Windows Explorer: Navigation Pane and Preview Pane Bug

[AdHawk]

When I open an instance of windows explorer, the navigation pane show little or nothing (no drives, folders, etc.). Also the preview pane does not show a preview for any selected files (See Capture1.JPG).
If I open a second (or higher) instance of windows explorer, the navigation pane functions properly (the preview still does not show) (See Capture2.JPG).
I have previews set to show (See Capture3.JPG).
Also occasionally, the file icons will be blank instead of showing the file type specific icon. When this happens, the address bar also seems to take a long time to load. The load bar will stop before reaching the end and won't finish (See Capture4.JPG).

Does anyone know what is going on or how to fix this?

FYI I am running 64 bit Windows 7 Pro.

 

[Callender]

Try Explorer++ and see if you get the same problem.

Need to enable "Folders" view.

​

If it works then you can rule out problems with system files and it's probably a buggy shell extension.

https://explorerplusplus.com/

It's portable and runs without installation.

Let us know if navigation pane works using Explorer++

 

[AdHawk]

The Navigation Pane seems to work fine in Explorer++. If it is a buggy shell extension what is the solution?

 

[Callender]

Buggy shell extension

There's no quick solution other than to disable all non microsoft shell extensions then re-enable them in smalll groups until the problem re-appears. It can be tricky to track down.

If you like you can download UVK and run a scan with the following settings applied:



Download: UVK - Ultra Virus Killer - free version.

Once installed right click the desktop icon and choose "Run as admin" then choose "Scan and Create Log"

Note: Don't run any fixes or mess about with the other features.

Upload the results. It should show anything that integrates with explorer and creates a right click context menu entry for drives, folders or files.

It's a good place to start looking.