Windows Explorer is an essential program of the Windows operating system. It is one of the backbones of the operating system powering not only file browsing and operations but also the taskbar and start menu.
The message “Windows Explorer has stopped working” is relatively common judging from the number of web pages and solutions that users and webmasters have posted over the years on the Internet.
The goal of this troubleshooting guide is to provide users who are experiencing the Windows Explorer error with the most common solutions and fixes.
Windows Explorer Has Stopped Working
Solution 1: File Check
This solution checks the operating system for missing and corrupt files and replaces them with the original file version to make sure only valid files are used. This helps in cases of data corruption and malicious attacks that have modified or deleted core operating system files.
1. Click Start, and then type cmd in the Start Search box.
2. 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.
3. At the command prompt, type Sfc /scannow, and then press ENTER..
Solution 2: Scan Disk
The files and folders may be valid but it can still be that the hard drive has bad sectors or other problems that lead to this Windows Explorer error message. Scanning the hard drive that Windows is installed on for disk errors is another option to resolve the issue.
1. Open the Start Menu and click on the computer link.
2. Right-click the hard drive that Windows is installed on (usually c:) and select Properties from the context menu.
3. Switch to the Tools tab and select the Check Now button under Error-checking
4. Make sure that both options are selected before you press the Start button.
5. The Disk check needs to be scheduled as the disk is in use when the operating system is running. It will start the scan automatically on the next startup.
Solution 3: Updates
Make sure your system is up to date. Check for Windows updates (via Start button > all programs > Windows Update) and software updates if the software is running in the background. Make sure you update drivers for the hardware as well (especially video card)
Solution 4: Scan the system with security software
A virus or other malicious software might be the cause for the issues with Windows Explorer. Scanning the system with security applications ensures that no virus or other malicious code is running on the system that is causing the problems.
Check out this extensive listing of security applications. Recommended are for instance Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, DrWeb and Gmer. You might want to run at least one program in the categories anti-malware/spyware, anti-rootkit and anti-virus.
Solution 4: Disable Third party services and tools
Another possible cause for the Windows Explorer has stopped working error message is a third party program or service that might be conflicting with it.
To eliminate that possibility we need to disable all third party services and programs. This is best done in the System Configuration tool.
1. Click on the start button, type in msconfig in the run form and select the Msconfig tool from the search results.
2. Switch to the Startup tab first and remove all selected entries there. Please note that this can mean that a security software is disabled. You might want to keep that checked just in case. It can however be the cause for the explorer problems.
3. Switch to the Services tab and check “Hide all Microsoft services” at the bottom. This ensures that only third party services are displayed. Disable all the selected services as well and restart the computer afterwards.
Solution 6: Check For Memory Problems
This can be done in Vista and Windows 7. Click on the start button, type mem and hit enter. This will open the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool which will perform a memory scan on the next system startup.
Solution 7: Corrupt non-system files
The error message can appear if the Windows desktop or the startup directory of Windows Explorer contains corrupt files. The most common cause are multimedia files that are corrupt. It can also be that you are only experiencing the issue when opening a specific folder or drive in Windows Explorer.
Try to locate the corrupt file and move it or delete it so that it resolves the problems. If you cannot use Windows Explorer to delete or mote the files use the command line to do so.
This sevens solutions have resolved the “Windows Explorer Has Stopped Working” issue in the past. You might want to check the Event Viewer if the problem persists or fall back to a previous system restore point to resolve it.
Have you been experiencing this error message? If so, what have you done to resolve it?
Related Articles:
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Change the Default Windows Explorer Folder
Can You Remove Internet Explorer 8 From Windows 7?
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Hi,
I can’t make backup copies either with Windows (the OS freezes) or with Norton (“disk error” pops up every time even though I insert unused disks). I suspect it might have something to do with Windows Explorer as the OS sometimes hangs for no apparent reason and I have to reboot. I ran all sorts of checks and nothing shows up. Any ideas?
Thanks.
I tried solution 1, but it always stops at “Verification 42% complete” and says “Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.”
Anyone know why this could have happened? Thanks!
I use chrome and firefox but I get a lot of “Internet Explorer has stopped working” when a pop up tries to open (ie) my bt help update etc.. Fuuny thing is, If i go to All Programs-Internet Explorer(x86) then explorer works fine but All Programs-Internet Explorer crashes immediately, which leads me to believe that the problem may be that there are 2 versions of Explorer installed (64 bit and 32 bit) and pop ups and short cuts just point at -Program Files by default and not -Program Files(x86)….to all the Internet Explorer Users, just delete you explorer shortcut and create another short cut from -All Programs-Internet Explorer(x86) to the rest of us , I think we’ll have to wait till the devs catch up wit it….
Sorry…forgot to leave my name….
any way… hope that helps someone…
In Windows 7 Pro 32-bit, this message appeared while I was changing the appearance in Classic style. Then it restarted then and there. In Windows XP Pro, it would say to please wait while configurations are applied. I don’t know why in Windows 7 Pro 32-bit this isn’t continued.
Thank u…. my system have corrupted files….
thanks for giving me sol.
Ive tried everything! and nothing seems to help! Im still having this problem! And its starting to piss me off! I cant move or copy any files, because during the process the windows explorer stops working and restarts.
