Windows 10: Explorer.exe crashes every 2-3 times a file is opened from folder

So my laptop is running Windows 10 Home Insider Preview, build 10565, updated from its native Windows 8.1 OS via the free upgrade several months ago. About two weeks ago, I got an update for Windows which I'm assuming was the update to build 10565. Aside from the myriad of other problems this update produced, most of which I've been able to solve myself, it seems Explorer.exe crashes (the current folder window closes, taskbar icons disappear and then reappear after a few seconds) every 2-3 or so files that are opened. If I open the program first, say Foxit PDF reader, and open the files from there, no problem whatsoever. I just, today, had this also happen when opening a file on my desktop.

Not sure if this is relevant or not but before, this crash would also kill my Synaptics touchpad driver, with no seeming way of turning it back on besides restarting the computer. I had to uninstall the driver (version 19.0.6.3) and downgrade to the version on my Toshiba's driver list for my laptop (version 18.1.7.17). That seemed to fix that aspect of it, but it's starting to kill me that I can't open anything from the folder window, it's such a huge inconvenience. Any help that anyone could offer would be extremely appreciated!

:)

 

File Explorer causes Explorer.exe crash

Hi,

After upgrading to Windows 10 from 7, I'm having issue using File explorer. Every time when I double click to open a folder or click any folder on the left Nav-window, the explorer.exe will crash.

When I check the Event Viewer I saw following errors:

Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 10.0.10586.306, time stamp: 0x571af645

Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 10.0.10586.306, time stamp: 0x571af2eb

Exception code: 0xc0000005

Fault offset: 0x0000000000016d10

Faulting process id: 0x38dc

Faulting application start time: 0x01d1baa6988068c8

Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe

Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll

Report Id: bae4cc71-0e88-42cd-9bac-dd1b5933cd12

Faulting package full name:

Faulting package-relative application ID:

I've tried following solutions:

1. Reinstall the graphic and audio drivers

2. Unistall update; Reset Display Scaling and so on in this link: File Explorer Crashing on Windows 10

3. Explorer crashing repeatedly in Win 10 Ver 1511: explorerframe.dll culprit?.

But none of them worked for me.

I don't want to do a reset since there are lots of dev applications installed.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

Explorer.exe Crashes

Recently on a number of laptop's within my company we have been experiencing Explorer.exe crashing. This happens when they do multiple tasks e.g. opening a folder, opening a file within a folder, creating a folder. As you might imagine this is very frustrating
for them.

I have run the standard sfc & DISM scans, disabled any and all third party file explorer addons. It still crashes from a clean boot and from safe mode.

Upon looking at event viewer the crashes seem to be due to windows.storage.dll and occasionally ntdll.dll

e.g.

Description

Faulting Application Path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe

Problem signature

Problem Event Name: APPCRASH

Application Name: explorer.exe

Application Version: 10.0.14393.479

Application Timestamp: 58258a90

Fault Module Name: windows.storage.dll

Fault Module Version: 10.0.14393.479

Fault Module Timestamp: 58258b70

Exception Code: c000041d

Exception Offset: 00000000001c6267

OS Version: 10.0.14393.2.0.0.256.48

Locale ID: 2057

Additional Information 1: 7cb2

Additional Information 2: 7cb2c72c4ec5a461b48431651d5275a2

Additional Information 3: 665e

Additional Information 4: 665e89f85ff8ad5f8318694d125d0615

Extra information about the problem

Bucket ID: 9b2cc6a425d76d0715b99b8f0dea5132 (120631408236)

It is possible to mitigate the crashes somewhat by turning on "Launch folder windows in a separate process", by doing this explorer.exe still crashes however the folder you are on at the time does not crash.

The crash is happening on almost all W10 PC's on the network regardless of make/model.

I can "fix" the crash by recreating the users profile but it seems to come back after a week or so. Also if I copy the appdata folder from old profile into the new profile the crash seems to come back
instantly.

I have taken some logs of the crash across three different PC's which can be found on this onedrive link ->New folder (2)

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

 

Hi NewtonsTeutons and welcome to Tenforums.

A few questions for you regarding explorer.exe crashing:
Did you *not* have this problem when running the v10240 RTM?
Have you ever done a clean install of W10, or are you working only from upgrades?
If you set Edge to be the default PDF reader, does the problem persist?
What other types of files have had this happen, and with what programs are they opening?
What anti-virus are you using, and, if it is 3rd-party, does the problem persist if you disable/turn off the AV?

What were some of the other problems that you have already resolved?

Please search Reliability and select View Reliability History. Click on the red X items and see what is listed under Critical Events. This may provide some clues as to what's happening.

There also may be some incompatibility issues with Toshiba software causing these problems. So, you might try uninstalling any Toshiba non-critical software that you don't need. If you do this, be sure to turn off Fast Startup and do complete shutdowns/startups (not restarts).

If you did not have this problem in the RTM, you may want to try reverting back to 10240RTM, by opting out of the Insider program, OR, a clean install of 10565 (either using your ESD file, or by downloading the ISO from MS). Please be sure your data AND YOUR DRIVERS are backed up first.

