Windows Explorer shuts down automatically when running appwiz.cpl

Hello Accordeonsite,

Feel free to keep Advanced System Care on your computer - we just offer you support here at Seven Forums and we give you recommendations to keep your compute safe/working properly.

Please download this program from Kaspersky and run it: TDSSkiller
Can you run Malwarebytes again and see if it picks up anything on your system?

I do request that you try to perform Clean Boot Mode, even though you previously didn't want to.

Please follow this guide, written by Gerry Conrell.

Please upload and share with everyone fresh copies of your System and Application logs from your Event Viewer.

To access the System log select Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer, from the list in the left side of the window select Windows Logs and System. Place the cursor on System, select Action from the Menu and Save All Events as (the default evtx file type) and give the file a name. Do the same for the Applications log. Do not provide filtered files.

Thank you,
VinnyBuxton

Hello VinnyBuxton,

I appreciate the advice you offered, but the support you offered hasn't helped to solve the problem with Windows Explorer crashing. You made suggestions but haven't offered anything concrete as far as evidence that performing this or that procedure will lead to a solution. I don't have time to run every anti-malware and diagnostic program you recommend. Nor do I have time to troubleshoot by performing the clean boot procedure. What I need is to narrow this down to the solution based upon what you or I or someone else knows. As far as posting the system and application logs, I described what I saw in the logs that appear relevant to this problem. If you want to see something more specific I'll copy and paste the logs in a forum posting or submit the entire log entries. Keep in mind that the problem hasn't disabled my computer system, so I don't classify it as urgent. Because of the controller error messages, I thought there might be a problem with my hard disk, but the SeaTools for DOS program reported no errors, so I'm no longer so concerned about that. If any of the errors were reported because of malware, there's no evidence of it yet even if most if not all of the malware was removed after running the programs you recommended. If, as a result of running those programs, I no longer have the Windows Explorer problem, I'll promptly let you know.

carwiz said:

There is no single fix for Explorer crashing since it can be caused by so many errant shells or user added programs. There's only a couple that are caused by Windows and your symptoms aren't related. The only way to find the cause is a tedious one. Since the problem occurs in Safe Mode too, I suspect it's a shell extension causing the problem. Follow the steps in this Troubleshooter. Concentrate on Item 1 until completed.

Thanks, Carwiz, for your helpful suggestion.

I've been testing shell extensions by disabling them in ShellExView prior to restarting Windows. I haven't tested all the non-Microsoft extensions. So far, though, I've discovered that when several extensions are enabled, Windows Explorer crashes. I tested one program when logged in as a different user after restarting twice. Each time Windows Explorer crashed. When I logged in as a different user in Safe Mode, Explorer didn't crash. There are only three extensions out of fifteen tested that haven't caused Explorer to crash in Standard Mode when enabled.

Given these results, I wonder if there's a way I can determine why twelve of the extensions tested cause Explorer to crash. Most if not all of these programs are useful so I'd prefer to have them running on start-up, if it can be done without causing Explorer to crash. Do you have any ideas about that you can share?

Hi Carwiz,

Most of the software I installed was installed in Program Files folders. I don't see how they can be specific to a user.

I ran the sfc command several times. The first time it found corrupted system files and fixed them. Every time after that it reported no integrity violations. It's unlikely that the result would be different if I run the command again, since no big changes have taken place on my system since I ran a repair installation two weeks ago. I've run malware and antivirus programs several times since then.

I modified my system's registry with the WER_Explorer.reg Captain Jack Sparrow recommended. The next time Explorer crashed a .dmp file was produced. Where can I upload this file for review by Windows 7 Forums? I have the Windows SDK debugging tools but I haven't used them yet, so I can use an objective review of the .dmp file by an experienced Windows user.

The dump file is attached in .zip format.