explorer.exe is resource hungry

Alas, this is not a joyous report of success but yet another question. I really ought to go out and buy another computer, but something keeps me trudging along with this problem. It is becoming a saga.

The thread that you link to concerning repair install, seems to believe that I should hace a Windows 7 installation DVD that came with the computer. I don't. I suppose that it's possible that I have lost it the last 18 months, but that seems unkikely, as I have not managed 2/3 other disks that came with the computer, which are tucked away safely in the laptop bag. Is it possible to repair install without a disk? I have no idea. I could get in touch with Dell I guess, and get them to send me one.

Utter fail. *Beats hands on floor, begging for mercy*

You link to a Windows download manager, which I have downloaded and installed. The tool needs an ISO file to build the installation disk, which I don't have. I have scoured my hard drive for such a file, but there is none.

I have then gone to Dell for some clue as to how to achieve this repair install. I would have emailed them, but because my laptop is six months out of warranty, they do not grant me the luxury of sending them an email. Instead, I was directed to their forums, where I had a brief look, the gist of the stuff I seemed to be reading was 'fat chance if you think you are getting an installation DVD from Dell'.

What about Microsoft? I'm sure that this is a valid copy of windows, as there is a product key listed in my system properties. Is there any chance of giving them this product key and purchasing a copy from them?

I refuse to believe that the solution to this problem is to buy another computer. Please somebody help me, I beg of you.

Hi i had similar problem and with a cold boot i was able to solve the problem. You should give it a try, might help you to atleast determine what is causing this problem.

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista or in Windows 7

Also do you have lots of files under my document? Try moving them to different partition or other removable drive. A old thread in wilders says it help. Give it a try. who knows might help too.

solution to explorer.exe using too much memory - Wilders Security Forums

If these too fail proceed with your reinstallation
Good luck

Hello all,

Thanks for the reply gautam7, I will look into your possible solutions soon.

I have made some progress with this issue (of a sort). I reviewed the thread in detail and identified one step that I had not taken. I booted into the setup with F8 and performed a full Dell system restore; this is an option that I had previously missed and probably the reason why Dell don't send you an installation disk. The system restore ran just fine, and restored my system back to the setup that it originally came with 18 months ago. The hard drive was formatted and we went right back to how Windows looks straight out of the box. What's more it solved the problem! I kept my eye on explorer.exe for about an hour, and it constantly stayed at <40MB. My joy was unbridled, I even thought about splashing out on some champagne but managed to restrain myself.

I then set about personalising Windows, and restoring my system to a useable state. These are the things that I did, I may have forgotten something but I don't think so:

• Install iTunes.
• Install Google Chrome
• Move backed up music to C:\
• Move backed up pictures to 'My Pictures'
• Personalise Windows desktop
• Uninstall superfluous programs
• Remove superfluous startup programs in msconfig

All of the above steps are integral to how I use the laptop. I am determined not to let it get so untidy again, so I checked task manager again to see the performance, Lo an behold, the explorer.exe problem has returned. The process is sat there now running at 425MB.

Am I chasing a problem that isn't there? The computer is still running and working OK. I have a desktop background cycling through pictures in 'My Pictures'. Could that be legitmately using this amount of memory. It seems like an awful lot of memory to me.

gautam7 has just asked me if I have lots of files under 'My Documents'. Well, I have 50GB of pictures in 'My Pictures'. Is that a lot? I don't know. Isn't this directory where you are supposed to put your pictures?

Hello all,

I've done it! Well, actually, I've done nothing at all.

The problem was indeed was my cycling desktop wallpaper. Turn it off, and the problem goes away. I never would have thought this Windows process would use so much memory.

Ironically, I've decided to leave the cycling wallpaper on. I like it, and I guess that I can live with the slight dent in performance.

Thank you to everyone who has assisted me in this thread. I have isolated the problem which isn't a problem after all. I am a happy man again.