Solved explorer.exe problems

leeelson

New Member
Messages
20
I'm running 8.1 (upgraded from 8.0) on an Alien laptop. I've had lots of problems such as this latest one: some files or folders will not show properties when I use a right click in explorer. Some do, most don't. Other symptoms: sometimes I get the explorer.exe error message "unknown hard error" on startup. Also, sometimes the desktop icons aren't all there. These problems all go away when I boot into safe mode.

Things I've tried that don't work:

1) sfc /scannow runs but says there are some corrupted files it can't fix.

2) I've used system restore to go to the earliest version available

3) I've uninstalled recently installed software.

4) System repair says it can't repair the system

5) I've cleared out Temp folders in Appdata

6) I've run Malwarebytes and Hitman Pro to remove any malware.

I'd like some suggestions for fixing this that *don't* involve reinstalling the system. I'm pretty tired of doing that and am almost ready to go back to Windows 7.

Thanks for your help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
6) I've run Malwarebytes and Hitman Pro to remove any malware.

Use Killdisk to wipe the hard drive. Install Windows. Install latest drivers for your hardware, from manufacturers.

Windows 7 is a great OS. By far the best software Microsoft has ever made. So yup, I personally do recommend 7 over 8 every day of the week.

That being said, for stability, 8 is exactly same so stability should not be a factor in which OS you choose to install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DQ965MT
    Memory
    Hyundai 2 GB DDR2 @ 333 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Hard Drives
    1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W
    Cooling
    stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
    Keyboard
    Alienware/Microsoft Internet kb
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    Optimum Online, fast for US
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky integrated into ZoneAlarm+Antivirus
Try using a third party file copy as the default drag and drop handler.

Try a total Explorer replacement software.

If neither of those effect the symptoms then it's likely not any of the handlers that hook into Explorer. Although if you one by one deactivated every handler it would be very time consuming and I'd have to wonder why that didn't make the initial list.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
Try using a third party file copy as the default drag and drop handler.

Try a total Explorer replacement software.

If neither of those effect the symptoms then it's likely not any of the handlers that hook into Explorer. Although if you one by one deactivated every handler it would be very time consuming and I'd have to wonder why that didn't make the initial list.

Tried a couple other explorer substitutes. One (Multi Commander) hangs frequently and none show properties correctly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
Usually with Explorer it's one of the handlers that attaches to it. For example if you have 7-zip and it puts a context menu item to zip selected files. If 7-zip is corrupted it doesn't answer when Explorer calls it. There are dozens of handlers hooked into Explorer. It could be any one of them. That's why I say if you went through them one by one, you wouldn't forget about it quickly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
Doesn't ShellExView have an option to disable all non-Microsoft entries?

I think so. If it does, obvious thing to do is that, as a test.

But ya: Killdisk/install Win
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DQ965MT
    Memory
    Hyundai 2 GB DDR2 @ 333 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Hard Drives
    1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W
    Cooling
    stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
    Keyboard
    Alienware/Microsoft Internet kb
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    Optimum Online, fast for US
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky integrated into ZoneAlarm+Antivirus
Doesn't ShellExView have an option to disable all non-Microsoft entries?

I think so. If it does, obvious thing to do is that, as a test.

But ya: Killdisk/install Win

Divide and conquer is what it's about. I agree. MS or non-MS. Then if one group has the bad one, one by one.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
Usually with Explorer it's one of the handlers that attaches to it. For example if you have 7-zip and it puts a context menu item to zip selected files. If 7-zip is corrupted it doesn't answer when Explorer calls it. There are dozens of handlers hooked into Explorer. It could be any one of them. That's why I say if you went through them one by one, you wouldn't forget about it quickly.
As I mentioned above, I tried using ShellExView. I disabled *all* non Microsoft handlers and rebooted. No change. Would it be different if I went through and disabled each one one at a time?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
Doesn't ShellExView have an option to disable all non-Microsoft entries?

I think so. If it does, obvious thing to do is that, as a test.

But ya: Killdisk/install Win


Divide and conquer is what it's about. I agree. MS or non-MS. Then if one group has the bad one, one by one.

Killing Non MS handlers and rebooting had no effect. Are you suggesting trying MS handlers one at a time?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
Are you suggesting trying MS handlers one at a time?

The group with the bad handler should be winnowed one at a time. Not the group with no bad handler.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad
Are you suggesting trying MS handlers one at a time?

The group with the bad handler should be winnowed one at a time. Not the group with no bad handler.
Please read my post above, then tell me how to find "The group with the bad handler". What am I missing?

If the suggestion is to turn off the Microsoft handlers one at a time, I have 2 questions:

1) How do I avoid turning off a critical handler? Re-phrasing, how do I pick handlers to test while maximizing chances of success and minimizing chances of causing a critical error that prevents boot up?

2) What if one of the MS handlers is "bad"? What can I do to fix it?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
If you disable all MS handlers and the problem goes away, that was the group with the bad handler. Since that did not happen, the bad handler, if that is the cause, must be in the non-MS group. It's common sense. In diagnostics it's called "divide and conquer." Often the divide and conquer will be to determine if the cause is hardware or software. In the case where there is no likely fix found by search or experience or whatever, it's a method to narrow the scope of the issue until you either give up on the diagnosis or come to a conclusion as to the cause.

It may be quicker to just reinstall. Explorer is known to be quirky. It's up to you how much time you want to invest before taking the path that may be less desirable(reinstalling) but should be deterministic as getting the OS to install does not usually linger for weeks.

There are so many shell extension around that it might be good to learn to troubleshoot them. It's up to you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
If you disable all MS handlers and the problem goes away, that was the group with the bad handler. Since that did not happen, the bad handler, if that is the cause, must be in the non-MS group. It's common sense. In diagnostics it's called "divide and conquer." Often the divide and conquer will be to determine if the cause is hardware or software. In the case where there is no likely fix found by search or experience or whatever, it's a method to narrow the scope of the issue until you either give up on the diagnosis or come to a conclusion as to the cause.

It may be quicker to just reinstall. Explorer is known to be quirky. It's up to you how much time you want to invest before taking the path that may be less desirable(reinstalling) but should be deterministic as getting the OS to install does not usually linger for weeks.

There are so many shell extension around that it might be good to learn to troubleshoot them. It's up to you.

ShellExView doesn't allow *all* MS handlers to be turned off (except by turning each one off one at a time). This is probably for good reason since the OS can be crippled to the point where booting is impossible. All I know is that the problem does not lie with the non MS handlers since turning them off did nothing.

If there is a problem with a handler, I'd like to find it but unless I'm missing something, ShellExView (divide and conquer notwithstanding) won't help me without a *great* deal of work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
won't help me without a *great* deal of work.

Sometimes there aren't any shortcuts. I don't see how disabling a context menu handler will disable Windows. But I have no desire to argue it. Good luck with it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.0 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satelite C55D-A Laptop
    CPU
    AMD EI 1200
    Memory
    4 gb DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Raedon 340 MB dedicated Ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Built in
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    640 GB (spinner) Sata II
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Touch pad

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Alienware M14x-R2
Glad you got it working again and thanks for that acknowledgement as well.

my2cents
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
Back
Top