Any solutions for the explorer.exe memory leak?


I'm not sure how many people notice it, but I sometimes see explorer.exe restart itself.
If the system begins lagging you will notice it. If it's fast, obviously you won't.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen Processor 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    Dell XPS 15 9570
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    32GB using 2x16GB modules
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    Dell XPS 15 9570
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    Dell XPS 15 9570
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    Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender that came with Windows
I'd imagine everyone would notice it, The taskbar and any open folders etc close straight away. Unless theyre afk of course
Not really, I have never seen explorer.exe close or crash because that's another issue as whenever explorer.exe crashes or restarted, you will notice the some of the system tray icons would be missing like nVidia's tray icons and Snagit for example.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen Processor 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Memory
    32GB using 2x16GB modules
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 630 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC3266-CG
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" 4K Touch UltraHD 3840x2160 made by Sharp
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1024GB/1TB SSD
    PSU
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Case
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Stock
    Mouse
    SwitftPoint ProPoint
    Internet Speed
    Comcast/XFinity 1.44Gbps/42.5Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender that came with Windows
Not really, I have never seen explorer.exe close or crash because that's another issue as whenever explorer.exe crashes or restarted, you will notice the some of the system tray icons would be missing like nVidia's tray icons and Snagit for example.
Nah what i meant is, Anytime explorer has/had crashed on me(Now that its no longer an issue for me) it closed the taskbar on both monitors and any open windows that explorer was using. Im not sure how you wouldn't notice that unless you weren't looking at the time. It was an issue with the builds for a while im sure, Not everyone had the issue like most of them
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
Nah what i meant is, Anytime explorer has/had crashed on me(Now that its no longer an issue for me) it closed the taskbar on both monitors and any open windows that explorer was using. Im not sure how you wouldn't notice that unless you weren't looking at the time. It was an issue with the builds for a while im sure, Not everyone had the issue like most of them
Not sure if that is a actual crash though because I do notice the taskbar does disappear but when explorer.exe really crashes or even when you restart the process, it will always not show all the system tray icons unless you manually restart the processes either by restarting or killing and then starting them manually. For all we know, it could be a resource leak from certain apps that is causing it. Just like MSMoneyquotes.exe works fine for me in Windows 10 but in Windows 11, the process will eventually die on it's own when it feels like it, hard to say if it's the app itself or if it's windows killing it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen Processor 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Memory
    32GB using 2x16GB modules
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 630 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC3266-CG
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" 4K Touch UltraHD 3840x2160 made by Sharp
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1024GB/1TB SSD
    PSU
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Case
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Stock
    Mouse
    SwitftPoint ProPoint
    Internet Speed
    Comcast/XFinity 1.44Gbps/42.5Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender that came with Windows
Not sure if that is a actual crash though because I do notice the taskbar does disappear but when explorer.exe really crashes or even when you restart the process, it will always not show all the system tray icons unless you manually restart the processes either by restarting or killing and then starting them manually. For all we know, it could be a resource leak from certain apps that is causing it. Just like MSMoneyquotes.exe works fine for me in Windows 10 but in Windows 11, the process will eventually die on it's own when it feels like it, hard to say if it's the app itself or if it's windows killing it.
It was an issue with a certain dev build, cant remember exactly which one it was and im not sure it affected everyone, Once they fixed it it stopped altogether so you're right, It could have been that and something else causing the issue at the time
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
Not really, I have never seen explorer.exe close or crash because that's another issue as whenever explorer.exe crashes or restarted, you will notice the some of the system tray icons would be missing like nVidia's tray icons and Snagit for example.
explorer.exe crashes for me from time to time and restarts. I can't work out why.
But you're right, some tray app icons don't return.
I have to go to Task Manager and end those apps, then restart them to restore the tray icon.

I'm not too concerned about the tray icons not returning after an explorer.exe restart. That is probably something to do with specific apps and the way they're coded. I'm more concerned about explorer.exe crashing and restarting. I didn't have this problem with Windows 10.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stigg's Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-10900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G
    Memory
    Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    PSU
    Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata V2
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
    CPU
    Core i7-8750H
    Motherboard
    Zephyrus M GM501GS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC294
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics B156HAN07.1 [15.6" LCD]
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVKW512HMJP-00000 512 GB, PCI-E 3.0 x4
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 4TB 4 TB, SATA-III
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Keyboard
    PC/AT Enhanced PS2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    USB2.0 HD UVC Webcam
explorer.exe crashes for me from time to time and restarts. I can't work out why.
But you're right, some tray app icons don't return.
I have to go to Task Manager and end those apps, then restart them to restore the tray icon.

I'm not too concerned about the tray icons not returning after an explorer.exe restart. That is probably something to do with specific apps and the way they're coded. I'm more concerned about explorer.exe crashing and restarting. I didn't have this problem with Windows 10.
You're probably right about how the apps are coded. That's why I use Process Hacker over Task Manager since I can go through the list and restart what is no longer running. nVidia Settings would be one that disappears which can be restarted by right clicking on the desktop and then nVidia Control Panel and then go through the toggling of display options. For all I know. the issue with Explorer.exe crashing may be tied to dwm.exe having a memory leak from the Intel HD 630 GPU drivers as mentioned at dwm.exe uses memory leakage with Intel HD Graphics 630 & others

So it seems like there is the explorer restarting without killing any of the system tray icons and then there is one where it kills the system tray icons like when you restart the explorer.exe process or kill and start the explorer.exe process.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP/7/8/8.1/10/11, Linux, Android, FreeBSD Unix
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-8750H 8th Gen Processor 2.2Ghz up to 4.1Ghz
    Motherboard
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Memory
    32GB using 2x16GB modules
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD 630 & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB DDR5
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC3266-CG
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" 4K Touch UltraHD 3840x2160 made by Sharp
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba KXG60ZNV1T02 NVMe 1024GB/1TB SSD
    PSU
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Case
    Dell XPS 15 9570
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Stock
    Mouse
    SwitftPoint ProPoint
    Internet Speed
    Comcast/XFinity 1.44Gbps/42.5Mbps
    Browser
    Microsoft EDGE (Chromium based) & Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender that came with Windows
You're probably right about how the apps are coded. That's why I use Process Hacker over Task Manager since I can go through the list and restart what is no longer running. nVidia Settings would be one that disappears which can be restarted by right clicking on the desktop and then nVidia Control Panel and then go through the toggling of display options. For all I know. the issue with Explorer.exe crashing may be tied to dwm.exe having a memory leak from the Intel HD 630 GPU drivers as mentioned at dwm.exe uses memory leakage with Intel HD Graphics 630 & others

So it seems like there is the explorer restarting without killing any of the system tray icons and then there is one where it kills the system tray icons like when you restart the explorer.exe process or kill and start the explorer.exe process.
You've given me a clue by mentioning dwm.exe.
As soon as I Google dwm.exe, there are numerous error reports about it.

I will investigate that. (y) :geek:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stigg's Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-10900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G
    Memory
    Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    PSU
    Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata V2
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
    CPU
    Core i7-8750H
    Motherboard
    Zephyrus M GM501GS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC294
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics B156HAN07.1 [15.6" LCD]
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVKW512HMJP-00000 512 GB, PCI-E 3.0 x4
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 4TB 4 TB, SATA-III
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Keyboard
    PC/AT Enhanced PS2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    USB2.0 HD UVC Webcam

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