File explorer freezes when saving a document

Ok let that run. When it is done, I want to try this:

Go to the Desktop and Right Click on My Computer (Or This Computer) and choose "Properties" - That will open the System Information window.

On the left side you'll see "System Protection" - Open that. Choose "System Restore" by clicking the button.

See If you have a restore point set for before this started happening, go back a couple of weeks if you can. Select that Restore Point, then hit Restore.

See if that resolves it.

As far as not having an install disk, you might be able to get one from the maker of the PC, you'll have to go to their site and see if you can get one. It will have to be the exact version you have installed. Try to find a phone number for Support, you can ask them for it from there.

Basically, you stick it in the drive while Windows is running and you can use the Command Prompt to type in "D:\Setup.exe" or whatever the driver letter is. This will start a Windows install, you will be asked to do a Custom Install or an Upgrade, you choose Upgrade and it re-installs the exact version you had, repairing all of the problems.

I use that as a last resort solution but it requires an install disk, but before we worry about that we'll do SFC a couple more times, if successful it will restore your System files.

You might be able to get or make a Windows 8 install disk using the method here:

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/18309-windows-8-upgrade-iso-download-create.html

I'll ask Shawn, there may be some place to download a Windows 8 installer. Most people have upgraded to 8.1 - With this problem happening, I don't encourage that.

OK, I asked for some help, not being able to save anything prevents a lot of solutions.
 
Last edited:

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.
OK, I have run scannow 3 times. Each time it said there are corrupt files, but was not able to repair them. I have the log file if it's of any use to you--I can't open it (access denied).


  • Will choosing "System Restore" from a week ago cause a loss of data?
  • As for the install disk, how will it be the same version when my computer has been receiving Windows updates for months?
  • And if I do install or upgrade from the disk, won't that remove all my programs & data?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS all-in-one (NOT touch screen)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
As long as the Disk you get is the exact version of Windows 8 that was originally installed, it will allow you to re-install. You will have to re-install the updates, do it a few at a time because by now there are maybe a hundred, don't ever do that many at once.

Do you know which version is in there, it will say in System Properties and maybe on your desktop as well. You will need to know, Pro or Home, and if Pro, did it come with Media Center.

The maker of the system should be able to get you the exact disk they used, and that wold be the best bet, cos I could give you links on the net I have found, but it would just bne a guess if it is the same version on your system. There should also be a sticker on the system box that has your key and what version it is, that is what you look for - As long as you have not updated to 8.1 you should be able to restore.

And if you choose "Custom Install" it WILL delete everything and shunt it into your "Windows.Old" folder which it will create. All of your old Programs and Docs will be in there, but the programs will not be installed and you cant move them back. This is why you always choose "Upgrade" - Even if it is the same version, "Upgrade" is how you perform an In-Place Install.

If you do a system restore, it WILL put your system into an earlier state, but in your case you need to make sure your documents are saved. System Restore is not supposed to affect Documents and Images, but sometimes it does.

I half expected SFC to fail, so now the next step is try using system restore, before you do it, copy all of your docs to another location, if you can make a new folder off of the C drive, do it, otherwise, copy the whole Documents folder by dragging and dropping to the C drive. Don't copy the whole Library folder just the Documents folder.

If the system restore fails to fix it, then we try the next thing. At this point, I don't know if the restore will succeed, but we need to try it. So, open System Restore like I told you how, and look for a restore point from before this happened, a week, 2 weeks, depending on if a point is available. Lets do this for now, and then we'll try the DISM command if it fails.
 

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.
Can you tell me the make and model of your computer, there may be a panel on the box, on the front or back. I'll try to find out about getting an install disk for you.

Also, if you consider bringing it back to Best Buy... Most likely they would just run your Recovery partition, that's when you press F11 while booting. You could do that yourself, but it will erase everything on your hard drive. If you have any kind of warranty from them, they may just re-install windows 8, deleting your whole OS. So we have to get your Documents SAFE, in case that happens in the future, Programs can be re-installed, but Docs when lost can't be replaced.. You might be able to save them onto DVDs or CDs, if that still works, or drag them and drop em into an external drive.

I'm sure we can fix this, IF we can get an install disk, I'll walk you through it step by step, I've done it 100 times, with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and 8.

(edit) I was just discussing this with my "Boss" on this board, he suggests removing Norton, at least temporarily.

If you have your Norton 365 installer saved, or if it is on disk, then I would suggest deleting it, see if this stops the crashing. So try a system restore first, if it still acts up then remove Norton.
 

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.
Thanks for hanging with me XweApunX. Here's an update:


  • I uninstalled Norton 360 as you suggested, rebooted, and it still froze on saving.
  • I had trouble reinstalling Norton, so I called them. While on the phone, they told me I can get free virus support because I am a Norton 1 Premier member, so I did.
  • There was not serious threat on the computer.
  • He then ran sfc /scannow, and of course it showed there were errors and couldn't fix them.
  • He then ran dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, and it appears to have fixed the issue.
  • He ran a bunch of Norton Utilities and found 100's of issues (nothing serious I think).
  • Another reboot, and tested again OK.

