Having issues with explorer.exe

Question

This is windows 11. For many months now my task bar has been broken. It works at a base level but right clicking any of the apps just crashes it and I require to restart it through task manager to get it functioning again. I've tried sfc and DISM multiple times with no results. At this point I'm very tempted to delete explorer.exe and use windows auto repair to attempt to fix it. I occasionally get the SearchHost.exe Application Error (0xe06d7363) 0x00007FFD462E782A when my pc is doing extra bad and, oh wait, I require the windows search bar to help with that, but explorer.exe is broken preventing that from happening so 2 fails are causing each other, yay. Occasionally my wifi adapter wants to get involved but that's an easy fix of going to device manager and deleting the driver then restarting my pc. Any help I've found online don't help at all and does nothing or fails because it tries to use the search but that's broken

Answer 1

Hi, thank you for replying. Since the issue persists, I suggest an in-place upgrade, which will update the device to the latest version and repair all issues without deleting any files.

Go to the Windows 11 website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11

 

Under Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO), select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO)

 

1.     Once done downloading the ISO, kindly right-click on the ISO, then click Mount>click Setup.exe

2.     You may be prompted by User Account Control. Click on Yes if so

3.     In the Install Windows 11 dialog, click Next

4.     Setup will check your PC and show a license agreement. Click on Accept in the license terms dialog.

5.     Wait for the setup program to check for the available free space.

6.     On the Ready to install page, make sure Keep personal files and apps has been checked.

7.     Then click Install and just follow the prompt.

8.     Windows 11 will restart your device several times and lead you to the lock screen. Depending on the options you set, it will keep all your files, apps, and user accounts.

For reference: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4252110/how-to-run-in-place-upgrade-in-windows-11?forum=windows-all&referrer=answers

Answer 2

You are always welcome and I'm glad it is now all good.

Answer 3

Thank you for that information. In this case, let us run basic troubleshooting steps in line with the issue you have. Kindly follow the steps below:

Method 1. Do a clean boot:

A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs, so that you can determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program.

• In the search box on the taskbar, type msconfig and select System Configuration from the results.
• On the Services tab of System Configuration, select Hide all Microsoft services, and then select Disable all.
• On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select Open Task Manager.
• Under Startup in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then select Disable.
• Close Task Manager.
• On the Startup tab of System Configuration, select OK. When you restart the computer, it's in a clean boot environment.

Troubleshooting reference: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

Method 2. Run memory diagnostic tool: The memory diagnostic tool is a RAM test to check if there are any RAM issues.

Press the Windows key + R, then type in mdsched.exe hit OK, then restart the device.

Note: If the issue persists, a system repair on the PC might be necessary.

Answer 4

Hi, thank you for replying. Can you try to restart the PC and follow the steps again?

Answer 5

Hi, I'm Bernard. I'm happy to help!

Typically, the Explorer crashes when the PC is unstable or performing slowly. Moreover, can you please check the System logs on the PC so I can further examine the root cause of the issue?

 

To share the System logs, please follow the steps in the link below:

 

Press the Windows key + X, then select "Event Viewer"

Click the drop-down of "Windows logs"

Right-click System > click Filter Current logs > Check: Critical, Warning, and Error > Hit OK

On the right pane, click "Save Filtered Log File As..."

Save the System logs file to your desktop and share it by following the steps from the link:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-onedrive-files-and-folders-9fcc2f7d-de0c-4cec-93b0-a82024800c07

 

Note: You can also use your preferred cloud storage to upload and share the logs.