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

I am having the same issue.  I do use uTorrent and I am supposing other software causes the same issue.  I found a PowerShell script online that looks at all instances of explorer.exe and stops all explorer processes except the biggest one.  the text is "Get-Process explorer | Sort-Object -descending CPU | Select-Object -Skip 1 ID | ForEach-Object -Process {Stop-Process -Id $_.ID}"  put this text (minus the quotation marks) in a text file and save it as filename.ps1.  You can then run this script with Windows PowerShell to save you some time.  Maybe Service Pack 14 will fix this one!

I've at the least found some answers.... here they are 

"

• Hi there, Do you happen to use Utorrent?

If so, it's a bug when you run Utorrent & use the option to  "open containing folder" of a torrent file..

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THank you @ floyd11

I too have many explorer exes, after reading your question, I went to utorrent 1.8.5 and used that option " Open Containing Folder" while my taskmanager was ON, on the top of all. And the more I open different files from that option, the more I saw explorer exes, and when I closed them all they were all gone in maybe 10+ seconds.

While at this time, i have 3 explorer exes, which I don't know from where they are coming, 

And process explorer shows, two are the sub categories of winnt.exe --> services.exe---> svchost.exe----> 2 explorer.exes there!

While other explorer.exe is ( as I know the original one) it self a main category... and in it are utorrent and other programs are running....!

Well, at least I am OK with multiple exes because I know I don't have any malware or virus lurking around or hidden in my computer...!

THank you FLOYD11,

AND thank you all who tried to help others, and thanks GREG for bringing this question up!

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• Saturday, April 24, 2010 6:54 AMSirValak

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I agree with floyd11, Bittorent shows the same bug. If you chose "open containing folder" it will open an windows explorer (explorer.exe), with 6,460 Kb  memory process (aprox. it varies a bit depending of window content) while the windows explorer is open. Once closed the "explorer.exe" process wont close, but it will change memory consumption down aprox. 1 mb.

Also I suspected it to be a virus or malware, but computer has been scanned using Microsoft Security Essentials and it showed perfectly clean.

Running Windows 7 Ultimate x32.

The same behavior is not seen when windows explorer is opened manually. No aditional explorer.exe processer are shown in taskmanager.

Seems its a bug with certain softwares and the way they interact with WPF, or something.

Let me know what can I do to help debug the problem, I have moderate tech skills."""""

I too have the same problem, however, it seems like people who know more about computer doesn't have this prob so they can't understand,..... ..... I too have this problem on every different kind of win 7 I installed....

once there were more than 5 explorer.exes lol

Same problem with people on all the blogs i've visited, but no solution yet... they can't even diagnose it.. lol

!

Hello LynnD1971,

So what happened when you put your system in a clean boot state?  When you checked the Reliability Monitor what critical events did you see?  Since this is a forum environment here is a link that you may find useful on how to ask a question.

One of the key elements is that you have a second system with Windows 7 running the same applications and is working with just one shell process.

Your follow-up response would suggest that your issues happen when plugging in an additional hardware component.  Since there are many manufactures that make that type of hardware, telling the community what specific hardware you are using might help in narrowing down a solution for you.

I would first check with your 3rd party manufacture to see if they are aware of any problems relating to their hardware.

Are there any other scenarios in which you are receiving a blue screen?  Something that may be helpful is reviewing your memory dump file.  It would be best to upload it to your SkyDrive and sharing it so we can view it.

If all fails I would recommend you do a repair install.

I hope this answers your questions, if you require further assistance please come back and post, we are more than happy to help you out.

Regards,

Edgar

Microsoft Answers Support Engineer

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