Cannot open downloads folder windows explorer crashes

So i have been fighting this issue for days and i am at my wits end. I have bitdefender total security as my antivirus but i also run malwarebytes anti-malware and super anti-spyware. To attempt to fix this issue i have also run windows defender (found and fixed one issue but not the one causing the crash), the root-kit finder from malwarebytes (no issues), spyBHOremover (3 found no malicious), the command prompt windows integrity scan (i forget the command just now but i ran that too with no issues found). I've used file assassin to delete anything that would even have a remote chance of being corrupt and causing issues. I have defragmented my computer, done registry scans/fix, but every time the result is the same. i checked the windows forum where there was a similar complaint and an admin there told the person to reset their IE as it is apparently closely linked to windows explorer. I updated and reset my IE as well but still have the same issue. I feel like i am going to lose my mind if cant get this to stop. I also noticed (which prompted the mass virus hunt) sluggish start-up and my bitdefender options kept changing on their own and the auto-update and auto scan kept turning off. Having done a repair install on my bitdefender and fixed a few other minor issues I've managed to get bitdefender to behave more normally and my start-up is faster, but my downloads folder is stubborn. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh and i have a legitimate copy of windows 7 but because i bought my computer from a PC store in another city i do not have the disk for my copy of windows 7.
I also ran malware bytes in safemode but nothing else was turned up.