There are multiple instances of explorer.exe running in task manager (currently 7), each one using between 10-40MB of memory.

Anonymous
2009-11-03T00:15:23+00:00

Different explorer.exe processes are using cpu resources at different times.  I remember reading a while back that this could be a sign of a virus, but I've done a full scan with NIS 2010 and nothing showed up.  Can anyone give me pointers where to start investigating?

I did a clean install of Windows 7 last Friday -formatted HDD and all, so there hasn't been much time for anything bad to happen!

<Original title - There are multiple instances of explorer.exe running in task manager (currently 7), each one using between 10-40MB of memory.  I've never seen this in any previous version, and it doesn't look right to me. >

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Anonymous
2010-10-02T01:12:12+00:00

I found out what is causing the explorer.exe's to hang... If you give ANY arguments to explorer.exe in your shortcut/properties, to try to change the default directory from Libraries, it will hang.  For example, simply using "explorer.exe C:" will cause explorer task to hang whent you close it... by hang, i mean the window closes, but the process remains in memory.  I had 15 explorer.exe's tonight....  There are tips on the net about how to get explorer to default to My Computer (which I was using this tip -- i HATE it defaulting to Libraries which i NEVER use)..... so edit your shortcut, and take off any arguments to explorer.exe.  See if this fixes it!

As expected , the tech support is clueless on this I see.

PS -- I just figured out how to default Explorer to My Computer... Its weird, but it works...  Rightclick drag your My Computer icon on the desktop over to a blank space.  Create a shortcut....  Now unpin any Windows Explorer you have from your Taskbar... Now, left-click drag your My Computer shortcut to the taskbar.    Now, if you just click this, you go to Libraries.... BUT -- if instead you right-click it, you will see the My Computer shortcut, and select this, and it goes to My Computer.... and there are never any EXTRA explorer.exe's hanging around!

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-10-28T15:52:41+00:00

    I am having a similar problem but for an entirely different reason.

    Using Resource Monitor, I am seeing multiple spawns of explorer.exe under the Network page.  Each explorer.exe is pointing to a different IP address or DNS name.  There are sometimes as many as 40 spawns.  Some of these sites are based in Russia or other eastern European countries.  This says virus/rootkit to me.  Exploring this further, I learned that there is a hidden folder in C:\ProgramData named with what appears to be a GUID (e.g. {C2A5BE21-...}.  This folder contains a copy of TWAIN32 and a couple of files with gibberish names.  This folder is completely undeletable in Windows; I had to boot a Linux disk in order to delete the folder.  After I rebooted, the explorer spawns went away...until I rebooted the PC again.

    This looks like a rootkit to me, but nothing out there that I've tried to run is detecting it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-09-15T20:48:23+00:00

    [Using HP Pavilion G6Windows 8 with current antivirus and scanned, free of viruses, system defragged recently.]

    I am also having this same problem and after searching everywhere, your post is closest to my experience...specifically explorer runs fine in the background but only goes haywire after plugging and unplugging usb storage devices several time successively. It does not matter if its a flash drive or external hdd.

    The processes do not close even when the device is ejected, they also do not consume further resources.

    Like in your case there seems to be a critical number of processes which having been spawned will make the whole system stop responding, starting first with the newly created window with it's set of processes(they seem to be spawned in twos) then gradually every other open explorer windows grinds to a halt as you alt+tab into them. Even File->Open dialog boxes in other open applications are not spared!

    Sometimes using the task manager to restart the multiple processes can free up the system but its usually a losing battle cos once a new explorer window is opened the slowness begins to come up again.

    Other times even the task manager and the desktop itself stops responding. nothing but a system restart gets the system to function normally again.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-04-17T11:35:23+00:00

    Russ, I'm not clear on what you did to solve this problem.

    Can you be more specific and precise? Is everything done in regedit?

    1. open regedit
    2. change permissions on what from what to what
    3. delete every instance of explorere and iexplorer.... etc.

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