Windows 11 Explorer crashing frequently when taskbar is on multiple monitors

James Edmonds 811

Hi,

Anyone else have issues in Windows 11 with explorer repeatedly and frequently crashing when their taskbar is set to display on multiple monitors?

On a Dell Latitude 5510. Drivers are all up to date.
Going to try sfc and dism etc. but this is driving me insane!

Many thanks
James

BDmy 11 Reputation points

2022-04-13T15:48:03.877+00:00

Hi, just a support for this problem. I have que same issue, I suppose, on Dell Inspiron 7591, with Windows 11 Insider.

The process explorer.exe freeze untill it restarts alone or when I force it to restart.

This problem occurs only when I extend the desckop on 2 monitors, but unfortunatly each time I do it.

The DPI scaling set to 100% for both.

When I'm reading James' experience, I'd like to avoid any reset to fix this issue.
17095811 1 Reputation point

2022-08-17T09:23:02.67+00:00

Same issue over here.
Month old Surface Laptop Studio.

Explorer crashes like 10 times in a row making my 3 monitors compleetly black and then it comes back.
After that it stops for a long while, not sure if it comes back.
Started to happen a week or 2 weeks ago.

Show taskbar on all displays was on. I turned it off, but can't confirm yet of that helps.

Het proces Beheer van bureaubladvensters is afgesloten. (Afsluitcode van proces: 0xc0000409, aantal keren opnieuw starten: 1, id primair beeldscherm: Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics)

Naam van toepassing met fout: dwm.exe, versie: 10.0.22621.436, tijdstempel: 0x8783b131
Naam van module met fout: ntdll.dll, versie: 10.0.22621.440, tijdstempel: 0x122ad441
Uitzonderingscode: 0xc0000409
Foutmarge: 0x000000000008ea9f
Id van proces met fout: 0x0x8958
Starttijd van toepassing met fout: 0x0x1D8B20E5836FEDD
Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\WINDOWS\system32\dwm.exe
Pad naar module met fout: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Rapport-id: 5b0b7542-6439-412b-b2c1-88a6f90d6b4a
Volledige pakketnaam met fout:
Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout:

Starttijd van toepassing met fout: 0x0x1D8B20ED3FD64DD
Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
Pad naar module met fout: C:\WINDOWS\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\Taskbar.View.dll
Rapport-id: 4d6d62d2-1a07-44b0-9f37-1c2c6206e27b
Volledige pakketnaam met fout:
Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout:
17095811 1 Reputation point

2022-08-17T09:23:20+00:00

Same issue over here.
Month old Surface Laptop Studio.

Explorer crashes like 10 times in a row making my 3 monitors compleetly black and then it comes back.
After that it stops for a long while, not sure if it comes back.
Started to happen a week or 2 weeks ago.

Show taskbar on all displays was on. I turned it off, but can't confirm yet of that helps.

Het proces Beheer van bureaubladvensters is afgesloten. (Afsluitcode van proces: 0xc0000409, aantal keren opnieuw starten: 1, id primair beeldscherm: Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics)

Naam van toepassing met fout: dwm.exe, versie: 10.0.22621.436, tijdstempel: 0x8783b131
Naam van module met fout: ntdll.dll, versie: 10.0.22621.440, tijdstempel: 0x122ad441
Uitzonderingscode: 0xc0000409
Foutmarge: 0x000000000008ea9f
Id van proces met fout: 0x0x8958
Starttijd van toepassing met fout: 0x0x1D8B20E5836FEDD
Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\WINDOWS\system32\dwm.exe
Pad naar module met fout: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Rapport-id: 5b0b7542-6439-412b-b2c1-88a6f90d6b4a
Volledige pakketnaam met fout:
Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout:

