Windows Explorer Crashing

Question

Hello Community,

I wonder if you can help...

Many of our users are having problems when opening File Explorer. Simply opening File Explorer causes the window to freeze. Sometime File Explorer comes to life after some time, sometimes it never recovers.

Other users can open File Explorer but the moment they click anything in there, it freezes up. Moving files from the c: to other locations crashes explorer also.

This started several weeks ago and now more and more users are being affected. Some permanently others intermittently.

It doesn't seem to be a patch not our Anti Virus.

Can anyone help out with this one?

Answer 1

Hi there, thank you for your response

Kindly make sure your system is running the latest version.

1. To verify, just press the Windows key + R to open the run tab
2. Type in "winver" and hit enter.

If it does not show version 22H2, kindly install the latest version through the Windows update assistant.

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/win...

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/win...

If it is up to date or the issue persists, run the system file checker.

https://support.microsoft.com/topic/use-the-sys...

I hope this helps. Feel free to reply if you still need further assistance, and I'll be more than happy to assist you.

Answer 2

Thanks for getting back to me Nada. We've tried all those things and re-tried again today but still have the problem.

When opening File Explorer, the window is ok, but the moment any file or folder is clicked, the window closes and the Task Bar disappears.

Shortly afterwards, the task reappears. There's no link between OS levels (Win 10 or Win11) and no link between patch levels.

Any more tips to try?

Answer 3

Hello George,

My name is Nada an independent advisor, and I'm here to help you.

I'm sorry that you are experiencing this issue, and I will try my best to assist you.

I completely understand how hassle this must be. No worries, I am here to help.

Kindly check if your machines don't have any pending security patches which could be causing the issue. Just go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for Updates.

Kindly also restart the Windows File Explorer in the task manager.

• Right-click on the taskbar at the bottom of the screen and click Task Manager.



• Click More details.



• Find and click Windows Explorer, and click Restart in the lower right corner.

If the issue persists, proceed by following the steps on this link.

https://support.microsoft.com/topic/error-windo...

I hope this helps. Feel free to reply if you still need further assistance, and I'll be more than happy to assist you.