Solved Windows 8.1, can't open "This PC"

FlaX

New Member
Messages
10
Every time i try to open "This PC", explorer restarts itself and "This PC" window doesn't even open. In safe mode it works and after reinstall aswell, but a few minutes after a fresh installation it stops working again. Anyone recognizes this?

Edit: Clean installation doesn't fix it for me. Have yet not tried installing Windows 8 and do a upgrade. Also entering libraries works just fine, i can access everything that has anything to do with explorer.exe except for "This PC".

Edit #2: Upgrading from Windows 8 didn't fix it either.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
Clean install or upgrade ?

Try a sfc/scannow command

:)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10.0.10122
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Build - Vorttex Ultimate
    CPU
    Core i7 @ 4500 MHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-Plus
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 @ 1822 MHz (OC)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon R9 280X 3GB @ 1180 / 6800 MHz
    Sound Card
    7.1 HDA
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD LG 22" + CRT LG 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1760 x 1320 / 1280 x 960
    Hard Drives
    1 x 240 GB SSD (System)
    3 x 500 GB HDD (Data/Media)
    1 x 2000 GB e-HDD (Backup)
    PSU
    ThermalTake 1000W PSU
    Case
    Corsair Carbide R300
    Cooling
    Corsair H60 (Push-Pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps (Down) 5 Mbps (Up)
    Browser
    IE, FF, Chrome
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security 2015
    Other Info
    Some wired stuff
Clean install didn't fix it, and the upgrade, you mean from Windows 8? Guess i could try that.

sfc/scannow didn't work because it didn't find anything wrong.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
Question, what is "This PC" Do you mean the "Computer" Icon on the desktop, or is it an app or something? I just want to knwo where you are seeing "This PC"

It may not be working because you might have to rename it to match the name of the computer in the Advanced System Properties "Computer Name" sheet.

(edit) - It's the new name of "My Computer" right? Are you clicking on it from the desktop or from within Explorer? Check and see if it is a shortcut or an Icon. You can set your Desktop Icons from within "Personalise" and "Change Desktop Icons" If you just dragged it out from somewhere it may not work, those kinds of Icons are system icons, and they can only be added from the Personalization area.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
"This PC" is the new name for the "Computer". In start screen the icon is named "This PC", even in explorer it's named "This PC" and as far as i know it's new in Windows 8.1
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
"This PC" = "Computer"
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10.0.10122
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    My Build - Vorttex Ultimate
    CPU
    Core i7 @ 4500 MHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS Z87-Plus
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 @ 1822 MHz (OC)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon R9 280X 3GB @ 1180 / 6800 MHz
    Sound Card
    7.1 HDA
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD LG 22" + CRT LG 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1760 x 1320 / 1280 x 960
    Hard Drives
    1 x 240 GB SSD (System)
    3 x 500 GB HDD (Data/Media)
    1 x 2000 GB e-HDD (Backup)
    PSU
    ThermalTake 1000W PSU
    Case
    Corsair Carbide R300
    Cooling
    Corsair H60 (Push-Pull)
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Wireless Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Wireless Mouse
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps (Down) 5 Mbps (Up)
    Browser
    IE, FF, Chrome
    Antivirus
    AVG Internet Security 2015
    Other Info
    Some wired stuff
Question, what is "This PC" Do you mean the "Computer" Icon on the desktop, or is it an app or something? I just want to knwo where you are seeing "This PC"

It may not be working because you might have to rename it to match the name of the computer in the Advanced System Properties "Computer Name" sheet.

(edit) - It's the new name of "My Computer" right? Are you clicking on it from the desktop or from within Explorer? Check and see if it is a shortcut or an Icon. You can set your Desktop Icons from within "Personalise" and "Change Desktop Icons" If you just dragged it out from somewhere it may not work, those kinds of Icons are system icons, and they can only be added from the Personalization area.

I've tried from Desktop, Start Screen, Explorer. Nothing works.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
There does not appear to be any official way to report bugs for 8.1 other than the 8.1 Preview forum.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Every time i try to open "This PC", explorer restarts itself and "This PC" window doesn't even open. In safe mode it works and after reinstall aswell, but a few minutes after a fresh installation it stops working again. Anyone recognizes this?

Edit: Clean installation doesn't fix it for me. Have yet not tried installing Windows 8 and do a upgrade. Also entering libraries works just fine, i can access everything that has anything to do with explorer.exe except for "This PC".

Edit #2: Upgrading from Windows 8 didn't fix it either.

