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Dear awesome IT blokes/blokettes,

Today a rather curious problem has started occurring on my Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 x64 system; when I right-click on any disc image (be it .ISO, .NRG, etc) there's a brief moment when the mouse cursor changes to an egg timer, and then I get this error:

[b]Windows Explorer has stopped working[/b]

Windows can check online for a solution to the problem and try to restart the program.

* [u]Check online for a solution and restart the program[/u]
* [u]Restart the program[/u]

View problem details

[u]Problem signature:[/u]
  [b]Problem Event Name:[/b]           APPCRASH
  [b]Application Name:[/b]	        explorer.exe
  [b]Application Version:[/b]	        6.0.6001.18000
  [b]Application Timestamp:[/b]	4791970c
  [b]Fault Module Name:[/b]	        ntdll.dll
  [b]Fault Module Version:[/b]	        6.0.6001.18000
  [b]Fault Module Timestamp:[/b]	4791adec
  [b]Exception Code:[/b]	        c0150010
  [b]Exception Offset:[/b]	        000000000005fe0d
  [b]OS Version:[/b]	                6.0.6001.2.1.0.256.1
  [b]Locale ID:[/b]	                2057
  [b]Additional Information 1:[/b]	a108
  [b]Additional Information 2:[/b]	e435a0285851e1df08a79700c4190725
  [b]Additional Information 3:[/b]	ad91
  [b]Additional Information 4:[/b]	7e16eb925cd28ef77172340892e23da8

I think I may know why this started. I reinstalled Windows today, and while Windows updates were downloading and installing in the background, I was also installing a number of other programs, including DAEMON Tools, UltraISO and WinRAR, all of which support numerous disc image formats (except WinRAR, which only supports .ISO). I'm assuming that installing these programs while Windows was updating has caused a problem somewhere along the way.

The problem only occurs when I right-click on disc images, which is weird.

So, can anybody help me solve this annoyance?

Thanks muchly!

EDIT: A small update - I uninstalled all of the aforementioned programs, then right-clicked on an .ISO image, and the normal right-click menu appeared with no problem. I then installed WinRAR, then tried right-clicking again. The problem occurred at that point. So, assuming WinRAR was the culprit, I uninstalled it, and then installed DAEMON Tools. The right-click problem happened at this point, too. So, it seems like some sort of file association corruption or the like.

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Dani AI

Generated

This kind of Explorer crash on right‑click is very often caused by a third‑party shell extension (context‑menu, property‑sheet or icon/overlay handler) running inside explorer.exe. The fastest, least‑destructive approach is to isolate and disable non‑Microsoft shell extensions until the offending one is found.

Quick, safe steps to try now:

  • Use a shell‑extension manager (ShellExView or Autoruns) run elevated. Sort by Type/Company, disable non‑Microsoft items in the Context Menu group, then restart Explorer (or log off/on) and test.
  • If the crash stops, re‑enable handlers in small groups (binary search) to identify the culprit. Note the handler name/vendor for reporting or removal.
  • If you prefer built‑in checks, test under a new local user account or in Safe Mode to see if the problem is per‑user.
  • Run system file repair from an elevated command prompt:
    
sfc /scannow

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe


- When reinstalling tools (WinRAR/DAEMON Tools/UltraISO), choose custom install and deselect shell/context‑menu integration.

If the quick steps don’t find it, next diagnostics:

- Use Process Monitor (filter ProcessName is explorer.exe) while reproducing the crash. Look for DLL loads or access errors immediately before the crash — that will point to the problematic extension.  
- Check Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application and copy the Explorer crash entry (faulting module and offset). That information makes it much easier to identify which extension or DLL failed.  
- If you’re comfortable, capture a mini‑dump of explorer and analyze it (WinDbg/WhoCrashed) or post the Event Log + the names of disabled handlers for targeted help.

Caution: back up the registry or create a restore point before editing or unregistering DLLs. If @Paddy can post the exact handler names or the Application log entry after trying the ShellExView/Autoruns step, more specific remediation steps can be suggested.
Member Avatar for Paddy

Another update: the problem only occurs when the disc image is on the Windows desktop. This is getting weirder and weirder!

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