How to fix explorer.exe crashes in Windows

Case #

In Windows 10/11 as well as in Windows Server 2016/2019/2022 you may face an issue with the explorer.exe process crashing and restarting occasionally. This how-to article provides guidance on how to fix explorer.exe crashes in Windows.

Solution #

Follow the steps below to fix explorer.exe crashes in Windows.

• Run disk health checks in Windows.
• Run a full anti-malware check with your third party anti-malware tool, Windows Defender and ideally with the latest version of Microsoft malicious software removal tool: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=9905.
• Check the Windows registry health by following instructions from the following articles.
  • https://blog.netwrix.com/2018/09/25/how-to-perform-windows-registry-repair-and-fix-errors-top-7-free-registry-cleaners/
  • https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/description-of-the-windows-registry-checker-tool-scanreg-exe-aaae4323-daa2-8477-5a4e-2a273779fdf0
• Make use of the Nirsoft tool for extensions removal. This regards any third-party apps which could tamper with explorer.exe causing it to crash. You should combine these checks with Process Monitor traces from the affected machine(s).
• Check all Explorer.exe settings and ensure these do not tamper with another third-party application you are using
• Ensure that the crashes are not occuring due to multi-monitor setup and HDMI devices. Try to work in a single-monitor setup without HDMI devices and see if you can still replicate the issue.
• Ensure that you install the latest graphics driver updates from your software vendor.
• If you are using Citrix or another VDI environment, review the following KB articles and apply fixes, if any of these cases applies to your environment.
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX264843/explorer-is-crashing-consistently-on-the-vda-after-installing-updates-or-applications
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX457774/explorerexe-crashes-on-win-10-on-vda
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX234184/randomly-users-file-explorer-instances-will-crash-causing-folders-to-close-and-explorerexe-to-be-restarted
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX138330/the-explorerexe-stops-responding-on-a-local-client
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX213286/win10-ms-bug-116040613928824-crash-in-explorerexe-on-win-10×64
  • https://discussions.citrix.com/topic/414591-office-2016-and-other-layers-are-crashing-explorerexe-consistently-after-installation-of-kb4023057-kb5006667-kb890830/
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX138069/published-explorerexe-and-other-applications-close-instantly-after-launch
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX221177/how-to-verify-if-citrix-hooks-are-loaded-in-a-process
  • https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX107825/how-to-disable-citrix-api-hooks-on-a-perapplication-basis and https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX216907/disable-ctx-hooks-perapplication-based-on-when-the-excluded-image-doesnt-work
• If all else fails, create a clean Windows profile or finally re-install Windows on your affected machine(s).