With regards to your touchpad issue: it's not uncommon to need the drivers specific to the manufacturer of the system, especially Toshiba (as I have found with my Satellite laptop). You may need to disable automatic driver updates, so it doesn't keep installing the newer touchpad driver through Windows Update.

 

First off, thanks for replying to my post - I really appreciate the help.

1. I did not have this problem when I first upgraded to Windows 10 (around July 3rd) via the Insider Preview option. I'm assuming that build was v10240, but even if it wasn't I can say for certain that this problem didn't begin until about 1-2 weeks ago when I updated to the Build 10565.
2. I have not done a clean install of W10, this is just from the upgrades.
3. This actually worked! I set Edge as the default and tried opening about 20 files with no crash. However, it only seems to work for PDF files, as opening other file types still causes the crash. I vastly prefer Foxit as my PDF reader, so I'd rather try and find a solution to the underlying problem than simply be forced to switch to alternative applications for everything.
4. From those I can remember, it has happened with Word docs, Powerpoint and Excel files, text files (my default program is still Notepad), several .exe application files, and a .diagcab file opened from my desktop.
5. I'm just using Windows Defender - I was using Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 on W8.`1, but after my W10 upgrade it was MIA outside of some leftover program files. Since problems with the new W10 build started, I thought to go fully remove KIS 2015 from my computer which helped with a problem where "AntiMalware Service Executable" was taking up loads of CPU. I should note that I also use MBAM Premium, and would be willing to go back to Kaspersky if that would help, assuming I can get it working.

Some of the problems included ridiculously slow startup and shutdown times, which have been partially mitigated by turning off several programs at startup, stopping "Java Update Checker", uninstalling Java Development Kit and the remnants of Kaspersky. Besides several other small issues that don't come to mind immediately, I installed an update to Itunes the other day that caused a bsod upon restart. Completely unable to boot into W10 or complete any of the recovery options, I spent several harrowing hours trying to get my files off using command prompt at startup and eventually found a command that allowed me to successfully revert to a Restore Point from a week ago. No bsod since, fingers crossed.

Reliability history is just chock full of "Windows Explorer stopped working" critical events since 10/18, which I believe was the day the new build installed. Besides those and the Synaptics crashes that I already solved, the only other semi-consistent entries are several events where "Windows Connection Manager" and "Windows Shell Experience Host" stopped working. The problem details for the the most recent of the Explorer crash entries is attached in a text file

Disabled Fast Startup and tried shutting down and turning it back on to see if it changed the problem at all - it did not. I haven't yet gone to delete all the Toshiba programs on my laptop, but I'll try that next and report back. Since you happen to have a Satellite yourself, it would help if you happen to know whether Toshiba's "System Settings" or "Service Station" apps are fine to uninstall along with the rest.

I've already used the "Show/Hide Updates" troubleshooter downloaded from Microsoft to hide several driver updates I know to be problematic, but I haven't found a way to disable driver updates completely being in the W10 Home Insider preview program. I also haven't gone back and re-installed the drivers listed on Toshiba's website for my laptop, the drivers are all for Windows 8.1 and I'm afraid they'll cause my computer to act up. Technically, my laptop is not on Toshiba's "W10 upgradable" list, but this model is less than 12 months old and I've been told several times that it should be fine. Do you think it's safe to install Toshiba's 8.1 drivers?

And as to opt-ing out of the Insider program, I think that might be my best choice if I can't find any other solutions to this problem. The only reason I joined in the first place was to use all of the new Xbox One Preview features that required Windows 10 back in July. If I choose to opt out of the program, do I just click on "Stop Insider Preview Builds" in the Windows Update section of Settings? Will that bring me back to 10240RTM, or do I have to use the "Go back to an earlier build" option in Recovery? Like I said way back when, my free upgrade of W10 was through the Insider Preview program, I don't have Product Key. Will that be a problem?

Sorry that this response got so lengthy, I was trying to be thorough and got a bit carried away. I understand if you don't want to read and respond to a small essay, so I appreciate whatever you have time to give me.

 

The last question: Opt out of insider program and go back to previous build. Be sure to do a backup of r files in case something goes wrong!

 

@NewtonsTeutons please give me a few to respond - I have been gone for a while and I want to thoroughly read your reply.

 

I did not have this problem when I first upgraded to Windows 10 (around July 3rd) via the Insider Preview option. I'm assuming that build was v10240, but even if it wasn't I can say for certain that this problem didn't begin until about 1-2 weeks ago when I updated to the Build 10565. TP10162 was released to the fast ring July 2; slow ring July 6.
TP 10166 was released to the fast ring July 9
10240RTM was July 29th

If you have continued on fast ring, you would have continued through TP10525, 10532, and 10547. Two weeks ago you would have gotten TP10565. (This is the build I am on, without issue BTW.) The most current is TP10576, released 5 days ago to fast ring.

I have not done a clean install of W10, this is just from the upgrades. Okay. The reason I ask this, is because, if there are any "issues" with the system, they will carry over - possibly not showing until later - kind of lurking around waiting for a new build to completely break things.

