Member Avatar for Bjm5295

Hi
The other day I started my computer, and all the Desktop Icons and Taskbar were missing. This has happened before, and was fixed simply by starting Explorer, but this time, if I start it while looking at the processes list, it opens for about a second then closes. Does anyone know whats wrong? :cry:

Thanks

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 121 Views
  • 3 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Bjm5295

Dani AI

Generated

Short, practical triage based on the thread so far (references to and ): when Explorer fails while other programs will run, the usual culprits are third‑party shell extensions or shell-replacement programs, corrupted system files, profile corruption, or malware. The diagnostic approach should isolate whether the shell itself or an add‑on is crashing, and then repair or remove the offending component.

Boot to Safe Mode first. If the shell is stable there, suspect a non‑Microsoft startup item or shell extension. Verify the shell registry value at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell is set to explorer.exe before editing the registry. Run sfc /scannow from an elevated command prompt to check and repair system files (Microsoft documentation for sfc is authoritative). To find problematic shell extensions or auto-starting components, use Sysinternals Autoruns to disable non‑Microsoft entries (scan the Explorer-related entries) and then reboot: Autoruns.

If Explorer starts briefly then dies, run Process Explorer while starting Explorer to capture child processes and the faulting module; process dumps or the module name are often the smoking gun. Also check Windows Event Viewer (Application and System logs) for error entries that match the Explorer crash — note the faulting module and exception code. Useful tools and guidance: Process Explorer and the sfc command docs linked above.

If the problem disappears after disabling extensions, re-enable them in small groups to find the offender. If nothing helps, try a clean boot and/or creating a new user profile, run a full offline malware scan, and consider System Restore or a repair install as last resorts. Back up data and registry before making changes.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for nanosani

Can you start any other exe files other than explorer ??

Member Avatar for Bjm5295

Pretty much everything will open, it's just theres no Desktop. I've downloaded and installed a few things since this has happend so yeah, EXEs open.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.