Please hep me!
notify mi via e-mail if any solution
i did what yoga said and it worked. . .thanks to yoga. . .this error appeared for me when clicked in some special folders
I started getting this error on Sat. My problem is that i cannot get to my start button. I can’t get into anything. I just get the error and blue screen. Every once in a while the start button will pop up but when i click on it, it disappears. I’ve tried reinstalling windows by going into BIOS and that hasn’t worked. Any suggestions?
I know absolutely nothing about computers……..but I came across this problem when trying to open pictures and music. I googled the problem and this page came up……..I followed all the steps above and step 1 came up trumps. It confirmed that there was a corrupt file but did not say what or where and said it was unable to fix. I got a friend who works in IT to have a look and it turned out to be an ASUS web storage file that had attached when I had registered my laptop.
Add on removed and problem solved………..thanks for the help in finding it (sort of lol).
Lisa I’m glad that you sorted out your issues and that I have somewhat been of assistance. I try to word everything the way that every user, even those with little computing experience, understand what they need to do.
Hey people. I also had this problem yesterday. I have been trying every solution on the internet for hours. And like many people said i was about to throw my machine out of the window. The only thing that withheld me from it was the fact the problem lies with windows and not with the notebook itself.
Anyways after hours of trying(from changing my mouse to edit the register) and searching i tried solution 7. Like someone else here mentioned before i couldn’t open window explorer at all. Not even in safe mode. It only worked for like 2 clicks after opening it 10 times. Since the run prompt in windows also uses explorer you can imagine it was quite difficult opening the event viewer. But after i got it open i found my problem in less then 5 minutes.
After opening event viewer just make the explorer crash again. For me it was easy, just open it and voila. For other people who’s explorer is still working better, as soon as explorer crashes look at your time. Then check for that time in event viewer and you will find the error message there. The error message will point out which program is causing the conflict in windows. For me it was the Asus webstorage. I don’t use the program so i just uninstalled it trough the control panel( it’s not working with explorer so that should be no problem). After uninstalling the crashing of explorer was gone immediately!
I hope some people find my above explanation useful and they can get rid of the problem as well. And a lot of thanks to the writer of this article! Just to bad my solution was the bottom one ;)
I’m glad that you were able to fix your problem.
I get the same thing. Viruses and malware are not possible because these are newly installed Windows 7 laptops. I did find a solution that seems simple but worth a try:
Folder Options, View tab, under Files and Folders check Always show icons, never thumbnails and UN-check Display file icon on thumbnails.
I am re-imaging a laptop today and will try this fix after all software and Windows updates are installed…
Hi, The first solution may not have worked for you or may not have seemed to work for you. Typing only “Sfc” or “SCANNOW” will have either not have been found in commands or will bring up a control console. You actually have to type “Sfc /SCANNOW”. I felt that the creator of this fix guide hasn’t displayed it clearly enough so I thought I’d just share this with you people :)
~Jack~
Hi again, after reviewing some of the comments I have come to the conclusion that this problem is caused by mainly ASUS-webstorage folders. When you Add a comment, please notify me of your computer make so I can confirm my conclusion of it being the application installed on most ASUS computers, ASUS Webstorage. I am currently also using ASUS and I’m removing the folder via “Add or Remove programs”. Select the application and on the context tab, click “uninstall”. I don’t know if this has anything to do with it, but Terminal kept popping up in the process rambling on about Windows explorer.exe whilst uninstalling.
Thanks,
~Jack~
Just to confirm this referring to my last comment when I said I’m currently uninstalling ASUS webstorage folder, The problem has been cracked and now I have no problem surfing through my files :D. Recommended Solution for ASUS users:
•Open start
•Type “Add or remove programs” and press ENTER
•Look in the list of programs and look for “ASUS Webstorage”
•Select “ASUS Webstorage” and on the context tab click “uninstall”
•Let it uninstall the program which will take approx 20-30seconds
•Now have a go at going through your folders and see if the problem has been solved
•RESTART may be needed, however I did not need to restart to see the results
Thanks
Jack – IT Tech
Jack that is great, lets hope that this fixes it for other users as well.
I tried some of the fixes listed above, no luck. I received an Eee Pad recently and am somewhat frustrated with it since I am not familiar with the Android system and the helps on the internet take you down a path and leave you hangin. Anyway, my son was trying to help get my laptop and Eee Pad to talk to each other and he downloaded some ASUS software. I thought that is the most recent change made so I uninstalled a couple of the ASUS programs and IT WORKED! No more “Windows Expl….). My wife’s account was the only one out of four that had this problem and we didn’t try to lnclude her account. Go figure, I can’t explain it but it worked. I hope this helps someone.
im having the same problem, first it say that my fence pro was not closed properly, so i decided to uninstall it.. because it’s really annoying when the message pops up. i tried everything, after reading the comments, i tried what yoga suggested, by replacing the mouse pointer, and i observed that the problem was gone. i restarted my laptop and no more problems, but to make it sure, i tried the other solution, by going to network and selecting always show icons, never thumbnails, and deselecting dsplay file icon on thumbnails. the problem is really gone. then i also tried the event viewer, and i found out that the error was in my KLCP-64x. so i uninstalled it immediately. and i tried opening my folders, clicking my desktop, and there is no problem anymore.
I went through just about all the steps nothing fixed it for me I went to help & support in the start menu. It told me disable all internet add ons soon as I did that problem fixed! Couldn’t believe it!
I’ve tried the majority of these solutions with no prevail. I really dont want to clear my laptop because i dont have any problems with it except this recent message. Any suggestions on who i should take me computer to?