Windows 7 Explorer Not Responding

Question

Upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit

• 2 GB RAM
• Dell Inspiron 6400
• Microsoft Security Essentials
• Threatfire
• Super Anti-spyware

Almost every time I open Windows Explorer or my alternative Xplorer2 Lite, as I attempt to browse through folders, it will start "Not Responding" at some random moment.

I end up closing or restarting Explorer but it just keeps happening.

The only real solution I can think of is either reformatting and reinstalling everything (which I would really like to avoid) OR uninstalling other 3rd party apps and seeing if this fixes the problem.

Here is the Application Event Viewer message. The Action Center looks fine.

The program Explorer.EXE version 6.1.7600.16404 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Action Center control panel.
Process ID: e6c
Start Time: 01ca95331c35701e
Termination Time: 46
Application Path: C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
Report Id: be47479c-0126-11df-a6d8-0019b9560113

Any ideas?

Can I do a complete reinstall from an upgrade disk?

Solution 1

Well for a start, it looks like you have multiple Anti virus products which is never recommended and can cause the exact error you are saying - and usually a lot more serious as well.

There are a lot more things I can recommend such as checking all your shell extensions - (I wrote this answer in a previous answer)

I would recommend you take a look at [Microsoft / Sysinternals Autoruns][1] and look under the explorer tab. However, do not press delete on anything, use this to identify problems (by unchecking boxes) and when you have found the problem - use the uninstaller for the application. Only press delete if the uninstaller fails to remove it.

However, I really think that the error you are having is related to multiple AV engines.

Solution 2

Explorer crases are usually caused by unstable shell extensions.

2. To get rid of the them download Autoruns(from Microsoft).
3. Run it.
4. Check "Hide Microsoft and Windows entries" and "Verify code signatures" in the "Options" menu.
5. Press F5 to apply the new settings.
6. Switch to the "Explorer" tab.
7. Uncheck each and every shell extension. This will disable them.
8. Log off and log back in to actually get them disabled.
9. See if the crashes go away.

You can enable the ones you actually need by checking the checkboxes next to them.

Solution 3

Boot into safe mode and check if Windows Explorer crashes or not.

To boot into safe mode, press the F8 key before Windows starts.

1. Open an elevated Command Prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

2. Type the following command, and then press Enter:

   sfc /scannow
   

This command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions.

Comments

[Adnan]

You can do a clean install with the upgrade disc. As long as you're doing it over a current Windows installation. But when you do, your old files and folders will be in a folder called "Windows.old," which is on the root of the C drive.

[user1333603]

Thanks for the reply. Luckily the removal of Threatfire seems to have cured my computer but this is good to know.

[Dave M]

+1 for multiple AV engines. Have also seem multiple index/search tools give issues with Explorer

[user1333603]

Thanks for the replies. Early indications are that removing Threatfire has solved the problem. The 2 Anti Virus Apps worked well together in Vista though?! Hey ho.

[user1333603]

thankyou for the reply. have tried autoruns with great success. I was using Xplorer2 Lite which worked fine with Vista but not it seems in Win7. Once i removed it Win Exp seemed to work great. Shame about the conflict though