Windows 11 zipped folders / files immediately crashes File Explorer

Anonymous
2022-01-24T04:24:45+00:00

My Dell laptop was previously Windows 10, now 11. When I right click any zipped folder, it immediately crashes Windows Explorer, but then everything comes back. I can't unzip any zipped file at all - doesn't seem to matter what size it is.

I was trying to use the built-in unzipper utility in Windows, and when that didn't work I tried a couple 3rd party apps, including WinZip. Nothing works; they all crash, and they crash on ANY zipped file I have.

And by the way if I try to ZIP any set of files - even just 3 little word files, it does the same thing. The screen flashes, all my icons go away for a second. Then things come back, but nothing will zip or unzip.

thanks if you have any ideas!

Christine

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2025-07-07T06:47:27+00:00

    Issue not solved for me.

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-03-22T17:52:21+00:00

    There is a way to have your cake and eat it, too ... or shall we say have your PowerDesk and NOT have it mess up Windows Explorer interactions with Zip files.

    After installing PowerDesk

    • copy the entire PowerDesk app folder to another location, say C:\tools,
    • set shortcuts to the apps within PowerDesk in the new location that you actually use
    • delete the original PowerDesk app folder

    About the only part of PowerDesk I still use is the PD Synchronizer, and this gives me that capability without messing up Zip file handling.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-03-22T17:34:08+00:00

    Thank you! Removing Powerdesk solved this problem for me.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-01-26T02:52:09+00:00

    Here is the fix, as posted by Rollover M.

    1. Launch File Explorer Options from the Windows menu
    2. Go to the View tab
    3. Check the Launch folder windows in a separate process box
    4. Click on Apply

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/d92d872e-a415-4d6f-9a94-cac498618137?platform=QnA

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    10+ people found this answer helpful.
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  5. Anonymous
    2024-10-31T05:59:34+00:00

    I've been an IT admin for 20 years and this is new to me.. thank you for this. it helped with a few freeze and timeout issues I encountered when working with network folders in Explorer.

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