Starttijd van toepassing met fout: 0x0x1D8B20ED3FD64DD
Pad naar toepassing met fout: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
Pad naar module met fout: C:\WINDOWS\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.Core_cw5n1h2txyewy\Taskbar.View.dll
Rapport-id: 4d6d62d2-1a07-44b0-9f37-1c2c6206e27b
Volledige pakketnaam met fout:
Relatieve toepassings-id van pakket met fout:
David W 0 Reputation points

2023-02-08T06:45:11.12+00:00

I'm also having a similar issue. I am using Win10 pro, but behavior is still the same. When I have taskbar on all displays, if I select the windows button on the taskbar on any display other than the primary, explorer.exe goes to high cpu usage and memory usage just keeps climbing until I kill the process in taskmanager (I usually allow it to get to about 16GB before I kill it.) Before I kill the process, I can't select the windows button in task bar on primary display either. If I have taskbar only on primary explorer.exe is hardly used and system runs smoothly. This is also a fairly new issue, as I've had my 4 monitor setup since January '22 with no issues.
Ryan Egan 0 Reputation points

2023-04-13T02:35:09.7166667+00:00

This is happening to me every single time I lock/unlock my computer. I have to wait up to a minute or two for explorer to figure its sh*t out until it crashes and restarts. Using Win11 with (2) 4K monitors.
AMAMSNL 0 Reputation points

2024-04-03T16:43:08.25+00:00

Edition Windows 11 Pro

Version 23H2

Installed on ‎21/‎03/‎2024 (in place repair 2X)

OS build 22631.3296

Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.22687.1000.0

Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-11900H @ 2.50GHz 2.50 GHz

Installed RAM 32,0 GB (31,7 GB usable)

System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Pen and touch No pen or touch input is available for this display.

Have similar problem not on an extra screen. System is running very unreliable.

A great deal of apps launched from the taskbar (or right click windows start button) crash and restore or don't open at all such as:

Windows Explorer, Settings, Device manager, Disk Management etc....

While other apps like outlook or teams also connected to taskbar open as expected.

Apps that are problematic to open or dont open at all from taskbar will open normally when opened from another location.

Have tried DSIM/SFC, in place repair win 11, replacing C++ redistributions, updating drivers, minimizing services, processes etc... nothing helps.

Help problem is driving me mad!!!

11 answers

Limitless Technology 39,461 Reputation points

2022-03-17T09:35:50.287+00:00
Hello @James Edmonds

First of all I would recommend to ensure the health of the system you can perform the next actions:

Reset Windows Update components: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/update/windows-update-resources#reset-windows-update-components-manually

Run an image repair (recommended to run using a downloaded image, mounted) https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/repair-a-windows-image?view=windows-11

Cleanup the WinSxS folder: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/clean-up-the-winsxs-folder?view=windows-11

Last but not list, there are couple of isolated issues regarding specific laptops:

DPI Scaling is different between displays (for instance 100% on the laptop and 125% on the monitor). You can try to set the same DPI scaling to see if it stops the crashes

There has been reported an AC controller issue for some specific brands. You may want to check if all your BIOS, Firmware and drivers are fully updated (not only Display drivers). One quick test or workaround would be:
go to Device Manager -> Batteries -> right click on "Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery" -> click Disable.
The battery tray icon will disappear and explorer will no longer enter the crash loop (you can re-enable changing the setting to Enable to bring back the icon)

Hope this helps with your query,

------------

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James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-03-21T11:01:24.307+00:00

Thanks for this.

I have done an online DISM health check and this seemed ok.
I will try the other bits, and DISM using downloaded image, but first I have started with adjusting the DPI scaling on the laptop.

My external display is 1080 with 100% scaling, and the laptop is 1080 with 125%.
My drivers all look to be up to date from a Dell and Intel point of view, but this seems like the easiest first test.

Many thanks
James

James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-03-25T15:37:25.633+00:00

Hi,

I was still having the same problem, albeit less frequently, with the laptop display DPI back at 100%.

I have run Windows update reset, and SxS cleanup.
Can you tell me how to download a specific Windows 11 image to try an image repair?

