Windows Explorer Keeps Crashing

[1DMF]

Hi,

I keep getting a 'windows explorer crashed' message and then a 'restarting' message, but it doesn't work.

It doesn't matter what i do , what program I try to open or close, it keeps going round in loops saying 'Windows Explorer' had a problem.

Now I didn't actually have windows explorer open, so i'm assuming it means the explorer 'Task Bar' when it says this.

I'm guessing this is all to do with this annoying new way of grouping programs and showing those pesky pop-up windows when you hover over taskbar icons.

when a few programs are open, the new task bar doesn't seem up to the job and crashes.

Anyone else experiencing this problem?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

Google Rank Extractor -> PERL v1.5 beta (FusionCharts)

 

[linney]

Can you reproduce the error from within Safe Mode, or from Normal Mode but as another logged on user?

Malware might be a cause too?

I see lots of recommendations here for programs like -

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

Things like "Aero Peak" and Taskbar buttons can be turned off of or adjusted from the Properties of the Taskbar if you want to check those settings.

Explorer will run a lot more things than just an Explorer window as you will discover if you ever end process on Explorer from within the Task Manager, and again if you restart Explorer from the Run box via Task Manager.

 

[1DMF]

It shouldn't be malware, it's a brand new install I have AVG as recomended by MS and I don't download stuff.

Unless 7-zip is malware?

Which is odd, as after installing it , It wouldn't run, so I went to control panel to remove the program , but all I got was a blank screen, no icons / categories.

Rebooted everything was fine again and 7-zip runs ok.

Maybe just glitches, I mean Win 7 only been out 3 weeks in uk and already there have been @ 60 updates / patches!

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

Google Rank Extractor -> Perl beta with FusionCharts

 

[linney]

Was this a machine with a pre-installed operating system that you have upgraded to Windows 7 from Vista or XP? Or is it a new machine pre-installed with Windows 7. Are we talking about 64-bit too?

Did you check from Safe Mode? Did you try a different user?

Has Explorer settled down and stopped crashing?

Have a look at Control Panel/ Performance Options/ Advanced Tools, check the whole list in there but especially "Generate a System Health Report".

 

[1DMF]

It's a self built machine, I did a clean install to a new drive so was initially dual booting Vista / Win 7 though I've wiped Vista now.

Both are x64.

I've not tried safe mode, pc is pretty much usless if running in safe mode.

There isn't another user to try, it's all mine and i'm the only one!

I'll try the health c heck report and get back to you.

Thanks for the input so far



"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

Google Rank Extractor -> Perl beta with FusionCharts

 

[linney]

safe mode, pc is pretty much usless if running in safe mode"

It is not useless when viewed as a diagnostic step. It possibly will lead you to this next step on the trail of a solution. If Explorer doesn't crash in Safe Mode try this next step.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

You may have to create another user. The purpose there is to check if your Profile has become corrupted and is causing your problems.


A couple of other things to try.

How to repair the operating system and how to restore the operating system configuration to an earlier point in time in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936212/#appliesto

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Try it first by not checking either box (this will run it in a Read-only mode) to see if it flags any hard drive or file problems. If it does, restart it by ticking both boxes, and rerun it to allow it to attempt to fix any found problems.



The hard drive manufacturer will have free diagnostic software to thoroughly check the condition of your hard drive.

See how many unsigned drivers you have running on your machine. This article will guide you on the instructions but all you have to do is type sigverif in Start Run.

How to identify unsigned drivers using sigverif utility in Windows Vista (or Windows 7)

http://www.winvistaclub.com/f34.html

 

[1DMF]

Thanks linney for the info.

Seems like a lot of hasle though, just when I had Vista running perfectly fine, I had to do such a stupid thing as downgrade to Windows7!

I even got a BSD lastnight, was happily writing code in notepad and bang! BSD.

Well i guess one consolation was it did recover the web sessions I had open at the time, wow MS, after loosing the code I had written and crashing my system, you were able to safley take me back to my own website, I'm impressed!

But yes, either Win7 has issues (but as SP1 isn't out yet, that's more than likely) or I have something bad.

be it driver, corruption etc..

All drivers being used are the ones which shipped with Win7 (except nVidia), the Win7 ones were well out of date.

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors.

of course I did a scandisk & defrag straight after install of both drives, plus ran data backups.

which reminds me, I did download FBackup, it's free and claims to be Win7 compatible (and it seemed to work without errors)

I don't seem to be able to get NTBackup to work on Win7, which it did on Vista.

Why can you no longer backup individual files via a definition anymore, I looked at the Win7 backup option, but that only seem to allow you to backup entire drive not selected files, Is there a way?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

Google Rank Extractor -> Perl beta with FusionCharts

 

[linney]

Fault diagnosing is an on going thing. Just because you did something a few days ago (ran ChkDsk) doesn't mean that in those last few days your drive has not suffered some newer corruption.

Windows 7 allows me to Backup individual files via a "Let Me Choose" option as I follow the Backup Wizard through to completion.


"How does Windows choose which files to back up?

When you back up your files using Windows Backup, you can let Windows choose what is backed up or you can select the individual folders and drives that you want to back up. Depending on what you select, your backup will contain the items described in the following sections.

Let Windows choose
If you let Windows choose what is backed up, the following items are included in your backup:

Data files that are saved in libraries, on the desktop, and in default Windows folders for all people with a user account on the computer.

Notes
Only local files in libraries are included in the backup. If you have files in a library that are saved on a drive located on a different computer on a network, on the Internet, on the same drive that you are saving the backup on, or on a drive that is not formatted using the NTFS file system, they aren't included in the backup.

Default Windows folders include AppData, Contacts, Desktop, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Saved Games, and Searches.

If the drive you are saving your backup on is formatted using the NTFS file system and has enough disk space, a system image of your programs, Windows, and all drivers and registry settings are also included in the backup. This image can be used to restore the contents of your computer if your hard drive or computer stops working. For more information, see What is a system image?

Let me choose
You can choose to back up individual folders, libraries, or drives.

Notes
All files in known system folders (folders that contain files that Windows needs to run), and known program files (files that define themselves as part of a program in the registry when the program is installed) will not be backed up even if they are in a selected folder.

If a folder or drive is not selected, the contents of that folder or drive are not backed up.

Windows Backup won't back up the following items:

Program files (files that define themselves as part of a program in the registry when the program is installed).

Files stored on hard disks that are formatted using the FAT file system.

Files that are in the Recycle Bin.

Temporary files on drives smaller than 1 GB."


Cannot restore BKF files in Windows 7 - show stopper

http://social.technet.microsoft.com...l/thread/2c517115-cae9-4abd-9e79-e28f3320a0f3