Solved Windows Explorer has stopped working - one solution

TanyaC

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I was going to post a message asking for help with a Windows Explorer has stopped working problem.. but I found the solution first and I thought others might find it useful.

The Symptom: The "Windows Explorer has stopped working" message appears randomly. After some testing I found that opening a particular drive on my system would trigger the error after about 30 seconds.

Then I noticed in task manager that explorer.exe was using 25-50% CPU and my RAM usage started increasing. When it got to 75% the error message appeared.

The cause turned out to be a corrupt file entry.

I had to go to a CMD prompt. From there changing to the problem drive did not trigger the error. I copied the files to another drive then formatted the drive.

Then from a CMD prompt, and with an explorer window open for the problem drive I copied files back one at a time until the problem occured.

I couldn't delete the file from the problem drive, so once I identified the file I formatated the drive, deleted the bad file from the location I had copied it to and copied all other files back to the formatted drive.

Dont know if there is an easier way, was the only way I could fix it.. tried it in safe mode but the errors didn't occur in safe mode so there was lots of reboots.

If you have this error, the cause may be a corrupt file.

I am on WIndows 7 ultimate x64 with all latest patches installed.

Hope this helps someone....
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Made
OS
Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon | Win 7 Ult x64
CPU
Intel I7-3770K @ 4.2ghz
Motherboard
ASRock Extreme 4
Memory
32GB G-Skill C10Q
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 670 2GB SC
Sound Card
Creative Fatality ExtremeGamer
Monitor(s) Displays
LG E2742V x 2
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
256GB Vertex 4 SSD
2TB Seagate ST2000DM001
1TB Seagate ST1000DM003
PSU
Corsair HX 650
Case
HAF 932 advanced
Cooling
Corsair H100i liquid cooler
Keyboard
Logitech Wireless
Mouse
Logitech Wireless
Internet Speed
OptusNet NBN 100/40
Antivirus
Malwarebytes
Browser
Firefox 30
Other Info
Router: Sagemcom F@st 3846 Crippled by Optus.
Thanks for posting this, I'm sure that it will help others!
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home built (x64), Lenovo x61s Tablet, Samsung Netbook
OS
Win7 x64 + x86
CPU
Intel i7 920, other Intel chips, and the Atom in the netbook
Motherboard
Asus P6T Deluxe
Memory
12 gB; 4 gB Lenovo; 1 gB Samsung netbook
Graphics Card(s)
ATI 4870
Sound Card
Yes, I have one of these
Monitor(s) Displays
32" Sharp Aquos TV
Screen Resolution
800x600 - I have vision issues
Hard Drives
4 - 150 gB Velociraptors in RAID 5
Promise controller
PSU
1000 watt (can't recall the brand)
Case
Antec 300
Cooling
Big honking cooler that was rated highly at Toms Hardware
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural
Mouse
Logitech Trackman
Internet Speed
Cable
Other Info
GeekSquad UPS
CyberPower UPS
DLink DNS-323 NAS (2 tB)
Netgear wireless router as an access point
Netgear wired router FSV-318
Home network consists of
4 desktop computers (2 Vista, 2 Win7)
1 netbook (Win7)
4 laptop computers (XP, 2-Vista, Win7)
Wii and XBox 360
great advice

tenacious ..... I like that +1
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Gateway/NV7923u & NV79C52u Laptops
OS
windows 7 professional & ultimate 64bit laptops
CPU
2.27 boost to 2.53 & 2.53 boost to 2.80
Motherboard
Mobile Intel® HM55 Express Chipset ???
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator HD
Sound Card
realtek High-definition audio support
Monitor(s) Displays
17.3 " HD 1600 x 900
Hard Drives
hatachi Travelstar 5400 500GB & west digital 500GB
Internet Speed
35MB fios
>.< i encounter such problem. i formatted it 3 months ago. it'll be good if u posted this 3 months ago xD
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus A52J
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit.
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