Explorer and IE 8 issue with Windows 7 - HELP

[AC1965]

Hi There, I up-graded my Vista PC to windows 7 on the weekend. So far so good.
Next step was to right click the desktop to personalise my PC. This is where the problems start.
I keep getting the following window opening "Windows Explorer has stopped working".
Ok, so I thought I would check control panel. Same message. I can't open any windows based file.
Next I tried to open IE 8. This time the IE page opens but then crashes and says "Internet Explorer has stopped working". Lucky I had firefox on the desktop otherwise I wouldn't even be able to write this.
I checked task manager and explorer.exe is working in the process tab, so why can't I open anything ?
I can't even access the hard drive.
HELP !!!

 

[maranello]

is it a 32 or 64 version ? maybe there is something wrong with some drivers...or even hardware issues, maybe somebody will know how to help you

if you want to access the hdd, try this in firefox: file > open file, then right click on your hdd and select open in new window

 

[AC1965]

it's 32 bit
cheers re opening the hdd in firefox
If anyone can help in fixing the windows explorer or IE 8 it will be greatly appreciated

 

[H2SO4]

Don't automatically assume that the Windows Explorer and IE crashes are related. They might be, but in the absence of evidence it's best to treat them as separate problems.

Re IE, there's a description in the "tutorials" section of the site covering the process of performing an IE reset. In a nutshell, you deactivate the non-default add-ons running "inside" the IE process and the crash should stop.

Re the Windows Explorer crash, test what happens if you boot the machine to safe mode (press F8 at startup). The subsequent approach to troubleshooting depends on the outcome of that test.