To eliminate that possibility we need to disable all third party services and programs. Please note that this may be caused by programs that interact directly with Windows Explorer, e.g. Solution 4: Disable Third party services and toolsĪnother possible cause for the Windows Explorer has stopped working error message is a third party program or service that might be conflicting with it. You might want to run at least one program in the categories anti-malware/spyware, anti-rootkit and anti-virus. Recommended are for instance Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, DrWeb and Gmer. Scanning the system with security applications ensures that no virus or other malicious code is running on the system that is causing the problems.Ĭheck out this extensive listing of security applications. Make sure you update drivers for the hardware as well (especially video card) Solution 4: Scan the system with security softwareĪ virus or other malicious software might be the cause for the issues with Windows Explorer. Check for Windows updates (via Start button > all programs > Windows Update) and software updates if the software is running in the background.

Tap on the windows-key, type cmd.exe, right-click on the first result and select run as administrator from the context menu.

This is useful if the computer link is not displayed in the start menu anymore (which is the case on Windows 8 and newer). Note: You may run Check Disk in the following way instead.

It will start the scan automatically on the next startup. The Disk check needs to be scheduled as the disk is in use when the operating system is running. Make sure that both options are selected before you press the Start button.ĥ. Switch to the Tools tab and select the Check Now button under Error-checkingĤ.

Right-click the hard drive that Windows is installed on (usually c:) and select Properties from the context menu.ģ. Open the Start Menu and click on the computer link.Ģ.

Windows 8 file explorer not responding