How to fix ntdll.dll heap crash that ultimately crashes explorer.exe

Dibyendu Sinha 0 Reputation points
2026-09-02T23:15:18.78+00:00

I have already run both SFC and DISM to check for and repair corrupted Windows system files, but the Explorer crash is still occurring, while its not crashing my entire pc but this error is occurring quite frequently, like once a day at least.

The Event Viewer error is:

Faulting application name: Explorer.EXE, version: 10.0.26100.8655
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 10.0.26100.8521
Exception code: 0xc0000374
Fault offset: 0x0000000000112265
Faulting process id: 0x6030
Faulting application start time: 0x1DD3B1809D422BB
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Report Id: [redacted]

SFC and DISM did not resolve the issue. What could be causing Explorer.exe to crash with exception code 0xc0000374?

Windows for home | Other | Performance and system failures
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  1. Hendrix-V 18,225 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-03T03:40:50.0233333+00:00

    Hi Dibyendu Sinha,

    The exception code 0xc0000374 generally points to heap memory corruption, which means Explorer is encountering damaged memory while running. Since SFC and DISM have already been completed without resolving the issue, it may be worth checking for software or extensions interacting with Explorer rather than focusing only on Windows system files.

    You can try these quick checks:

    1, Test in a Clean Boot

    • Press Win + R > type msconfig
    • On the Services tab, select Hide all Microsoft services
    • Click Disable all
    • Restart and monitor for Explorer crashes

    2, Check third-party shell extensions

    • Temporarily disable non-Microsoft context menu extensions using a tool such as ShellExView
    • Restart Explorer and observe whether the crashes stop

    3, Create a new Windows user profile

    • Create a temporary local account
    • Sign in and test whether Explorer remains stable
    • This can help determine if the issue is profile-specific

    Hopefully these checks help isolate the source of the problem and point you toward a more targeted fix.

    Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

    Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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