Drivers still appear to be up to date so will also try disabling the ACPI battery.

Many thanks
James

James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-03-31T11:54:57.093+00:00

Hi Limitless,

Sadly, I still seem to be having the same issues, even after having completed the various steps/checks;
SFC scannow
DISM image checks/cleanup
Windows update reset
WinSXS cleanup
DPI scaling set to 100%
ACPI battery device disable

The only thing I haven't done is use a downloaded Windows 11 image with DISM. Can you tell me how to download an image so I can try this?
This crashing is really starting to frustrate me now, and given it's essentially at the core of the user experience in Windows, it's a pretty major thing to have go wrong,

Thanks
James

James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-04-07T11:33:10.833+00:00

I have used the Windows 11 media creation tool to download a Windows 11 ISO, and run the DISM commands using the ESD contained in that ISO, but still the issues seem to persist.

Short of reinstalling Windows, is there anything else I can try?
It's an incredibly frustrating problem, as every time it crashes all open folder windows disappear, and the ordering of all my Windows when hovering over taskbar icons changes. This really impacts muscle memory.

Reinstalling I am sure has a good chance of resolving the issue, but that is a huge undertaking given it's domain joined, has lots of apps to reinstall, as well as config and data to transfer.

Many thanks
James

huckleberry 1 Reputation point

2022-05-27T10:46:22.23+00:00

@Limitless Technology
I feel this answer is too generic to try out, and way too risky (e.g. cleanup of the WinSxS folder.) The Windows 11 Explorer on my ASUS ROG STRIX just crashed when I tried to move Adobe Acrobat Reader from one desktop to another (of seven.) This happens frequently. Here is the excerpt from Event Viewer:

Log Name: Application Source: Application Error Date: 27/05/2022 12:31:40 Event ID: 1000 Task Category: (100) Level: Error Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: OVERTHERAINBOW Description: Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 10.0.22000.593, time stamp: 0x59a4b94a Faulting module name: WindowsInternal.ComposableShell.Experiences.Switcher.dll, version: 10.0.22000.348, time stamp: 0x025b251b Exception code: 0xc00000fd Fault offset: 0x0000000000032d29 Faulting process ID: 0x67d0 Faulting application start time: 0x01d8714376c4fb69 Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe Faulting module path: C:\Windows\ShellComponents\WindowsInternal.ComposableShell.Experiences.Switcher.dll Report ID: 7f4fdce9-10e4-4655-8583-14d992a6a96f Faulting package full name: Faulting package-relative application ID:
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James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-07-29T21:37:49.95+00:00

Anyone been able to report to Microsoft or found any more permanent solution to this?
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Jay Cady 1 Reputation point

2022-08-01T16:52:31.017+00:00

This isn't at all a fix, but switching from DisplayPort to HDMI on my monitor seems to have improved the problem.

EDIT: My mistake, the issue is still present even after switching to HDMI.
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James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-08-01T16:54:21.897+00:00

Sadly I'm already using the onboard HDMI output on my laptop, and still have this issue :(
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James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-09-29T10:21:26.103+00:00

Well, even with the 22H2 update installed, I still seem to have this issue.
Explorer crashed twice in quick succession immediately after login after completing this update.

I'll monitor to see if it persists, but not feeling confident.

James
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James Edmonds 811 Reputation points

2022-10-26T14:48:43.787+00:00

Has improved greatly since last posting and being on 22H2 for a while.
Can anyone else having the issue confirm if 22H2 has helped in their cases too?

Regards
James
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Dave Wiberg 1 Reputation point

2023-01-05T08:52:14.173+00:00

My windows file explorer still crashes every time I try to open it from the taskbar icon (yes I am using multiple displays).

However, if I use the 'windows key + e' combination to open file explorer, it works fine. So, my workaround has been to only use 'windows+e'. Other programs work fine from the taskbar.
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Windows 11 Explorer crashing frequently when taskbar is on multiple monitors

11 answers