Windows Explorer stops Responding when organizing and moving files

Question

I am running Vista Home Premium, When I try organising and moving files and folders on a non-boot partition on my hard drive windows explorer stops responding, what can i do to stop this happening?

Answer 1

create the hang dump.

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"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code" CLIP- Stellvertreter http://www.winvistaside.de/

Answer 2

Hi SpiritX etc, It is 32bit Vista HP I have and i have no problems with Explorer on C: drive i created the seperate partition to have as much files etc that are not related to the running of the system though there are files and programs on it that are also on C:  the problem came up when i tried to move font files both system and others in their own files into a single folder. My system came pre-installed so i do not have a disk to do a boot without any other programs etc, on it i have also managed to delete a lot of extras all games for instance which i did not want on my computer.

Answer 3

the explorer is not crashing it is hanging.

When the Explorer hangs the next time, create a hang dump of the Windows Explorer [1], compress the crash dump as 7z or RAR and upload it to your SkyDrive [2] and post the link here.

André

[1] http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/130005-creating-memory-dumps/

[2] http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itproui/thread/4fc10639-02db-4665-993a-08d865088d65

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"A programmer is just a tool which converts caffeine into code" CLIP- Stellvertreter http://www.winvistaside.de/

Answer 4

Hi,

Be sure to check the very last link.

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What antivirus/antispyware/security products do you have on machine? Include any you have EVER

had on this machine including those you uninstalled (they leave remnants behind which can cause

strange issues).

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Do these :

Start - type this in Search Box ->  COMMAND   find at top and RIGHT CLICK  -  RUN AS ADMIN

Enter this at the prompt - sfc /scannow

How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program

generates in Windows Vista cbs.log

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228

Also run CheckDisk so we can rule out corruption as much as possible.

How to Run Check Disk at Startup in Vista

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67612-check-disk-chkdsk.html

==========================================

After the above :

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

How to troubleshoot performance issues in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950685

Optimizing Microsoft Windows Vista Performance

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959062

To see all that is loading bootup - wait a few minutes without doing anything - then Right Click

TaskBar - Task Manager - take a look at Appplications - Processes - Services - this is a quick

reference (if you have a little box on Lower Left - Show for All Users then check that).

How to Check and Change the Startup Programs in Vista

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/79612-startup-programs-enable-disable.html

A quick check to see which are loading is Method 2 there - using MSCONFIG then post a list of

those here.

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Tools that should help :

Process Explorer - Free - Find out what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open,

which DLLs they have loaded, and more. This uniquely powerful utility will even show you who owns

each process.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx

Autoruns - Free - See what programs are configured to startup automatically when your system boots

and you login. Autoruns also shows you the full list of Registry and file locations where applications can

configure auto-start settings.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx

Process Monitor - Free - Monitor file system, Registry, process, thread and DLL activity in real-time.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

There are many excellent free tools at Sysinternals

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/default.aspx

WhatsInStartUP - Free - This utility displays the list of all applications that are loaded automatically

when Windows starts up. For each application, the following information is displayed: Startup Type (Registry/Startup Folder), Command -Line String, Product Name, File Version, Company Name,

Location in the Registry or file system, and more. It allows you to easily disable or delete unwanted

programs that runs in your Windows startup.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/what\_run\_in\_startup.html

There are many excellent free tools at NirSoft

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/index.html

Window Watcher - Free - Do you know what's running on your computer? Maybe not. The Window

Watcher tells all, reporting every window created by every running program, whether the window

is visible or not.

http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptwinwatch.asp

Many excellent free tools and an excellent newsletter at Karenware

http://www.karenware.com/

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Vista and Windows 7 love updated drivers so here is how to update the major ones.

This is my generic how to for proper driver updates :

This utility makes it easy to see which versions are loaded :

DriverView - Free - utility displays the list of all device drivers currently loaded on your system.

For each driver in the list, additional useful information is displayed: load address of the driver,

description, version, product name, company that created the driver, and more.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/driverview.html

For Drivers check System Maker as fallbacks and Device Maker's which are the most current.

Control Panel - Device Manager - Display Adapter - write down the make and complete model

of your video adapter - double click - Driver's tab - write down the version info. Now click UPdate

Driver (this may not do anything as MS is far behind certifying drivers) - then Right Click -

Uninstall - REBOOT this will refresh the driver stack.

Repeat that for Network - Network Card (NIC), Wifi, Sound, Mouse and Keyboard if 3rd party

with their own software and drivers and any other major device drivers you have.

Now go to System Maker's site (Dell, HP, Toshiba as examples) (as rollback) and then Device

Maker's site (Realtek, Intel, Nvidia, ATI as examples) and get their latest versions. (Look for

BIOS, Chipset and software updates at System Maker's site while there.)

Download - SAVE - go to where you put them - Right Click - RUN AD ADMIN - REBOOT after

each installation.

