Member Avatar for maniacbob

So for a while I've fighting with Windows Explorer
Whenever I have a window open and I close it, Explorer completely crashes and I have to re-initialize it
At first I thought it was a hard drive problem because my computer had been packed because I was doing some editing work for a friend of mine's movie and the raw footage was clogging up my computer but I finished and deleted it and ran defrag but I was still suffering from the same problem
After trying to fix it and finding no help elsewhere on the internet I decided to try and replace Explorer
So I downloaded and installed a trial version of Directory Opus which worked fine, did everything I wanted for about 3 weeks (was a 30 day trial) but then I ran into trouble yesterday, Directory Opus was giving me an error I was missing a .dll which was crashing it
Therefore I decided to uninstall it, went into Add/Remove Programs because the start menu didn't show a Uninstall option, and got rid of Directory Opus

Things seemed fine, I'll just fight with Windows Explorer a little longer I can handle that
Wrong
I can't open any folders now
I had set Directory Opus to open all my folders and apparently when that was uninstalled it wasn't set back to Windows Explorer
I can Explore a folder but thats a pain and means opening another window to navigate through that folder
When I open a folder it asks me which program I want to use and I've tried finding Windows Explorer but I don't see it anywhere

Can somebody please help me with either of these problems?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

Dani AI

Generated

Short, practical diagnosis and fixes based on the thread (no fluff).

The behaviour you describe after uninstalling Directory Opus matches a very common problem: Opus can register itself as an “Explorer replacement” (or leave folder-open entries behind) so that, after uninstall, Windows no longer has the correct folder-open command. Directory Opus does include an Explorer-replacement mode, and Windows expects certain registry values for the Folder/Directory open commands. (resource.dopus.com)

Quick triage (do these first)

  • See whether the problem is profile-specific: create or log into a different user account and/or boot to Safe Mode. If folders work there the issue is very likely a per-user setting or a third‑party shell extension. Microsoft documents using a separate account/Safe Mode to isolate profile vs system problems. (learn.microsoft.com)
  • If the error goes away in Safe Mode, use a shell-extension manager (for example, NirSoft ShellExView) to temporarily disable non‑Microsoft shell extensions and retest; this often finds what’s left behind by third‑party file managers. (learn.microsoft.com)

Fixes in order of safety (backup first)

  • Try Folder Options -> File Types (or Use Folder Options -> General -> Restore Defaults) and restore the default action for “File Folder” / “Folder” to the Open/Explore action; this is the safest, non‑registry approach. (forums.tomshardware.com)
  • If that doesn’t work, back up the registry and create a System Restore point, then restore the core Folder/Directory open commands. The following .reg will restore the usual defaults on XP (save as a .reg file and double‑click to merge):
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell]
@="Open"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\Explore\command]
@="%SystemRoot%\\Explorer.exe /e,/root,\"%1\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell]
@="open"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\open\command]
@="%SystemRoot%\\Explorer.exe /idlist,%I,%L"

After merging, reboot and test. The PCReview / community posts document these keys and values as the normal defaults. (pcreview.co.uk)

Notes, cautions and next steps

  • As noted, if system files or disk corruption are suspected, run the system-file-repair tool and a disk-scan from recovery media before heavy repairs. ’s suggestion to update Windows is also reasonable once Explorer is working.
  • If the registry keys are repeatedly reset or the problem persists system‑wide, reinstalling Directory Opus and turning off its Explorer‑replacement option before uninstalling it cleanly, or performing an in‑place repair of XP, are reliable last resorts.

Always back up data and the registry before making changes.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for caperjack

with the windows cd in the disk drive go to start /run , type in "sfc /scannow " with out the "" and there is a space between c and / .
this is system file checker ,it will replace missing or corrupt windows system files ,might help with the problem .
if that don't help with the winxp cd in the drive reboot windows to the cd and go to recovery console ,go "R" for repair and type in "chkdsk /r" again with out the " you may have to go into the bios to change the boot order to cdrom as first boot.

Member Avatar for bobbyraw

run a windows update on you pc

Member Avatar for caperjack

stares with blank look on face!!

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