Windows explorer problems

[master_bates]

When I go into "my documents" lately I've been getting the following message

Windows explorer has encountered a problem and needs to be closed.

I then have the option to send error report back to microsoft or not.

I have chosen to send the report numerous times but it has not helped.

I then close the folder through my task manager, since its status is not

responding.

What can be done other than reformating?

Thank you

 

[Techman]

That's a difficult problem to diagnose without seeing the system. It's possible that one of the files in the folder is corrupted, especially if you have the folder set to thumbnail view. First thimg to do is to boot in safe mode and see if the same problem occurs. If you are able to view your files in safe mode, create a folder on your desktop and move the files, and the sub folders if any, into it.

Then boot in normal mode and try to access the 'my documents' folder. If you are able to do so, the problem is with one of the files. If not, I would suggest using the system restore function to roll back your system to a date before the problem began to see if this helps.

I am assuming that you have already run a virus and malware scan. If not I would download Malwarebytes Anti-malware as well as SuperAntiSpyware, both available from www.download.com and run a scan with both programs. SuperAntiSpyware also has other functions that could be useful in repairing this problem in their advanced functions section.

Good luck and let me know if this helps at all.

Techman

 

[ocean]

Hi,

1. reboot try again to access your documents.... if that does nto work
2. download Bazooka spy scanner from kephyr.com or download.com
3. if that does not work do a search and in the search field write *.doc hit enter and it should find all your word documents.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I am assuming that you have already run a virus and malware scan. If not I would download Malwarebytes Anti-malware as well as SuperAntiSpyware, both available from www.download.com and run a scan with both programs. SuperAntiSpyware also has other functions that could be useful in repairing this problem in their advanced functions section.

I recently downloaded these programs and they eliminated a problem that my antivirus software could not.

I was getting this very unusual popup which said "Windows Security Alert!" and told me that Windows had detected a virus that would seek to steal my passwords. I then had a pop up for something called "Spyware Protect 2009" which looked like an anti-spyware program but it asked for my credit card info which I refused to give it.

After doing some research I learned that "Spyware Protect 2009" is a rogue, fake anti-spyware program which seeks to scare Windows users into thinking that their personal info will be stolen if they do not act quickly. I had already suspected a scam because the grammar was off in all these different pop ups. The diction in the pop ups looked like it was written by a child whose first language is not English.

I then ran the programs Techman suggested and the pop ups disappeared. Which was a good thing because they were driving me crazy. I still don't know how it got on my computer.

More about this problem and how to solve it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uruiuWq4viw

 

[Rook01]

I had a similar problem like this with a folder. The folder was set on view by thumbnails.

Every time I opened the folder, i would get the error. I isolated the file that was giving me the problem by moving all the files out to a new folder and setting view by list. Then moving one file at a time till i found the culprit.

 

[master_bates]

I used the easiest solution possible and it seems to have worked for now

even though I had to get rid of a feature that was useful to me.

I dissabled the thumbnail previews for all my video files by going into

start menu, then run then pasted in it (regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll)

 

[Techman]

Usually that means you have a corrupted video file. When explorer tries to access it to generate the thumbnail, it is unable to and this causes the crash. The easiest way to find out which file is corrupt is to make a new folder set for thumbnail view and move the video files into it a small group at a time. Once you move the damaged file into this folder, explorer will crash and then you just have to narrow it down to the exact file and delete it.

This can also be caused by one of the popular codec packs on the net, such as CCCP, when a codec gets corrupted that is used by that particular file. If you use CCCP, or any other particular codec pack, you can try re-installing it or installing the latest version to see if it corrects the problem if the video file in question cannot be replaced.

 

[GTA refugee]

I had the same problem, as a last resort you could reload your vista ( or XP ) from the disc. The problem went away after that. Remember to back up your info before you reload, becuase you get a clean computer after the reload like it just came from the store.

 

[Rook01]

I had the same problem, as a last resort you could reload your vista ( or XP ) from the disc. The problem went away after that. Remember to back up your info before you reload, becuase you get a clean computer after the reload like it just came from the store.

Ever thought of ghosting your system drive ? I have found it way better then any reloads and with less lost of any data. I store the image on separate drive and update the image every so often.

If I ever mess up my pc, I just pop in a bootable DVD and re-image the system drive from a backup drive.