Always check in Device Manager - Drivers tab to be sure the version you are installing actually

shows up. This is because some drivers rollback before the latest is installed (sound drivers

particularly do this) so install a driver - reboot - check to be sure it is installed and repeat as

needed.

Repeat at Device Makers - BTW at Device Makers DO NOT RUN THEIR SCANNER - check

manually by model.

Manually look at manufacturer's sites for drivers - and Device Maker's sites.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/driverssupport/ht/driverdlmfgr.htm

How to Install a Device Driver in Vista Device Manager

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/193584-device-manager-install-driver.html

If you update drivers manually then it is a good idea to disable Driver Installations in Windows

Updates, this leaves Windows Updates ON however it will not install drivers which will usually be

older and cause issues. If Updates suggests a new driver then HIDE it (Right Click on it) and then

go look for new ones manually if you wish.

How To Disable Automatic Driver Installation In Windows Vista - Drivers

http://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/how-to-disable-automatic-driver-installation-in-windows-vista/

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730606(WS.10).aspx

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Refer to these threads for many more excellent tips however be sure to check your antivirus

programs, update major drivers and BIOS, and also troubleshoot with the cleanboot method

first.

Problems with overall system speed and performance

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/slow\_windows\_performance/en-us

Performance and Maintenance tips

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7performance/thread/19e5d6c3-bf07-49ac-a2fa-6718c988f125

Windows Explorer has stopped working

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7performance/thread/6ab02526-5071-4dcc-895f-d90202bad8b3

Hope these help.

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Rob Brown - MS MVP - Windows Desktop Experience : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.

Answer 5

Hi,

Do you have explorer problems when working on C: ? See next message for methods to troubleshoot

general system issues.

Are you trying to move folders that are Virtual or System Protected such as Documents, Favorites,

Downloads, Music, and Pictures which are all under your User Profile?

If so those can be moved however not by the usual methods.

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Possible the partition has issues :

Disk issues can get serious very quickly so I would thoroughly check the drive now and be sure to keep

redundant backups of your important data (use several methods).

Inside Windows - Regular or Safe Mode (repeatedly tap F8 as you boot).

Run checkdisk - schedule it to run at next start and then Apply OK your way out then restart.

How to Run Check Disk at Startup in Vista

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67612-check-disk-chkdsk.html

Start - type in Search box -  COMMAND   find at top of list -  RIGHT CLICK  -  RUN AS ADMIN

sfc /scannow

How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program

generates in Windows Vista cbs.log

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228

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These are much more efficient methods to check the disk.

From the Command Prompt of the Recovery Console (if you have one) or from a Vista disk - if you do not

have a Vista disk you can borrow a friend's (it needs to be same 32 or 64 bit and they are not copy protected)

or make one. Also your System maker will sell the physical disks cheap since you already own Windows.

chkdsk /f /r

REBOOT

Space after k and before /  and after f and before /

sfc /scannow

REBOOT

Space after c and before /

This tells you how to access the System Recovery Options and/or from a Vista DVD

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/326b756b-1601-435e-99d0-1585439470351033.mspx

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If you need to make repair disks - these help repair Windows not re-install.

How to Make a Bootable Disk in Vista

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/windows-platform/articles/7050.aspx

Download: Windows Vista 32 bit (x86) Recovery Disc and Windows 7

http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/download-windows-vista-x64-recovery-disc/

Download: Windows Vista x64 Recovery Disc and Windows 7

http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/download-windows-vista-x64-recovery-disc/

How to Make a Windows Vista Repair Disk If You Don’t Have One

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/how-to-make-a-windows-vista-repair-disk-if-you-dont-have-one/

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If CheckDisk fails to complete as above :

(The old 302602 links is not valid now for the diagnostic links.)

Diagnostic Utilities By Manufacturer - run the one for your hard drive

http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/hard-drive-support/462298-no-ide-device-found.html

Corrected list as of 6-09-2010

Fujitsu Hard Drives: Diagnostic Utilities Here

http://www.fujitsu.com/emea/products/hdd/

Hitachi Hard Drives: Diagnostic Utilities Here

http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/

IBM Hard Drives: Use Hitachi Utilities*

Toshiba Hard Drives: Use Hitachi or Maxtor Utilities

Maxtor Hard Drives: Diagnostic Utilities Here (now SeaGate)

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/

Quantum Hard Drives: Use Maxtor Utilities

Seagate Hard Drives: Diagnostic Utilities Here

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads

Conner Hard Drives: Use Seagate Utilities

Samsung Hard Drives: Diagnostic Utilities Here

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/

Western Digital Hard Drives: Diagnostic Utilities Here

http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?lang=en

The trial versions of one of these "might" help.

SpeedFan

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php

HD Tune

http://www.hdtune.com/

Hope this helps.

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Rob Brown - MS MVP - Windows Desktop Experience : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.