Member Avatar for jbundy95

I keep getting the message "Windows host process (Rundll32) has stopped working" and then about 3/4 seconds after that, this pops up .. "Windowss Explorer has stopped working", so I click "Restart the program", my desktop reboots, and the same two messages pop up again! Its just an endless loop of the two errors

The problem details are as follows;
Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: RunDLL32.exe
Application Version: 6.0.6000.16386
Application Timestamp: 4549b0e1
Fault Module Name:
Fault Module Version:
Fault Module Timestamp: 4b8f9025
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00001f75
OS Version: 6.0.6002.2.
Locale ID: 2057
Additional Information 1: fd00
Additional Information 2: ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160
Additional Information 3: fd00
Additional Information 4: ea6f5fe8924aaa756324d57f87834160

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by dee101g

Dani AI

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Brief expert summary and a compact troubleshooting path tied to the posts from and . The symptoms described (explorer/rundll32 repeatedly failing at startup) are commonly caused by one of three things: a third-party shell extension or media/preview filter, a corrupted system file, or malware that hooks explorer/rundll32. Start by confirming which Windows build and which antivirus are installed (asked by ) — that affects driver/AV interaction and which tools to run.

Start with Safe Mode and a clean boot to see whether the problem is caused by a service or startup item; this is the fastest way to tell whether a non-Microsoft component is responsible. If Explorer is stable in Safe Mode or under a clean boot, re-enable items in halves to isolate the culprit. (support.microsoft.com)

From a working command prompt (run as Administrator) run a system-file integrity check to rule out damaged OS files:

sfc /scannow

If SFC repairs items, reboot and retest; if SFC cannot complete, run it from Safe Mode or recovery media. (support.microsoft.com)

Because crashes that involve rundll-host/Explorer are frequently caused by third‑party shell extensions, preview handlers or codec/DirectShow filters, inspect and temporarily disable non‑Microsoft extensions. Use Autoruns (Sysinternals) to look for Explorer hooks, AppInit DLLs and other persistence points, and use ShellExView for an easier view of context‑menu/preview extensions — hide Microsoft entries, disable non‑Microsoft items, then restart Explorer via Task Manager and retest. Re-enable items one at a time to find the offender. (learn.microsoft.com)

Finally, rule out malware: run an offline/secondary‑machine download of an on‑demand scanner (for example Microsoft Safety Scanner or a current Malwarebytes build) from removable media and run a full scan if Explorer is unstable in normal mode. If those steps don’t help, capture the Event Viewer / Reliability entries (Application log) and try a System Restore or repair install; post the exact Event log lines if further diagnosis is needed. (support.microsoft.com)

Notes and cautions: disable (don’t delete) items at first so changes are reversible; back up important data before trying system restore or repair operations.

Member Avatar for dee101g

Which Windows Version/Service Pack are you running? What Anti-virus solution are you running? Did you install any new software recently?

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