Windows Explorer in Windows 7 keeps crashing and restarting

Anonymous
2009-11-26T02:42:50+00:00

It happens at random times...but conveniently after a Windows update. I'll be looking up a file...or trying to delete a file, then all of a sudden, i see the little progress bar thing and it's closing Explorer, then that goes away and another one shows up saying "Restarting Windows Explorer"...I've ran a few virus scans in case it's a virus...but I don't think that's the case.

Oh and I noticed that a lot of the problems reported were from people that upgraded to Windows 7...my laptop is a new computer that came pre-loaded with Windows 7.

Anyone else in my shoes? Does anyone know if Microsoft is working on this issue?

*original title - Windows Explorer in Windows 7 keeps crashing...then trying to restart...anyone else have that problem? Anyone know if Microsoft is working on an update or something to fix it?*

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Windows update

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Anonymous
2010-01-15T17:15:30+00:00

Just in case you haven't fixed this issue yet. I had the exact same problem and found a pretty fast and painless solution. I can't tell you why it was happening, but the fix worked. And it didn't involve disabling my video card drivers (make NO sense, doing this would pretty much make your video card useless...not an option for me when I bought a $600 video card).

Navigate to this folder (assuming your Windows is installed on your C:\ drive):

C:\Windows <- Inside this folder you should find the file "explorer.exe". Select that and press "CTRL+C" (this will copy the file, do NOT cut, just copy).

Then paste the copied file into:

C:\Windows\System32

And like magic, no more explorer crashing :). Hope that helps!

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Anonymous
2009-11-27T01:08:13+00:00

Hi SonyBoy_Fusion,Welcome to Microsoft Windows 7 Answers Forum! 

Method 1

Please check whether you face the same issue while working in the safe mode.

Step 1 Safe Mode

  1. Restart your computer.
  2. When the computer starts you will see your computer's hardware being listed. When you see this information start to gently tap the F8 key on your keyboard repeatedly until you are presented with the Windows 7 Advanced Boot Options screen.
  3. Using the arrow keys, select the Safe Mode option you want.
  4. Then press the enter key on your keyboard to boot into Windows 7 Safe Mode.
  5. When Windows starts you will be at a typical logon screen. Logon to your computer and Windows 7 will enter Safe mode.
  6. Do whatever tasks you require, and when you are done, reboot to go back into normal mode.

Steps 2. Clean Boot

If the issue existed in Safe Mode perform Clean Boot troubleshooting to find the root cause of  the issue:

Clean Boot Troubleshooting:

  1. Click Start, type msconfig in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.

   User Account Control permission.

   If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the

   password, Or click Continue.

  1. On the General tab, click Selective Startup.
  2. Under Selective Startup, click to clear the Load Startup items check box.
  3. Click the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
  4. Click OK.
  5. When you are prompted, click Restart.
  6. After the computer starts, check whether the problem is resolved.

If the issue is resolved check which third party is causing the problem, referring the link given below:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

  1. Also you need to uninstall and reinstall the problem software on your computer.

Reset the computer to start as usual  

  1. After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to reset the computer to start as usual:

Click Start, type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER. 

  1. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue. On the General tab, click the Normal Startup option, and then click OK.  
  2. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.

**Method 2.**I would also recommend you to run online Virus Scan to remove any infections, if present.

Follow the link below to run the free online scan:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htm

The following thread discusses about removing viruses and malware online:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vistasecurity/thread/ba80504b-61f1-4d71-960f-b561798b7b42

Hope it helps. 

Thanks and Regards:

**Shekhar S - Microsoft Support.**Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum

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121 additional answers

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-03-29T14:52:04+00:00

    i'm in the same situation as you. i get the same exact thing as you and i don't know whats wrong either. there is this thing i found called Microsoft Fix It. you can go online and download whatever troubleshooting problems you have and at all time if possible select detect and automatically apply the fixes for me. do that because it says its ( Recommended ). i have ran every troubleshooting thing that they have and my computer is running like brand new even though i've had it for 5 months now. for the Microsoft Trouble Shooting things please go to this link: http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/

    i would recommend you run every test that says you can download because it could be a variety of things leading up to what your having a problem with. i ran everything and my laptop is working decent except for this problem we're both having.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-03-28T21:33:49+00:00

    I consistently get an explorer crashed noticed immediately after I installed W7 SP1.  Anyone have this issue, I never had the issue prior to SP1 installation.

    I have already ran an AV/Malicious Software utility scan to ensure I am infection free and my OS is completely patched.  No real third party software installed to evaluate for conflicts.

    Any suggestions?

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-03-18T11:39:57+00:00

    I think I'm getting this error when I try and view my Network in Windows Explorer.  It got something similar in mid-february, I guess following a Windows Automatic Update. 

    I've tried sfc - It didn't find anything to fix.

    I've reboote in safe mode (with newtorking) - I still get the error.

    I've done a selective boot, disabling all the my Normal bits (Norton, iTunes etc.) - I still get the error.

    Can anyone point me in the right direction?

    Windows Error Reporting:

    18/03/2011 11:29 Application Error Faulting application name: Explorer.EXE, version: 6.1.7601.17514, time stamp: 0x4ce796f3 Faulting module name: msvcrt.dll, version: 7.0.7600.16385, time stamp: 0x4a5bda6f Exception code: 0xc0000005 Fault offset: 0x0001d33d Faulting process id: 0x318 Faulting application start time: 0x01cbe55f3c16dd13 Faulting application path: C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE Faulting module path: C:\Windows\system32\msvcrt.dll Report Id: f576dacf-5152-11e0-9d7f-002564e77181

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