- Have you installed any programs between the time it was working well, and now? If so, please remove them and see if the issue is resolved.

This actually worked! I set Edge as the default and tried opening about 20 files with no crash. However, it only seems to work for PDF files, as opening other file types still causes the crash. I vastly prefer Foxit as my PDF reader, so I'd rather try and find a solution to the underlying problem than simply be forced to switch to alternative applications for everything Yes, I agree - you should be able to use a 3rd party program. I am not aware of Foxit having any issues with W10.

From those I can remember, it has happened with Word docs, Powerpoint and Excel files, text files (my default program is still Notepad), several .exe application files, and a .diagcab file opened from my desktop. Something is not playing nice with W10. We can try to troubleshoot, if you like:
If you haven't already, run system file checker (option #3)
We are looking for "no integrity violations found". If it says it found some but was unable to fix them, please run it at least 3 times, rebooting in-between each run.
Then please try a clean boot, and see if the problem persists.

-What version Office do you have installed?

I'm just using Windows Defender - I was using Kaspersky Internet Security 2015 on W8.`1, but after my W10 upgrade it was MIA outside of some leftover program files. Since problems with the new W10 build started, I thought to go fully remove KIS 2015 from my computer which helped with a problem where "AntiMalware Service Executable" was taking up loads of CPU. I should note that I also use MBAM Premium, and would be willing to go back to Kaspersky if that would help, assuming I can get it working. Yes, 3rd party AVs should be uninstalled BEFORE upgrading to W10. The upgrade process will remove them if they are found, but it's not the best solution, as some things may be left behind (as you found out). Kaspersky is very good, and I've seen posts here of members using it without issue in W10, however, it was always (re-)installed AFTER upgrading. For right now, however, I would stay with Defender and the paid version of MBAM. If you used their removal tool, you should be okay now. If not, please try it now.

Some of the problems included ridiculously slow startup and shutdown times, which have been partially mitigated by turning off several programs at startup, stopping "Java Update Checker", uninstalling Java Development Kit and the remnants of Kaspersky. Besides several other small issues that don't come to mind immediately, I installed an update to Itunes the other day that caused a bsod upon restart. Completely unable to boot into W10 or complete any of the recovery options, I spent several harrowing hours trying to get my files off using command prompt at startup and eventually found a command that allowed me to successfully revert to a Restore Point from a week ago. No bsod since, fingers crossed. Hmmm....So, we have a backup of all user files now? Good!

Reliability history is just chock full of "Windows Explorer stopped working" critical events since 10/18, which I believe was the day the new build installed. Besides those and the Synaptics crashes that I already solved, the only other semi-consistent entries are several events where "Windows Connection Manager" and "Windows Shell Experience Host" stopped working. The problem details for the the most recent of the Explorer crash entries is attached in a text file Yeah, I was thinking it's a shell problem. This is getting quite complicated, and I am leaning towards a clean install.

To be quite honest, here's what I did on my Satellite: Backed up my files and drivers, and pulled the original hard drive out. Put in a new, empty HDD and installed TP9926 last year. So, I've had no Toshiba bloatware whatsoever. W10 has installed compatible drivers for everything except graphics, which I pulled from my backup. And, I've upgraded all the way through since then without issue.

I checked on your model at the Toshiba forums and they indicate that the list of supported systems in still being updated, and your model should appear on the list eventually. Listen, my Satellite originally came with Vista, supporting upgrade to W7 - that's how old it is, and it works fine.

If you opt-out of Insider Preview Program, it will put you back to 10240RTM. It will take a couple reboots to accomplish this - please make sure Fast Startup is still off. STILL, I am not convinced that will permanently resolve your problems, and they will creep up again in the future.....there is an update to RTM due out this month...

Nope, don't apologize - I wish more people would be more precise with their issues; it helps us when we are trying to troubleshoot.

Here is my ultimate recommendation:

sfc /scannow and Clean Boot (as mentioned above)
If you can't identify the culprit this way, then

Clean install
Make sure all files and drivers are backed up, and paid program install media and keycodes are available.
You can backup drivers using Driver Magician LITE
Run chkdsk /f /r to make sure your hard drive is in good shape.
Verify your system is indeed activated.
Disconnect all external components (external HDDs, flash drives, second monitors, etc.)
follow instructions here, keeping nothing when it asks.

It should not ask you for a keycode when installing (if you are already activated). If it does, you may have downloaded the wrong version for your system.

I think the clean install is the way to go really. Getting rid of Toshiba bloatware (HotKeys, and all that other stuff) will probably do the trick. And any leftovers from Kaspersky will be gone as well.

I would also recommend you do yourself a favor and put Macrium Reflect Free on there right after you clean install and make an image of your disk on an external drive. Then, install your programs one at a time, verifying all is working properly after each install, and make another image. Verify your images either while making them, or afterwards separately, but do verify them at some point. There's nothing worse than depending on an image that's no good.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

EDIT:

Yes, Stop Insider Preview Builds will take you back to the most recent RTM which is 10240. (But, again, I do think that, without a clean install, these same problems will creep up in the future.)