Explorer.exe problems

[HumanCHAOS]

I've been having trouble with my windows lately. Everytime I would want to open up a window on my desk top or anywhere for that matter, I would get a pop up of "explorer.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows. You will need to restart the program. An error log is being created." Then whatever window I would select would open up, but if I would want another window open at the same time, or have multiple windows at the same time, that error would pop up again and again. I tried reinstalling explorer well actually taht was internet explorer, and still nothing. I was told I should probably reformat my computer, but I'm sure there's a better way. What could it be, and how could I fix it? Thanks. i'm new to this place too as well.

 

[amdskip]

The thing you really need to ask yourself is why did this happen and what can I do to prevent from happening again. Sure formatting works but that takes time. Did you have windows updates installed? Did you have a virus program installed along with the newest virus definitions? Is this windows xp?

 

[HumanCHAOS]

Well to tell you the truth, I'm normally pretty careful of what I do to my PC. It's running on Windows 2000 pro with Win Service Pack 3. I've kept up with all my updates, and really it's more of an annoyance then a huge threat. The fact that I cannot have multiple windows open at a time can be aggravating.

 

[PrincessGuard]

Originally posted by: HumanCHAOS
Well to tell you the truth, I'm normally pretty careful of what I do to my PC. It's running on Windows 2000 pro with Win Service Pack 3. I've kept up with all my updates

You seemed to have missed the little update called Service Pack 4

1) If you haven't run anti-virus/anti-spyware yet, do so. A chkdsk /r wouldn't hurt either.

2) Try logging in as another user. If the problem goes away, then it's a problem with some program installed under your login.

3) Try closing all programs and killing all non-essential processes/services until the problem goes away.

4) Run "sfc /purgecache" to let Windows restore your system files.

5) Do a repair install of Win2k.

6) Reformat.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: HumanCHAOS
I've been having trouble with my windows lately. Everytime I would want to open up a window on my desk top or anywhere for that matter, I would get a pop up of "explorer.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows. You will need to restart the program. An error log is being created." Then whatever window I would select would open up, but if I would want another window open at the same time, or have multiple windows at the same time, that error would pop up again and again. I tried reinstalling explorer well actually taht was internet explorer, and still nothing. I was told I should probably reformat my computer, but I'm sure there's a better way. What could it be, and how could I fix it? Thanks. i'm new to this place too as well.

1. Go to Windows Update (from your Start menu) and get all Microsoft updates. Yes, ALL of them. ALL.
2. Uninstall any applications that are plug-ins for Windows Explorer. Examples include movie/codec packs, antivirus software (just temporarily!), zipping/archive utilities - anything that shows up when you left-click on an icon in Windows Explorer - remove it via Add/Remove. Be sure you reboot whenever your computer prompts you to reboot while uninstalling these things.

Test and see if that resolves your problem.

I don't suggest reformatting; let's see if we can work on this first for a little bit.

 

[thehealingcow]

i'm novice, but as soon as i see explorer.exe crash once, i see it a bunch of times. once it is coming up daily, i reformat. it is a pain, but, at the same time, you get rid of 'fluff' that is just sitting on your computer. i know it will fix the problem, at least it has in my case.

i know kids who reformat like every couple of weeks! they love it... it is f-ing weird.

 

[dclive]

I don't suggest that - just uninstall third-party stuff that interferes with Explorer and you should be OK.

 

[Slappy00]

umm on my friends comp pr0n crashes Explorer (seriously) , but turning off "thumb" images fixes that... you know if you have that sort of thing on your computer.. which i dont ...

/runs

 

[dclive]

So there's something wrong with the third-party add-ins you've added-in. Remove them all and the problem will be fixed.

Per other posts on here, poorly designed codec 'packs' tend to do this.