Windows 10: explorer.exe will not run other than in safe mode

With Windows 10 installed when I login I end up with a black screen (except for the applications that load during startup). All the searches I have done for this problem always bring up other black screen problems that don't appear to match the one I have.

1. I can ctrl-alt-del to start the task manager and run anything I like successfully from there except explorer which shuts itself down again immediately.

2. I can start up in safe mode and choose between having the screen display everything correctly using the correct display driver but without networking or I can get networking but with everything on the screen stretched out of shape.

3. With all the startup programs and services disabled I still get the same black screen with explorer refusing to start so it isn't any of those causing the conflict.

I am out of ideas for what to try next. I even started over again (it looked like Win10 got stuck in a rebooting loop when I tried to restore back to Win 7, I gave up after about the tenth or so reboot and deleted the partition from the drive), recopying windows 7 and then upgrading to Windows 10 over again only to end up with the exact same result. This second attempt was over a month after the first attempt so there were quite a few updates to Windows 7 that I installed in between the two tries.

:)

 

BlackScreen appearing when rebooted after installation of windows update 1511 build 10586.494

If you can see Task Manager you can go into Details and confirm that explorer.exe is not running; then that would explain all your other symptoms. You could try restarting explorer.exe using TM's File, New... command.

Typically the reason that explorer.exe would not be working is that it would have crashed, probably as a resulting of another incompatible system product's interference. You could try booting in safe mode to see if explorer.exe would still crash then.
That would be a first step in a clean-boot diagnosis.

i tried rebooting through safe mode(through msconfig), explorer.exe doesnt start in there too..

i dont know which product is incompatible with the system though...

 

Explorer.exe not starting at all

Hello Arjun,

Explorer.exe is supposed to start-up automatically. In case it does not, a virus infection can be one possible cause of this issue and it may be blocking it from running. We recommend that you start Windows in
safe mode and see if explorer.exe starts. If it does, we can say that something is interfering with it in normal
boot up. Run a full system virus scan while on safe mode to remove any infections if any and reboot your computer.

Let us know if you will need further assistance.

 

Hi, I had a similar experience when I first installed Win 10 as an upgrade from 8.1. In my case, there was a conflicting program installed- Aeroglass. Since you're upgrading from '7 you won't have that particular program!

So you could try to think or research if there is a program you have installed in '7 that is causing a problem (I've seen only a very few mentioned).

I also experienced the stretched screen display on my second (successful) upgrade (having uninstalled Aeroglass first), but in normal mode. That was for about 5 hours, during which I noticed I had a basic MS graphics driver installed. Fortunately the Nvidia driver was installed automatically by the time I started looking at this, and the problem was solved.

In order to make this easy -sorry - easier! - make sure you take disk images at key points (so you can revert to that same state easily). Use e.g. Macrium Reflect or Aomei Backupper...etc and remember to create the boot disk. So, for example, image your Windows 7 before attempting the upgrade.

Turning now to the automatic repair loop- which I experience any time my laptop has a thermal shutdown- the only way I've found to escape is pretty horrible. Power down you PC. Power it up, and after a second or so, suddenly switch it off, disconnect it. Yes, I know, horrible. Wait, press the power button. Reconnect, power up (=cold boot) and hopefully your boot sequence will be normal.

 

I am assuming that is the problem but I am unable to figure out which program it is. I tried turning off everything that was being started with the operating system (including disabling as many services as I could) and it makes no difference.

 

Hi, not sure we're quite saying the same thing. If there is a conflicting program installed under '7, you need to uninstall it before upgrading. I recall for example if there's a replacement start menu installed, you need to uninstall it. You may find more suggestions. I found a very specific conflict with a tiny program called Powermenu, but mostly Win 10 ran ok by then.

On the other hand, you can actually log in normally- which I couldn't when I upgraded with Aeroglass installed.

Do you have any themes or mods applied- WindowBlinds or programs that modify explorer in any way like Qttabbar in Win 7?

When you are in Win 10 in Safe Mode, what graphic driver is installed?
(Also some recommend uninstalling your AV/firewall (I left Bitdefender in place, and the upgrade succeeded, but then Bitdefender told me I had to install a new version anyway. Someone else had a massive log folder generated in Macafee that took most of there spare space. OK, not your particular problem, but you see what I mean).

 

A couple of other thoughts:
In Win 10, see if you can find anything of interest using event viewer to identify the explorer crash.
Research e.g. "Windows " upgrade conflicting programs

 

MS suggests:
Once your PC is in Safe Mode, reinstall your display adapter driver.

• Type device manager into the search box on the taskbar, and then select Device Manager.
  
• Expand Display adapter.
  
• Right-click the display adapter and select Uninstall > OK.
  
• Restart your PC.

 

I can get the correct display driver to run as long as I select the right option within safe mode.

I don't have any mods on the desktop installed and the only theme is one selected from what came with the OS.

I'll look into what the event viewer shows. Thanks for that suggestion. Hopefully it will give me the clue I need to figure it out.

 

The only application error coming up in the eventviewer is:

Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 10.0.10240.16431, time stamp: 0x55c9b75e
Faulting module name: FileMonitor32.dll, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x4dad5732
Exception code: 0xc00000fd

 

If you wish, you can try disable all the 3rd party shell extensionsthat can cause explorer to crash, unresponsise, laggy etc...:
Right Click on Desktop take long time to show up - Windows 10 Forums

 

Hi, filemonitor32.dll isn't on my PC. It could be interesting to determine what it belongs to if not MS. Have a look at its properties- it might give a useful clue, if it is indeed related to your desktop not showing.

So what I understand is- in normal mode you can log in, but your screen is then black- no desktop. (I misread your post initially- sorry). Further, if you try to launch explorer from the task manager, it doesn't. (Could you confirm you've tried that?).

 

.. should add properties of filemonitor32.dll might give you a clue what to try disabling using shellexview as topgundcp suggests.. Otherwise a 'binary chop' approach with shellexview is good- make sure you hide all MS items first!

 

Here's what it is:
FileMonitor32.dll Windows process - What is it?

 

& bad news for Power Desk:
Problems with Avanquest Powerdesk 9 Pro - Microsoft Community

But no implication there it was causing your symptom. However, best would seem to be to uninstall it and go from there.