I'll leave this thread open for a while in case it comes back, and report back later.

Thanks again. :cool:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS all-in-one (NOT touch screen)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
Well, thats great then, we would have done the DISM command, that was the best step - I don't like System Restore, unless it is necessary, and with this error it may not have worked. I'm glad you had that level of support, and you had nothing serious on your system, but we should find you a Windows 8 install disk just so you an run some of the automated repair from that, it's handy to have and sometimes necessary. We can't do the Teamviewer thing here, we just try to explain how to do it. But if you watched what he did, now you know, so that's good. I have about 20 systems around town connected to Teamviewer for repairing the OSes I maintain, it's a great program and saves me from having to drive out there - Sometimes!

It was probably just a glitch, maybe an update or program install didn't go in right, but as long as you know the steps to take in case this happens again it's all documented here. Both of the Programs, OpenOffice and LibreOffice, seem to be great Office programs, I havent had one problem with either of them.

Also I appreciate your patience, it is hard to make suggestions unless we can see how the system is behaving. Normally, at least one person around here has experienced the issues we come across, but this File Explorer crash is one of the more rare occurrences.
 

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.
Oops! Guess what?
I think I'm going to need that disk.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS all-in-one (NOT touch screen)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
It's still crashing? After DISM, you are supposed to run SFC one more time- Try doing that.

I'll need to know the version number ie "Microsoft Windows [Version 6.2.9200]"

The link to download an 8 iso is up above, but we need to know, Home or Pro, Media Center or Not.
 

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 ran sfc again: "...found corrupt files and successfully repaired them..."
I then opened a PDF file in Acrobat and tried a "Save As..."
Acrobat Reader (or more correctly, the save dialog) froze again and crashed Reader.
Rebooted and tested again... Reader crashed. OpenOffice saved OK once, then crashed. I restarted it, and then was able to save every time after that. At best, the system is unreliable.
I don't know my way around Win8... how do I find the version info?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS all-in-one (NOT touch screen)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
Sorry, this post got buried on the 2nd page. Open a Command Prompt and type "Ver" to get the version number, then use System Info (right click on My Computer and choose Properties) to find out, Home, Pro and if Media Center is included.

But I think you should run DISM again and then run SFC a few more times. All of the upper mods here say to run SFC at least 3 times.

Try uninstalling LibreOffice for now, also reinstall whatever Adobe Reader or Acrobat Pro you have, or do a "repair install" if it lets you - Do this before you try to save anything. Also try re-installing Norton as well. One of these programs may be causing it, even though the DISM fixed it. So try to reinstall all of the programs involved as well.

I think, do a new DISM and SFC, then try to download a file from the net right away, see if you can do it. After that, then re-install all of the involved programs, anything that deals with a PDF file.

Someone posted a link to an ISO, but I don't know if its what you need.
 

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 sure your system has a built in Recovery partition, I think you press F11 to start it. You might have to do this, after moving all of your documents to an external drive. That may be the easiest way, but it will wipe the whole drive and stick the original OS back in. There is no shame doing this, and if the DISM can't fix it, it may be the easiest way to repair your system. If you bought it at Office Despot, there should be documentation on how to do it.
 

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.
Before you responded, I decided to bite the bullet and do a restore. I checked that all my files were backed up first, and it ran ok. I have been reinstalling apps and testing them one-by-one, and so far, so good. I will report back with an update.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS all-in-one (NOT touch screen)
    Antivirus
    Norton 360
Great, keep a log/diary of what you do, and make a restore point before each time you re-install a program. That way, if it happens again, you can pinpoint the exact cause.

You know, something odd happened to me this AM, I woke up and noticed my Quicken iPhone app was not showing the right amount I knew was in there, so I came to the System and tried to update my Quicken Program to my bank. It was suddenly NOT DOWNLOADING my transactions. It had been working on Friday.

I had installed two Windows Security Downdates over the weekend, that had been sitting in my Windows Update ready to download, but I had not installed them.

So I did not delete them, I restored the system to the way it was on Friday. BOOM, Quicken connected instantly to my band and downloaded my transactions

So it may have been the same for you, you downloaded an update. If your system is working? DON'T! Especially Security Downdates.

When I checked the downdate, sure enough it was something that directly affected IE 10 which Quicken '13 depends on to download the Web Connect info.

So it is very important to keep System ReStore working, make sure it is creating a restore point when it the system, is running properly, that way you can use the very last restore point and it will not affect you much. And be careful with Windows Update, download ONLY compatibility and Reliability updates, never Security Downdates. This in fact may sound like bad advice, and it is - Unless you want to keep your System running, in which case it is good advice. I try to explain to people get a GOOD Av Program, and use the Windows Firewall - And you don't need security downdates. Microsoft IS NOT responsible for my security, I AM.

Lets keep an eye on the system for a week, the moment any happens let me know, and I pray to Ghod nothing does.
 

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.
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