Fix: Windows Explorer has stopped working in Windows 11 & 10

Windows Explorer or File Explorer is the key feature of Windows that millions of users use to access their various storage devices. What will happen if you can’t access your File Explorer and instead an error message shows up with this error message “Windows Explorer has stopped working“? If you are facing this issue and cannot use File Explorer, don’t worry. You can solve this issue simply by enacting these easy fixes on your system.

Workarounds

1. Detach all the external USB devices, external drives from your system. Then, open File Explorer and test.

2. Just restart Windows once. Test whether this simple workaround helps.

 

Fix 1 – Tweak the registry

Corrupted DaemoShellExtImage, WinRAR, WinRAR32, and 7-zip shell extensions can crash the File Explorer.

1. Press the Windows key+S keys together and type “regedit“.

2. Then, tap on the “Registry Editor” to access it.

 

Regedit New Search Min

 

Registry Editor will open up.

Warning – Sometimes, these registry edits can brick your entire system. In that case, a simple registry backup can save your system.  So, follow this simple step to create a registry backup before you perform any registry changes.

When the Registry Editor opens up, tap on “File“. Then tap on “Export” to create a new registry backup on your system.

 

Export Registry Windows 11 New Min



 

This backup will help you return back to the previous state.

3. Once Registry Editor appears on the screen, expand the left-hand pane this way –

Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

 

4. Now, you will notice several context menu handlers (like the items that appear in the right-click menu).

5. Just, right-click on any of these items you can find and tap on “Delete.

WinRAR
WinRAR32
DaemonShellExt
7-zip

 

Winrar Delete Min

 

6. Finally, to confirm it, tap on “Yes“.

 

Yes

 

Close the Registry Editor screen. After that, restart the system at once.

 

Fix 2 –  Clear Windows Error logs

Clearing the application error logs has solved the issue for many users.

1. Right-click on the Windows icon and tap on “Run“.

 

Run Min

 

2. When the Run terminal opens up, type “eventvwr.msc” and click on “OK“.

 

Eventvwr Msc Min

 

3. When you see the Error Viewer screen, expand the left-hand side this way –



Windows Logs > Application

 

4. Now, on the right pane, tap on “Clear Log…” to empty all the log files.

 

Clear Log Min

 

5. Finally, tap on “Clear” to clear the log files.

 

Clear Min

 

After you have done that, close the window.

Later, try to open the File Explorer and check if the issue persists.

 

Fix 3 – Copy Explorer.exe to another location

This solution has worked out for many users and should solve the issue quickly.

1. Open File Explorer.

2. Then, navigate to this folder –

C:\Windows

 

3. Here you will find several files and folders.

4. Look for the “explorer” application.

5. Next, select “explorer” and tap on the copy icon on the menu bar to copy it.

 

Explorer Copy Min

 

6. After that, go to this location in File Explorer –

C:\Windows\System32

 

7. In this System32 folder, paste the copied “explorer” app.

 

Paste It Min

 

Close the File Explorer and test again.

Alternative steps

You can’t perform the above-mentioned steps if File Explorer crashes continuously. So, you can use the Command Prompt to copy the file along the same path.

1. Just press the Windows key once and then start to type “command“.

2. When you see “Command Prompt” has appeared on the search results, right-click it and tap “Run as administrator“.

 

Cmd Search New Min

 

3. Now, write this line to navigate to the Windows directory.

cd C:\Windows

 

Cd Windows Min

 

4. In the CMD terminal, paste this following line and press the Enter key to copy the explorer.exe file to the “C:\Windows\System32” directory.

copy explorer.exe C:\Windows\System32

 

Copy Explorer Min

 

Once you see the “1 file (s) copied” message has appeared, close the Command Prompt.

Launch File Explorer and test whether it is crashing.

 

Fix 4 – Alter the Files and Folders settings

The icon view option in File Explorer can solve this issue.

1. Press the Windows key along with the R keys together.

2. Then, type this code and hit Enter.

control folders

 

Control Folders Min

 

3. Now, in the Folder Options window, go to the “View” tab.

4. Make sure to check the “Always show icons, never thumbnails” option.

 

Always Show Icons Min

 

5. Finally, tap on “Apply” and “OK” to save the changes.

 

Apply Ok Min

 

After this, open File Explorer and test if it is working properly or not. If that is not the case, follow the next fix.

 

Fix 5 – Run a system-wide scan

Sometimes, viruses or malware can be the root cause of the issue.

1. First of all click on the 🔍 icon and type “security“.

2. Then, tap on “Windows Security” to open Windows Security.

 

Security Search Min Min

 

3. On the left-hand pane, tap on ““.

4. After that, click on the “Virus & threat protection” to open it.

 

Virus And Threat Protection Min

 

5. Just tap on “Scan options” to view the list of various scan options.

 

Scan Options Min

 

6. Here, choose the “Full Scan“.

7. Then, click on “Scan now” to run the full scan.

 

Full Scan Scan Now Min

 

Let Windows Security run a system-wide scan to identify and fix the problem.

 

Fix 6 – Run SFC scan

SFC scan is meant to fix system files errors. So, running this scan should fix the issue.



1. Tap on the 🔍 sign on your taskbar and write “cmd“.

2. Later, right-click on the “Command Prompt” and tap on “Run as administrator“.

 

Cmd New Edition Min

 

3. When the Command Prompt opens up, type this code and hit the Enter key to run the SFC scan.

sfc /scannow

 

Sfc New Scan Min

 

Let this process reach 100%.

4. Once the SFC scan is completed, copy-paste this DISM command and hit Enter to start the DISM scan.

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

 

Dism Min

 

After running the DISM command, close the Command Prompt.

 

Fix 7 – Uninstall the MyWinlocker

Some users have reported that recently installed applications (like – MyWinlocker), uninstalling it should fix the crash issue.

1. First of all, right-click on the Windows icon and tap on “Apps and Features“.

 

Apps And Features Min

 

2. Now, scroll down and look for “MyWinlocker“.

3. Then, tap on three vertical dots () and click on “Uninstall” to uninstall the app.

 

Mywinlocker Min

 

4. Then, tap on “Yes” to confirm the process.

 

Uninstall Min

 

After that, close Settings.

Reboot the system after that and check whether File Explorer is crashing or not.