Windows 11 Explorer crashing frequently when taskbar is on multiple monitors

Question

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

Answer 1

I have taskbar on multiple monitors and whenever I disconnect the second monitor from my laptop, the taskbar freezes until I restart it using the Task Manager.

Since Microsoft hasn't resolved this bug yet, I created an (ugly) workaround: I installed AutoHotkey, which is a free and open source tool, to create a keyboard shortcut. When I press CTRL-ALT-E, it triggers a script that restarts Windows Explorer. It is ugly, dirty and bad, but it gets the job done. Note that there is one undesirable side effet—whenever I run this script, all previously opened Windows Explorer windows are closed. In my case, this is almost irrelevant.

If anyone else wants to try this workaround, here are the steps. I tested it with AutoHotKey v2.0.2 and Windows 11 build 22000.2057:

1. Install AutoHotKey from its website (https://www.autohotkey.com/). Make sure to run the installer with Administrator rights. After the installation, the program will open automatically.
2. In the new AutoHotKey window, select "New Script". It will prompt you to provide a name and location for the new script. You can choose any convenient name, but in my case I selected "Restart explorer shortcutkey.ahk" as filename and the "My Documents" folder. For the script type, select "Empty - Clean slate".
3. Open the newly created file with your favorite text editor, paste the following script, and save it:

; This is an AutoHotkey script that creates a shortcut for the key 
; combination Ctrl-Alt-E.
; When the shortcut is pressed, it terminates the Windows Explorer process
; and initiates a new instance. This serves as a workaround for a bug in
; Windows 11 where Windows Explorer freezes when a second monitor is
; connected and the taskbar is configured to show on all monitors. You can
; find a description of the Windows 11 bug at
; https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/775425/windows-11-explorer-crashing-frequently-when-taskb.

#SingleInstance Force
^!e::
{
    Run 'powershell.exe -WindowStyle Hidden -command "taskkill /im explorer.exe /F; explorer.exe"'
}

1. Double-click this file. A new green icon with an 'H' on it should appear in the Windows Notification Area (the systray).
2. Test the keyboard shortcut by pressing CTRL-ALT-E. If everything is working correctly, you should see a PowerShell window briefly appear on the screen, followed by the restart of the taskbar.
3. Optional step: If you want to change the activation key, right-click the AutoHotKey icon in the Notification Area and select "Edit Script" (or use the same text editor that you used in step 3) to modify the script. Change the letter in the line ^!e:: to your desired letter. For example, ^!q:: will associate the action with the CTRL-ALT-Q combination. Save the script, right-click the AutoHotKey icon in the Notification Area, select "Reload Script", and test it.
4. If everything has worked well so far, it's time to make the script run automatically at Windows startup. Press the Windows logo key + R, type shell:startup, and select OK. This will open the Startup folder. (Instructions loosely based on this page: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/add-an-app-to-run-automatically-at-startup-in-windows-10-150da165-dcd9-7230-517b-cf3c295d89dd).
5. Right-click in the Startup folder, select New / Shortcut.
6. Click the Browse button and browse until the script created in step 2. Click Next and Finish.
7. Test the shortcut after rebooting your computer. The End.

Note: I'm not an effective user of AutoHotKey. I've just learned it enough to create this script here.