I HAVE THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. And can't fix it. Even tried accessing c drive via Metro Commander, no luck. My first install of 8.1 worked well, downloaded adobe CC etc. Then all of a sudden the same problem u had. The only thing that I can pinpoint is a Windows upgrade I did. After that, nothing worked. Anyone find a solution yet?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 Consumers Preview
Everything function perfectly when sign in using Microsoft account but with local account some of them don't function as they should.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire E1-571
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer Type-2
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 4000
    Sound Card
    High Definiton Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 850 Pro 256GB
    PSU
    Generic
    Keyboard
    QWERTY
    Mouse
    ELANTECH Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    12.68Mbps
    Browser
    IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Same problem, doesn't matter if i'm using a Microsoft account or not.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
How about a different MS account? You got access to a 2nd one?

You say this happens for Clean Install, it may be some conflict with something thats part of your PC, a piece of hardware. A Driver, or something.

Q: Are you using any nVidia BETA drivers? Roll those back. If you are using any Beta drivers at all roll back to the last regular driver. If you are using any Windows 7 drivers in place of 8, which ones and why. I think there are enough Windows 8 drivers for almost all hardware from the last 6 years, it even has drivers for stuff that was only supported in Vist-Shite.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
I'm not using any beta drivers for Nvidia, i'm using the one that came with windows update. Didn't work with a second account either. Same problem occurs. What i'm gonna do now is to test on another PC and see if it's actually something on my end that is the problem. Could be my hardware.

Edit: I updated my system spec incase you might wanna look and see if something there might be the problem.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
It's a freakin i7, you shoudl nto be having any trouble! Which version of the nVidia driver did it give you, you should download the 3.20.18 update.

You said this all started when you put that card in? Maybe it is something with the card that is doing it. How about that Sidewinder x4?

It also could be the "Maker" of the card, you are using a Gainward-made nVidia card. I was under the impression that those were not do good. I always use eVga. I had an old Gainward ti-something, it was a capture card. It still may be in my junk bin. I remember having nothing but trouble with it. I don't usually disparage makers, but there are a few that have made less than stellar products.

Does anyone know, the processes that start when you click "My/This Computer"? Does it do anything with the DWM? Maybe there is something is the card that is reacting to the call to Explorer.exe.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
The nvidia drivers is 326.01 . That's the one windows update installed. I've never had any problems with my gainward card, worked perfectly in both Win 7 and Win 8.

Edit : I might have found a fix! It works for me so far.

" You can disable the DLNA Shell Extension to prevent this from happening. Copy and past the following information into a text file and save it as a .reg file (.e.g “import.reg”).

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked]
"{289AF617-1CC3-42A6-926C-E6A863F0E3BA}"=""


Restart Explorer.exe or your machine afterwards. "

Hopefully if anyone else has the same problem, try this.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Yes thats where i found it. I have no idea what DLNA Shell extension is. But it did work so. I'm happy with that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
Great, I'm glad you found a solution and it wasn't a hardware issue. A DLNA shell Extension comes with an app like Plex Media Server. It gets info about content you are playing and adds it into the program. For instance, I ripped "Cloud Atlas" off of a Blu Ray and make an MKV file, PLEX reached into it's bag of info and added all the information about the movie it could find, including Subtitles. It's pretty decent.

plex.png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Also, there is no reason for DLNA to be added as a shell extension, it should only be running within IE or Chrome, so that solution should not cause Plex to stop working. Plex is great, I was in Vegas sleeping in a strange house, I was able to watch my Fringe eps and thus get to sleep, because I can't sleep without Media playing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center/Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus § DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2300 MHz (11.5 x 200) 4400+ § Corsair Value Select
    CPU
    AMD 4400+/4200+
    Motherboard
    Asus M2N-MX SE Plus/Asus A8M2N-LA (NodusM)
    Memory
    2 GB/3GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce 8400 GS/GeForce 210
    Sound Card
    nVIDIA GT218 - High Definition Audio Controller
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Hitachi 40" LCD HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    "1842 x 1036"
    Hard Drives
    WDC WD50 00AAKS-007AA SCSI Disk Device
    ST1000DL 002-9TT153 SCSI Disk Device
    WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 ATA Device
    WDC WD32 WD-WCAPZ2942630 USB Device
    WD My Book 1140 USB Device
    PSU
    Works 550w
    Case
    MSI "M-Box"
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Dell Keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Intellimouse
    Internet Speed
    Cable Medium Speed
    Browser
    Chrome/IE 10
    Antivirus
    Eset NOD32 6.x/Win Defend
    Other Info
    Recently lost my Windows 8 on my main PC, had to go back to Windows 7.
Just an update : What i posted before is only a fix for gaining access to " This PC", if some people have problems like right clicking a program and explorer.exe restarts itself etc. , download the program ShellExView, look for "DLNA Media Servers Data Source" and disable it. Fixed every problem i had with explorer.exe .
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel i7 2600K 3.4 GHz OC 4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX 690
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ XL24IIT 144Hz , EIZO 60Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD 120Gb , 2 TB HDD
    Keyboard
    Sidewinder x4
    Internet Speed
    200/10
    Browser
    Google Chrome
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