Any solutions to a hanging(freezing) windows explorer?

[sreedhav]

Dear friends,
I request you all to pitch in with your experiences regarding the 1)problems (if at all) you faced with Windows Explorer while using the Windows 7 and any solutions or fixes you applied to overcome them! Your assessment as to the cause of the problem is vital!

I am posting this specific thread concerning a freezeing or hanging W-E (Win.Explorer), as this appears to be a running thread from the days of Win.XP (I have not used Win.98).

Different folks have suggested different causes and different fixes! Yet, there is no glossing over the fact that the prob. persists.

I have a gut feeling that with all of you having your say, a consensus may emerge as to what are the more common causes to look for and the specific fixes to be applied vis-a-vis Win.7! I crave your involvement and you may take off from this thread started in middle of 2008 by a sacred soul (all souls are sacred!) : http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/801-right-click-hangs-explorer-exe-windows-7-a.html

Regards and thanks,
Sreedhav.

 

[brianzion]

one main reason there is explorer crashes or freezes are due to programs using the context menu or the *shell*.I use a program (as i am sure many users use) shellxview by nirsoft to correct issues, please read the quote from there website.

Description
Shell Extensions are in-process COM objects which extends the abilities of Windows operating system. Most shell extensions are automatically installed by the operating system, but there are also many other applications that install additional shell extension components. For example: If you install WinZip on your computer, you'll see a special WinZip menu when you right-click on a Zip file. This menu is created by adding a shell extension to the system.
The ShellExView utility displays the details of shell extensions installed on your computer, and allows you to easily disable and enable each shell extension.

ShellExView can be used for solving context-menu problems in Explorer environment. For more information, read the following article: :ar: Right-click is slow or weird behavior caused by context menu handlers

DOWNLOAD SELF-INSTALL EXECUTABLE :ar: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview_setup.exe

DOWNLOAD ZIP FILE :ar: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.zip

DOWNLOAD SHELLXVIEW FOR X64 :ar: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview-x64.zip

NIRSOFT WEBSITE :ar: ShellExView - Shell Extension Manager For Windows

 

[gregrocker]

Win7 troubleshooting fundamentals

 

[brianzion]

You need a good registry cleaner and pc optimizer program.

have to disagree with you here these programs can do more harm than good windows 7 registry was designed to look after itself and the hive is allowed to grow larger than vista/xp when you un-install programs there will be left over entries 80% of the time.
when you use the built in un-installers they leave bits behind i recommend using revo un-installer program.

LINK >>> Revo Uninstaller Pro - Uninstall Software, Remove Programs easily

Revo Uninstaller Pro
Revo Uninstaller Pro helps you to uninstall software and remove unwanted programs installed on your computer easily! Even if you have problems uninstalling and cannot uninstall them from "Windows Add or Remove Programs" control panel applet.
Revo Uninstaller is a much faster and more powerful alternative to "Windows Add or Remove Programs" applet! It has very powerful features to uninstall and remove programs.

 

[gregrocker]

You need a good registry cleaner and pc optimizer program.

These are mostly sales scam operations which cause many of the performance problems we see here. Do not use them. Win7 requires no tweaking beyond normal system settings changes - it will always come back to bite you.

The only cleaner which is needed for Win7 is the most highly regarded app in the tech world, CCleaner. On it's Disk tab Run Cleaner, then on its Registry tab Scan for Issues, back up and Fix issues found.

I also run the free Auslogics Disk and Registry defraggers with no problems for ten years.

The steps for troubleshooting are given in my earlier post.