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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  1. Anonymous
    2012-05-07T12:54:23+00:00

    Everyone here is so generous in trying others to help solve this problem.

    But for me, after trying ALL of these solutions, none of them worked. I couldn't even do a desktop search anymore-which is essential for my business, as I am a graphics artist.

    Microsoft was finally able to help me (somewhat) after numerous emails and trying many things. I believe they are aware of this issue wth Windows Explorer 7 but like the rest of us-they are only guessing (with each individual case) at what to do to get results.

    It finally came down to having to open a new user account and transferring all my data from the old account into the new user account. Unfortunately, the old acount (which I am guessing is corrupt) is still on my hard drive because I was never able to delete all of the files-Windows would not let me delete them-in spite of the fact that I am the Administrator with al the proper permissions. I tried removing them in various ways that was suggested to me by Microsoft, but was never able to.

    I don't know if an update would really be able to fix the problem. We might have to wait for Windows 8 and of course, that will surely bring a whole new set of bugs to the equation!

    Good Luck and try not to lose too much hair. :)

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-07-14T21:15:00+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!

    thanks i have had this problem for over a week soon as i would log on windows explorer would crash and restart in an endless loop but my guest account worked just fine for some reason so i have been using that i have not tryied restarting since i just got it working again to see if it will stick but so far happy camper will update you if it stops working

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-05-21T21:57:03+00:00

    Don’t Buy a Dell,

    In order to assist you and give you focused help, I would suggest posting in your own thread, since your problem is different from the original poster.

    Lisa

    Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

    Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

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