Windows 10: Explorer Crashing

Thankfully I didn't have to do that (particularly with my recent experience having to do it 2 weeks ago).

 

I'm having issues with 1803 where Explorer is crashing. My desktop background will go away, icons go away, start menu/taskbar doesn't show. After a few seconds, it reappears.

This is a fresh install on a newly formatted hard disk.

:)

 

Windows 10 File Explorer Crashing and Restarting On All 4 Of My Computers

I began using Explorer++ because File Explorer is near unusable. Unfortunately, it wasn't perfect either because it still caused explorer to crash when Explorer++ would use File Explorer or shell functions. When I did a re-install of Windows 10, I did not
install Explorer++ until File Explorer started failing. For test purposes, I've delete Explorer++ it and cleaned up the registry (there's no install/uninstall app).

When I open "Recent Items" in %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows, explorer crashes.

In Safe Mode, opening Recent Items does not cause explorer to crash however, it still crashes when creation a folder and still shows double libraries etc.

 

control panel

Hi John,

One of the .CPL files may be crashing Explorer. Try #1 and #2 in this checklist:

http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/troubleshoot-explorer-crashes-checklist/

 

First, run Command Prompt as admin, type sfc /scannow to check for any corrupt system files.

Could be one of your drivers doesn't play nice with 1803.
You can use a program like Driver Booster to check for driver updates.

Also, you can use Process Hacker to see what programs are using explorer.exe

 

I did that and sfc didn't show anything.

I think it was the Carbonite app that caused it. I had canceled the installation, and it first occurred with it. After reinstalling it, things are ok now.

 

Just a general observation, perhaps unrelated to your recent Explorer woes: Sometimes, applications that tie into system services like the Volume Shadow Copy Service (important to all forms of backup, including Carbonite) don't do well when taken through an upgrade. Your uninstall/reinstall approach is exactly right for attempting to troubleshoot such things. Many folks uninstall 3rd-party AV/antimalware packages before an upgrade for that same general reason (such tools tie deeply into the file system to block "bad stuff" from finding its way in), then reinstall them when the upgrade is complete.
Good work!
--Ed--

 

@EdTittel I did a clean install (due to the issues with my username directory change causing QuickBooks to lock up and not being able to uninstall/reinstall a copy). I was in the process of installing Carbonite, but then canceled it for some reason I can't remember. That's when the issue started. It resolved after I ran the Carbonite installer again and actually installed the program.

 

Thanks for the explanation, @ericnixmd. Sounds like something did get knocked sideways. Reinstalling the app apparently straightened things back up. Lucky for you! Otherwise, you might have had to do an in-place upgrade repair install or (worst case) another clean install.
--Ed--