Windows Explorer crashes when viewing certain folders 10

[BooYaKaSha]

I have this bizarre problem that keeps popping up and is really starting to annoy me:

I have all my documents and my backup files on a D: drive. When I open and view certain folders in Explorer, suddenly that Explorer window quits and I can't access any of the files in there. Usually, but not always, this occurs in a folder in which I have Images.

In the case of my backup files, I can open and view the folder, but when I try to run the installation program, it fails.

And yet still when I try to do any of the above, I get a "Windows Explorer has encountered an error and needs to close..." error, then all of my explorer processes close, including my start menu, and I have to manually restart explorer.

When I copy the parent folder to the desktop and run/open it from there is works fine. I've run Scandisk many times and it never found any problems.

Is there some sort of a limit on the amount of characters in a path & filename that would be causing this error?

Thanks

 

[bcastner]

I use AlternaTiff:

http://www.alternatiff.com/

without issue.

 

[dgmni]

Thanks vegitta - I tried your suggestion and was very hopeful for about 5 mins after completing it but alas, the issue is still here

In the meantime, I also read more on Data Execution Prevention (DEP) having previously tried the "boot.ini" listed here:

http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/118964.html

No luck with this either.

So what's next? I'm afraid drastic action is called for - I have fully backed up my system ready to do a complete rebuild in ~7 days pending someone else has anything to suggest?

Happy New Year all & thanks for the help so far.

 

[dgmni]

Sorry that link doesn't appear to work on re-test. Try:

http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/118964.html

 

[linney]

dgmni,

Some general things to try before you format and reinstall.


Try Safe Mode (Do you have this problem in Safe Mode?).

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

To check your RAM.

http://www.memtest86.com/

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp

To check conflicting software.

310353 - How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310353&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

316434 - HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316434&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310560&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

Removing adware & spyware
faq608-4650

Will check your computer for spyware and adware.



If they don't work you could try repairing windows itself by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

If you want the highly technical cause of the crash look in the Documents and Settings/ All Users/ Application Data/ Microsoft/ Dr Watson/ Drwtsn32.log

Find the entry that is relevant by date and time to the crash you are investigating. The exact cause of the crash is indicated by "FAULT ->" on the left of page next to line of code causing crash. This, if your as cluey as me, wont tell you much but you can use it to see if it is the same fault all the time, and further up the log you can find what processes and modules are running.



By way of a rough guess, see if you have (and delete) any Thumbs.db file in the image folders and subfolders that are causing Explorer to crash, these are hidden and system files so make sure you have the options set to see them (Folder Options/ View). Windows will automatically recreate them if it requires them, but this action may be affected by the next suggestion.


In Folder Options under View have you could look at "Do Not Cache Thumbnails" and experiment with that?

This disables automatic storage of folder thumbnails in a cache file. When you store thumbnail images in a cache file, Windows can reuse them instead of creating new ones every time you open a folder. If you disable this automatic storage function, folders that contain thumbnails might take longer to open.