Driver Download and install the latest NVIDIA driver from here . RivaTuner Download and install RivaTuner from here . Magic Open RivaTuner and switch to the "Power User" tab. Expand the "RivaTuner\NVIDIA\Overclocking" Tree. Set "EnablePerfLevelForcing" to 1. Switch to the "Main" tab. Under "Driver settings" click on the small arrow left to "Customize..." and choose the first icon "System settings". Set "Force constant performance level" to either "low power 3D" (suffient for 2D audio work) or "performance 3D" (used for 3D gaming). Click OK and let the computer restart. I would start with step 1, update the driver, then if the problem persists download RivaTuner and continue from there. This even handles a problem of Windows 7 x64 (or Vista x64) freezing completely under certain circumstances on the MacBook.

I don't know if your situation is similar, but mine appears to be resolved. About 50% of the time I would use drag and drop on my desktop my Windows 7 64 bit system would freeze with the message that Windows Explorer: Stopped Responding and was Closed. After less than a minute it would then close and reopen only to repeat sporadically on drag and drop. It's been a major annoyance for many months. I had large folders on my Dektop (6-12 GB). I moved them to MyDocuments and created shortcuts to them on the desktop. After rebooting it hasn't recurred yet in several days. I'll keep my fingers crossed. On other posts I have read that it doesn't matter how large the Desktop folders are and this may be Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc reasoning, but it's simple and worth a try.

Hi Andre. I hope you are still around because i need some help. My explorer is crashing just like everybodys else. I've bought my portable just a month ago and its almost impossible to work with it because of this crash. Anyway i have read some of your posts and i've followed the steps, got the localdump file in the next link, if you can take a look it would be pretty much appreciated. https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=1ee901bed05fa898&resid=1EE901BED05FA898!118

This is totally untrue, I have used high end video cards from both AMD and Nvidia with the same results, it is not the video card, it is not the drivers, it is windows 7.

Windows 7 64 Bit Pro Explorer (explorer.exe) keeps crashing and restarting randomly.

Anonymous

Windows 7 64 Bit Pro Explorer (explorer.exe) keeps crashing and restarting randomly. This happens several times a day and its quite annoying. Sometimes happens when I search for files, sometimes when I click on an Program Icon, Sometimes when I open a folder and sometimes for no apparent reason.

My Install was a Clean Install and I have had this issues from day 1.

I have tried several “solutions” including

Copying Explorer.exe from the Wow64 folder to System32 folder,
fixing the SQM issue,
Changing registry settings,
Running sfc,
Defragging my HDs
Scanning for Viruses and Malware (using Multiple fully updated AV programs).
Updating Windows and Drivers
etc. etc.

Nothing seems to work. I don't want to reinstall the entire OS if I will have these problems again. Please Help!

Thanks.

K. Chahal

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

You have a Heap Corruption in Shell32.dll

Please run ShellExView and disable all Shellextension which are NOT from Micrososoft. Does the crash still occur? If not, enable the extension successively until you find the one which crahes the explorer.

André

"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code" CLIP- Stellvertreter http://www.winvistaside.de/

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Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

A not-dissimilar situation has shown up in a couple different places, related to the nVidia M series video adapters. Apparently they have a mechanism whereby they flip in and out of high-performance mode depending on what's being demanded by currently running software. The problem is that in certain situations this switch can happen several times within a few milliseconds and create problems for Windows. (I've only seen this come up in relation to 64-bit versions.) The fix, copied from an OCZ forum, came courtesy of Winston Smith:

Update Driver

Download and install the latest NVIDIA driver from here .

RivaTuner

Download and install RivaTuner from here .

Magic

Open RivaTuner and switch to the "Power User" tab.
Expand the "RivaTuner\NVIDIA\Overclocking" Tree.
Set "EnablePerfLevelForcing" to 1.
Switch to the "Main" tab.
Under "Driver settings" click on the small arrow left to "Customize..." and choose the first icon "System settings".
Set "Force constant performance level" to either "low power 3D" (suffient for 2D audio work) or "performance 3D" (used for 3D gaming).
Click OK and let the computer restart.

I would start with step 1, update the driver, then if the problem persists download RivaTuner and continue from there.

This even handles a problem of Windows 7 x64 (or Vista x64) freezing completely under certain circumstances on the MacBook.

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72 additional answers

Anonymous

2011-12-14T20:17:21+00:00

I don't know if your situation is similar, but mine appears to be resolved. About 50% of the time I would use drag and drop on my desktop my Windows 7 64 bit system would freeze with the message that Windows Explorer: Stopped Responding and was Closed. After less than a minute it would then close and reopen only to repeat sporadically on drag and drop. It's been a major annoyance for many months. I had large folders on my Dektop (6-12 GB). I moved them to MyDocuments and created shortcuts to them on the desktop. After rebooting it hasn't recurred yet in several days. I'll keep my fingers crossed. On other posts I have read that it doesn't matter how large the Desktop folders are and this may be Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc reasoning, but it's simple and worth a try.
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Anonymous

2011-10-21T13:36:01+00:00

Hi Andre. I hope you are still around because i need some help. My explorer is crashing just like everybodys else. I've bought my portable just a month ago and its almost impossible to work with it because of this crash. Anyway i have read some of your posts and i've followed the steps, got the localdump file in the next link, if you can take a look it would be pretty much appreciated.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=1ee901bed05fa898&resid=1EE901BED05FA898!118
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Anonymous

2011-10-10T00:58:00+00:00

This is totally untrue, I have used high end video cards from both AMD and Nvidia with the same results, it is not the video card, it is not the drivers, it is windows 7.
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