Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Windows 7 Pro: Windows Explorer Has Stopped Working

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Windows 7 Pro: Windows Explorer Has Stopped Working

    Son of an everlovin'.... After a debacle with Tits-up Direct sending us four computers that were nonfunctional right out of the box, I got four new ones with Windows 7Pro for the office. Everything seemed to be running smoothly: OS installed and validated just fine; installed network cards and linked up to the network; got printer drivers, anti-malware, and -spyware software loaded and ran tests to give me baseline readings; ran all the Windows updates; and finally started working on installing Office 365 Business to finish the last of my software installs.

    Early on I got the "Windows Explorer has stopped working" error on two of the computers, but they seemed to fix themselves and kept going. Today I come to work, start one of the computers, log in as an administrator, get the "Welcome" chime, and then I get the same error -- but this time it shuts down Explorer on me. Blank screen, no start button, no icons, nothing. I cannot figure out what's going on. Opened Task Manager and there were no programs running... And then Task Manger crashed! I searched Microsoft for help, but I've now run thru all their advice short of a clean install with no success.

    The things I have done are:
    - Check for video driver updates (none)
    - ran malware/antivirus software (clean)
    - restart in safe mode with networking (same problem)
    - restart with clean boot, only MS things on (same problem)
    - run system files checker (found problems I have no idea how to fix)
    - diagnostics on memory (all good)

    The worst part is that one of the other computers is starting to throw that error now, too. What the fuck? Can anyone help me figure this out and get the computers running again?

    The computers are all:
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 GHz 64 bitwith 4 GB RAM running Win7 Pro w/ service pack 1
    Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Can you please post the error names/codes show by the SFC? If you run it as "sfc /scannow" (remove the " and make sure to run CMD as an Administrator) it should be able to repair some of them on its own, but it will almost certainly require a reboot.

    Was the seller's tech support department able to help at all, as I am assuming they're under at least the basic warranty/90 days return period?

    The first things that come to mind are bad RAM, bad Hard Drives, or bad connections/cabling connecting the drives to the systems. Also, try temporarily disconnecting the optical drives, just to see what happens. An Explorer crash is something they really should have been able to catch and fix at their warehouse.

    One last av/spyware prog to try if you haven't: ADWCleaner is a good and free one that seems to ferret out crap that other programs miss.
    Last edited by EricKei; 10-26-2015, 04:02 PM.
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

    Comment

    • #3
      When I ran the scannow command Friday, it said it couldn't fix everything, but I don't know which ones it couldn't fix. How do I access the src file log if I can't use Explorer? I used the Task Manger (before it crashed) to get to configsys for the clean boot, but that's about it. I think I could get to the command screen the same way.

      Seller's tech support says it's a Windows issue and I should contact Microsoft. No help there.

      The memory diagnostics checked out ok, and everything was running fine from Monday until Friday when it first three the error. I'll get into it and fiddle with the physical connections as soon as I can pull the sfc file.
      Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

      Comment

      • #4
        The seller does have a responsibility to at least sell you a working product...Escalate/go up the food chain if need be.

        Logfile info here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...r.html#option3
        "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
        "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
        "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
        "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
        "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
        "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
        Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
        "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

        Comment

        • #5
          This is me this morning:

          What you're asking for, EricKei, sounds simple enough, and I went to the site to follow the instructions. Then I ran into a problem.

          When I typed in the command from the instructions, I got "FINDSTR: Cannot open C:\Windows\logs\cbs\CBS.log"

          I figured that maybe I needed to run the scannow thing again, but that's when I hit a wall. Without being able to get to the Start menu, I don't know how to get my machine to run the cmd.exe as an administrator. Everything I find on the web talks about navigating to files on the harddrive, but without Explorer working I don't know how to do that.

          HELP!
          Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

          Comment

          • #6
            Restart in "Safe Mode" (use "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" if it's given as an option) -- if computer is off, you need to hit the F8 key at about the same time the system switches from the text display to "Loading Windows" (or whatever). Just start hitting once per second as soon as POST is done and you'll usually catch it in time.

            May also wanna just use the built-in function that many such systems have that allows you to just wipe the drive and start fresh. Make sure you have the Windows install keys first. This may be simpler.
            "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
            "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
            "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
            "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
            "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
            "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
            Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
            "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

            Comment

            • #7
              I mentioned earlier that Safe mode doesn't work. Explorer still crashes.. EDIT: sonuva... It worked this time. Running a new scan. How can I access the file if I can't get to the desktop?

              The problem is that I had already started saving client info on that machine. Wiping it means losing it and I'm not sure which pile of documents waiting to be scanned were on that drive. Saving it is my first priority. Damned HIPAA.

              What will the instructions be for fixing those corrupted files that the SFC scan found? One I can get to them, that is. I'm trying to make a USB recovery disc now, but my other machines aren't letting me choose anything but a CD.
              Last edited by EvilEmpryss; 10-27-2015, 02:52 PM.
              Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

              Comment

              • #8
                AAAAATRRRGHHHHHH!

                I was able to boot in safe mode after running the scan, and found the file on the desktop just like it's supposed to be, but the sfc details file is blank!!!



                ETA: Okay, now I know the computer is just screwing with me.......... It's working perfectly now. Rebooted, everything came up right, logged in, no Explorer crash.

                This is why I will not do tech support for a living.
                Last edited by EvilEmpryss; 10-27-2015, 03:24 PM.
                Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

                Comment

                • #9
                  Cross your fingers, back up the entire machine, and do a full system wipe & reinstall. Chances are this'll just crop up again when you least expect it.

                  FWIW - SFC can usually do fixes on its own. If there's anything leftover, they would need to be looked up individually.
                  "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                  "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                  "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                  "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                  "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                  "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                  Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                  "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                  Comment

                  Previous template Next
                  Working...
                  X