I've been having a frustrating issue with Windows Explorer. Starting this morning, I've noticed that after opening and closing it six times, it seems to break down completely. On the fifth open, all the icons change to the generic file icon. By the sixth attempt, it only shows 'This PC' on the left side, and the rest just hangs on loading. Restarting Explorer through the task manager temporarily fixes it, but restarting my PC doesn't help at all. This issue just started today, and there haven't been any Windows updates since the 15th—only a background update for CoPilot last night. Has anyone encountered this before or know of a potential fix? I'm on Windows 11, by the way.
4 Answers
If you're still running into problems, I suggest using Winternals Process Explorer. It could help you dig deeper into what’s going wrong behind the scenes.
You might want to check the Reliability Monitor. Just hit the Windows button and search for it. It should help you pinpoint what caused the breakdown. If it brings up any issues with system files, you could look into restoring or repairing them. It's also worth checking if it indicates any driver failures, since you might need to update or reinstall those after the recent patch.
Try running a command in Command Prompt or PowerShell: `DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth`. It scans and fixes corruptions in the Windows image. After that, running `sfc /scannow` can also help fix corrupted system files. Let me know if that works for you!
I ran those commands, but sadly, the problem still sticks around.
This sounds like it might be related to a memory leak in the Explorer process or a problem with a shell extension rather than a hardware issue. Since it breaks after several uses, I'd suggest checking a few things: Disable any third-party shell extensions via ShellExView, run a system file check using `sfc /scannow` and `DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth` in the command prompt, and clear the Explorer cache in the File Explorer Options. It could also be a glitch with your graphics driver, so ensure it's updated or reinstall it. Maybe consider that the recent CoPilot update could be messing with Explorer too; if so, try uninstalling that update or creating a new user profile to see if the issue persists.
I've disabled all the non-Microsoft shell extensions, ran both commands you suggested, cleared the Explorer history, and even updated my GPU drivers, but unfortunately the issue keeps happening. I also can't seem to uninstall the CoPilot updates.
I checked the Reliability Monitor, but it didn't show any crashes or issues. Explorer just goes blank without any crash report.