Help! Explorer suffering from weird problems at startup


Recommended Posts

When I start my system, Explorer does not start.

When I open the task manager by ctrl+shift+esc, explorer.exe is listed as a running process occupying 11K of memory.

If I kill it, and try to start Explorer again from "Start New Task", nothing happens, except explorer is listed again in the running processes occupying the same 11K of memory.

Even if I start more instances, all these are listed as running, roughly taking up 1K memory.

In Start New Task, if I try to start something like "C:\ABCDEF", to try and get an explorer window or something manually, it just tells me that explorer has failed and will need to close.

I've tried checking for solutions, and somewhere, there was a talk of checking the registry value under Winlogon (under HKEY_CurrentMachine-software-microsoft-windowsNT-CurrentVersion) and check the value of Shell. It is listed as Explorer.exe only, so not problem there..

Nothing happens if I leave it like this. If, instead, I try and do some other stuff, like kill off svchost.exe, which is responsible for aero effects etc.,(works only sporadically), then explorer comes to life.

I run Windows 7 ultimate.. The system has BitDefender IS 2012, and I regularly scan for viruses etc. It's not a problem.

Please suggest a solution to this, It's extremely irritating to not have the explorer and keep on trying various things to get it running.

When I start my system, Explorer does not start.

When I open the task manager by ctrl+shift+esc, explorer.exe is listed as a running process occupying 11K of memory.

If I kill it, and try to start Explorer again from "Start New Task", nothing happens, except explorer is listed again in the running processes occupying the same 11K of memory.

Even if I start more instances, all these are listed as running, roughly taking up 1K memory.

In Start New Task, if I try to start something like "C:\ABCDEF", to try and get an explorer window or something manually, it just tells me that explorer has failed and will need to close.

I've tried checking for solutions, and somewhere, there was a talk of checking the registry value under Winlogon (under HKEY_CurrentMachine-software-microsoft-windowsNT-CurrentVersion) and check the value of Shell. It is listed as Explorer.exe only, so not problem there..

Nothing happens if I leave it like this. If, instead, I try and do some other stuff, like kill off svchost.exe, which is responsible for aero effects etc.,(works only sporadically), then explorer comes to life.

I run Windows 7 ultimate.. The system has BitDefender IS 2012, and I regularly scan for viruses etc. It's not a problem.

Please suggest a solution to this, It's extremely irritating to not have the explorer and keep on trying various things to get it running.

Best option is windows repair .If that doesnt work do fresh install (Its best option(my opinion)).

explorer problems are troublesome.

Best option is windows repair .If that doesnt work do fresh install (Its best option(my opinion)).

explorer problems are troublesome.

I don't wish to do a fresh install. And I don't have the repair DVD at hand. Is there any other way to do this...in a less...invasive, procedure?

Windows explorer. I have done the check.

Log file has been generated. What am I looking for, specifically, in this?

Sfc should fix all integrity violations automatically when using scannow. If it detects errors, but cannot fix them, then there is a serious issue with your windows installation. I cannot think of any way to fix something like this without a windows install disk. If you get an install disk, you should be able to do a repair install, which should replace the system files but leave your personal data.

Have you tried Windows key + E? What happens if you do that?

Nothing happens with any of the Windows Key combinations.

Sfc should fix all integrity violations automatically when using scannow. If it detects errors, but cannot fix them, then there is a serious issue with your windows installation. I cannot think of any way to fix something like this without a windows install disk. If you get an install disk, you should be able to do a repair install, which should replace the system files but leave your personal data.

I'm not in a position to get a recovery from anywhere. SFC/Scannow did detail some errors which it wasn't able to fix.

I'd keep it in hibernate, except that its battery is shot, and if there's a power cut, it'll go off anyway.

Nothing happens with any of the Windows Key combinations.

I'm not in a position to get a recovery from anywhere. SFC/Scannow did detail some errors which it wasn't able to fix.

I'd keep it in hibernate, except that its battery is shot, and if there's a power cut, it'll go off anyway.

You can legally download the disk images for windows 7. Should be easy to find using google. With the image, you can burn a DVD or make a bootable USB. Since sfc cannot correct the issues you're experiencing, that means that your windows installation has been corrupted to the point that it cannot repair itself. There is no way to solve that issue without an install image.

System restore ?

When did it start happening

The sfc /scannow should have told you if there were corrupt / missing files and if it repaired them, and to reboot if it was able to replace them or not

I believe it logs the scan here

C:\Windows\Logs\CBS

I still give something like "malwarebytes" and "hijack this" a scan to be sure

download windows 8 (you mitght not like it if you dont like metro look) .its free i guess ...

Need to avoid a fresh install.

Well, if there's really no other option,as the scannow is indeed throwing corrupt files at me, I guess I'll have to start looking for a repair disk.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • 26H2 absolutely will support ARM Windows just not on devices that came with 26H1. This is evident by the fact I am running 26H2, which on my MacBook Neo and Surface Book, within a VM.
    • Mp3tag 3.35 by Razvan Serea Mp3tag is a powerful and yet easy-to-use tool to edit metadata (ID3, Vorbis Comments and APE) of common audio formats. It can rename files based on the tag information, replace characters or words from tags and filenames, import/export tag information, create playlists and more. The program supports online freedb database lookups for selected files, allowing you to automatically gather proper tag information for select files or CDs. Mp3tag supports the following audio formats: Advanced Audio Coding (aac) Free Lossless Audio Codec (flac) Monkeys Audio (ape) Mpeg Layer 3 (mp3) MPEG-4 (mp4 / m4a / m4b / iTunes compatible) Musepack (mpc) Ogg Vorbis (ogg) OptimFROG (ofr) OptimFROG DualStream (ofs) Speex (spx) Toms Audio Kompressor (tak) True Audio (tta) Windows Media Audio (wma) WavPack (wv) Mp3tag 3.35 changelog: This version introduces a new Files options page, enhanced toolbar customization, support for RF64 WAV files, improved Discogs and MusicBrainz tag sources, and many other improvements and fixes. See the Release Notes for more details. Download: Mp3tag 64-bit | 5.7 MB (Freeware) Download: Mp3tag 32-bit | 5.2 MB Link: Mp3tag Homepage | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • The FIFA World Cup is not US centric.
    • It’s amusing how Microsoft is pushing IT admins as if this was a major, game-changing update. In reality, it’s just an enablement package that bumps the build number, which is disappointing compared to the more substantial 22H2 and 24H2 releases. Technically, 25H2, 26H1, and the upcoming 26H2 are essentially the same, differing only in support schedules. They could have included the Windows K2 improvements here, but chose not to. The era of Windows being in the backburner continues, and this 26H2 release feels like an afterthought. Shame, Nadella, shame.
    • Microsoft, totally not confusing /s 25H2 - Current for non-Arm based Windows 26H1 - Current for Arm based Windows 26H2 - Only for non Arm Windows
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      AMV earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      AMV earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Collaborator
      ryansurfer98 went up a rank
      Collaborator
    • One Month Later
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Eurosoft10 earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      523
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      172
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      78
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      72
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!