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Question

Carla Bradley asked on

"Windows explorer has stopped working"/"windows is restarting"

I recently started getting these message errors about 3 or 4 days ago. When I try to open my personal folders and other WINDOWS related folders, I recieve this:

Window #1:

Windows Explorer has stopped working.

Windows is searching for a solution.

Option: Cancel box

Window #2:

Windows Explorer is restarting.

Option: Cancel box

I "chatted" with two HP representatives and they suggested that I had viruses and that the viruses were the cause of the problem. One of them made me try "MalWareBytes". The other suggested that I use "SUPERspyware". Both services found viruses/spyware and hopefully, they are gone. I currently am using Verizon Internet Security Suite and do not plan on getting rid of it. All I want to know is how do I fix this issue? I do not want to pay to fix this because I am a full time college student and fall semester is in a few days. I am running on Windows Vista Home Premium and have a HP Pavilion a6519fh PC (Intel Premium Dual-Core Desktop Processor E2180 ). HELP ME PLEASE!! Thanks :)

Found this helpful 56

Answer

THE C. replied on

Hello Carla,

Try using System File Checker to scan your OS for missing/corrupt files, complete these steps:

Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue.
At the command prompt, type Sfc /scannow, and then press ENTER.

The scan may take some time, so be patient. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing files that it finds. If information from the installation CD is needed to repair the problem, you may be prompted to insert your Windows Vista CD.

Hope this helps you. Let us know either way. Make it a great day!

"In the End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make" (The Beatles last song from thier last album, Abbey Road.)

"In the End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make"

Found this helpful 53

Answer

sh4d0wk4t replied on

Hello people, seems like some fellas out there are still having trouble with this random crashes. I have the same problem except that it occurs whenever I access my multimedia archive on my network storage. It would seem that there's a bug or something with windows that causes this problem when you access a media storage folder like mine, especially when the file size is extremely large(I archive all my movie discs there for convenience and streaming =), about 1TB of data). Windows try to generate the thumbnail images for your files and thus crashes explorer.

I've solved this by going to My Computer > click on "Organize" tab (top left) > folder and search options > view tab. Check "Always show icons, never thumbnails" option and uncheck "Display file icon on thumbnails". This stops windows from generating the images and solved the problem for me. Less visually flashy yes, but at least no need for a wipe and restart =).

Source: http://www.computertooslow.com/windows-explorer-has-stopped-working.asp

Hope this helps and good luck!

Shadowkat.

All Replies (276)

Found this helpful 56

Answer

THE C. replied on

Hello Carla,

Try using System File Checker to scan your OS for missing/corrupt files, complete these steps:

Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
In the results area, right-click cmd.exe, and then click Run as administrator. You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue.
At the command prompt, type Sfc /scannow, and then press ENTER.

The scan may take some time, so be patient. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing files that it finds. If information from the installation CD is needed to repair the problem, you may be prompted to insert your Windows Vista CD.

Hope this helps you. Let us know either way. Make it a great day!

"In the End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make" (The Beatles last song from thier last album, Abbey Road.)

"In the End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make"

Found this helpful 16

radar1954 replied on

Hello Carla,

Try using System File Checker to scan your OS for missing/corrupt files, complete these steps:

Click Start , and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
In the results area, right-click cmd.exe , and then click Run as administrator . You will be prompted to type the password for an administrator account. Click Continue if you are the administrator or type the administrator password. Then, click Continue .
At the command prompt, type Sfc /scannow , and then press ENTER.

The scan may take some time, so be patient. Windows will repair any corrupted or missing files that it finds. If information from the installation CD is needed to repair the problem, you may be prompted to insert your Windows Vista CD.

Hope this helps you. Let us know either way. Make it a great day!

"In the End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make" (The Beatles last song from thier last album, Abbey Road.)

Hi,
I'm running Windows 7 and have this same problem when I right click on a text file in Windows Explorer. I've run SFC and it found no problems. What else can I try?

Thanks,
Ben

Ben Maltz

Found this helpful 0

Don Snoddy replied on

Same problem. Was using Vista Home Edition Premium, just upgraded to Windows 7 Home Edition Premium. The error just popped up one day and it is very annoying. Especially since there seems to be no solution. Ran the system file checker with no problems reported. Don't like the idea of wiping the hard drive and starting over, which seems to be the solution most techies advise for any problem. There must be an easier way.

Help

Found this helpful 0

Redtail replied on

I had this problem with Vista and fixed it by NOT using Internet Explorer. I switched to Firefox and the problem went away. However, since the latest upgrade to Firefox, the problem has returned. Is there a clue somewhere?
The problem is a nuisance, but it does seem to repair itself for the short term. I have the latest Vista and Firefox upgrades. My other computer with XP does not have this problem, and never had the problem with Internet Explorer. Again I'm contemplating going all XP. The thought of trying Windows 7 scares me.

Found this helpful 0

mbelle replied on

I am having the same problem. using firefox and i cant post pics of my daughyter which is killing me

Found this helpful 0

Redtail replied on

I post on Windows Live. I had to add the Firefox add-on, "IE Tab." That makes Firefox act like Internet Explorer. Try it in Tools - Add-ons.
Without it I could still post, but only one at a time. IE Tab enables the drag and drop feature.

But I occasionally get the "Windows Explorer has stopped working" problem even when not using IE Tab.

Bill

Found this helpful 0

EmilMuzz replied on

The C.

I am experiencing the same problem as the original poster. I ran the SFC scan and it found corrupted files, but it won't let me access them in the Log.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks,

Emil

Found this helpful 5

Answer

THE C. replied on

Hello EmilMuzz,

Since you are still having problems after a SFC scan with corrupt files it couldn't fix, then you can try a In-Place Upgrade which will do a repair of the operating system. You will need to have the DVD installation disc from the PC manufacturer. BACK UP all of your data you want to save just incase something goes wrong!

Note: After performing In-Place Upgrade, your personal data and installed programs will not be removed but you may need to run Windows Update to install all the available updates for your system to update these system files to the current version. This troubleshooting process is time consuming and may take several hours to complete.

If your DVD installation disk is prior to Sp1, and you have SP1 installed on your computer, you will need to uninstall SP1 to complete the in-place upgrade and then reinstall the necessary windows updates. This applies if you have SP2 also.

If you would like to perform the In-place Upgrade, let’s refer to the following steps.

1. Start the computer by using the current Operating System.

2. Insert the Windows Vista DVD in the computer's DVD drive.

3. Use one of the following procedures, as appropriate:

• If Windows automatically detects the DVD, the Install Now screen appears. Click Install Now.

• If Windows does not automatically detect the DVD, follow these steps:

a. Click Start, click Run, type Drive:\setup.exe, and then click OK.

Note Drive is the drive letter of the computer's DVD drive.

b. Click Install Now.

4. When you reach the "Which type of installation do you want?" screen, click Upgrade to upgrade the current operating system to Windows Vista.

Hope this helps you. Let us know either way. Make it a great day!

"And In The End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make" (The Beatles last song from thier last album, Abbey Road.)

"In the End The Love You Take, Is Equal To The Love You Make"

Found this helpful 0

RobPBurns replied on

Instead of MalwareBytes, try Avast - which is better and is free.

Found this helpful 3

10acjed replied on

If you are using any type of monitoring software like everest, HWMonitor, pc wiz etc.. turn it of and disable it from sunning at start up.

I was running everest, ever since I turned it off the problem has not happened...

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