Explorer.exe application error after bad crash

I was playing a game using the Xbox Game Pass app and the EA Play app. I couldn't connect to the EA server and had a bad crash where the applications froze and I couldn't even reboot.

I then forced a reboot by cutting the power, but after that I suddenly got a weird Bing Co-Pilot appearing on the taskbar for no apparent reason.

Then the real problem started, at random times when I restart or shut down, I get this error message:

"Explorer.exe application error: the instruction at <memory address> referenced memory at <memory address> could not be written."

I have tried multiple solutions to this, including a memory diagnostic, restarting Windows explorer, running DISM.exe or sfc scannow, but nothing has helped. The problem does go away usually after one of these steps, but seems to come back randomly.

Since nothing has really fixed this, and I am considering a total windows restore. Do you think this is a good idea?

Microsoft has suggested changing virtual memory or disabling fast startup, but this doesn't seem to really address what is causing this problem, seems to just cover up the issue, right?

Can anyone suggest anything? Do you think I should also re-install or delete the Xbox or EA App that started the problem, or do you not think this is part of the issue?

Thanks for any help.

This is caused by the latest Windows Cumulative update. Many users have reported the same error, me included. Uninstalling the update fixes it and you need to stop windows updates until a fix comes.

I updated a long time ago, didn't have any of these issues till this crash, so I have to assume it is related to the event that caused it, right?

DoctorWho said:

I updated a long time ago, didn't have any of these issues till this crash, so I have to assume it is related to the event that caused it, right?

Click to expand...

Welcome to ElevenForum. Rest assured we allow no Daleks on this forum.


Try System Restore. If that doesn't fix it, try a repair install with an In-Place Upgrade.

An In-Place Upgrade "compares" what is installed on the computer, with the Windows ISO image.
Then, it overwrites any corrupted Windows files, with clean copies from the ISO image.
This is how it "repairs" Windows while allowing you to keep your programs and personal files.

Here is the short version of the In-place upgrade tutorial...

DISABLE non-Microsoft:
a) antivirus software
b) firewall software
c) drive encryption software


Make a full OS backup with a program like Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Backupper Standard
Making a backup is optional, but always a smart move.
Macrium Reflect
AOMEI Backupper Standard (free)


Get the Windows 11 ISO (Option #2), and save it to your desktop...


Right click the ISO image and choose: MOUNT
Open File Explorer and you will see a new drive letter. It will "look" like a DVD optical drive.
Double click the new drive letter to open it.
Find setup.exe and double click it to start the in-place upgrade.

Choose the Keep personal files and apps option.

After it's all done... to UNmount the ISO image, right click the new drive letter and choose: EJECT.

The ONLY thing you will lose is some of your personalizations.
Your drivers, programs and data will be intact.









When you get the problem fixed... start using 3rd party backup software...

Thanks, good idea about the system restore. Does a system restore cause any issues with applications or software I have installed recently?

Also, Microsoft has suggested I disable Fast Startup to fix the problem. Does that actually fix the program, or just mask the problem?

Finally, do you have any theories about why a bad shutdown would cause this particular error? And why does it happen seemingly at random?

Thanks for your help, beware the Daleks :)

Zinoviev said:

This is caused by the latest Windows Cumulative update. Many users have reported the same error, me included. Uninstalling the update fixes it and you need to stop windows updates until a fix comes.

Click to expand...

Can you tell me the date of the update?

You mention you get the explorer.exe memory could not be written error on restart or shutdown.

Does this actually cause you any issues? I've had this error message twice now since the cumulative update from last week, both times when I was shutting down the PC. I've had no actual crashes at all when using the PC, purely the error message twice on the shutdown screen.

EDIT - I wonder if the crash with your game/EA app is actually unrelated to the explorer error. It might be that windows updated around that time and your hard reboot just coincided with it being installed, and it happened to be the same recent update that is causing the memory errors on shutdowns?

You might be right, but maybe not. Consider the following:

Tonight to fix the problem I did a System Restore from a restore point about 3 weeks ago, and it said it was successful, but then the computer would not restart, it got stuck in a loop failing over and over.

It tried to do Automatic Repair, couldn't repair, then I chose 2/16 as a Restore Point, which was the last Windows update, and it worked.

Is this an indication that I did indeed have some sort of serious Windows problem, or is it normal for System Restores to fail like this?

Originally when this problem first occurred I also could not restart when the EA app failed, which makes me think this is all connected.

My system also have this error message while shutting down the PC hopefully it will be patched soon by Microsoft.

This is a windows bug. Remove the pc gaming controller before you restart or shutdown your pc.

Just for information, and support I've just started getting this, I restored an image from before the last round of updates and it was fine. After the updates i installed today I get the same message.

It does not seem to affect anything else so for now I'll leave it.

What about the failed System Restore, it said it was done successfully, but then the computer would not restart, isn't this an indication of a problem?

I had the 23H2
update last night, that seemed to fix it.

I am having lots of errors after I did this System Restore:

1. I ran another sfc /scannow and it said my Windows files were corrupt
2. Simple things like MS Paint have been not working
3. Other games I installed now have corrupt files
4. Still having explorer.exe application errors

Is there anything I can do to help my computer recover from this System Restore and make sure things are back to normal?

Okay, well still haven't been able to fix this error, I have tried everything suggested online except re-installing Windows.

Is there anyway to know if this error message is because of a certain issue? It would be nice to narrow this down.

Could this be related to virtual memory? Is it a windows issue? Is it related to something else.

If we could narrow it down, I'd know what to do next.

Please forgive the multiple messages I have posted about this but I need to make progress on this.

I am not sure exactly what has caused this issue, either a bad crash of a game or something to do with Windows 11 but I am getting at random times:

"Explorer.exe application error: the instruction at <memory address> referenced memory at <memory address> could not be written."

I have tried multiple solutions to this, including a memory diagnostic, restarting Windows explorer, running DISM.exe or sfc scannow, disabling fast startup, a System restore, a hard drive check, but nothing has helped. The problem does go away sometimes after one of these steps, but seems to come back randomly.

The System Restore I tried seems to have made things even worse, and seems to have corrupted my Windows and other files.

This is a brand new computer, I cannot imagine that we have some memory issue all of a sudden. I cannot imagine the latest Windows update has caused this. This seems to have started when an EA Play game crashed and the computer would not restart.

Anyhow, I have tried everything, I am pretty lost at this point, I don't want to wipe everything out with a full windows restore, so any computer hope would be appreciated!

DoctorWho said:

This is a brand new computer, I cannot imagine that we have some memory issue all of a sudden. I cannot imagine the latest Windows update has caused this. This seems to have started when an EA Play game crashed and the computer would not restart.

Anyhow, I have tried everything, I am pretty lost at this point, I don't want to wipe everything out with a full windows restore, so any computer hope would be appreciated!

Click to expand...

When you say you've tried everything, I do not know which of the troubleshooting steps that have been suggested to you in your multiple threads have been done.
To say new hardware can't cause a problem is ridiculuous. New hardware failing is common. If you built this sytem yourself, did you do the proper stress testing and monitoring on the hardware at the time of the build. There are a number of free tools available to you to test cpu, gpu, drive

The instruction at referenced memory is a RAM-related error. It can relate to bad physical ram, software conflicts, file corruption, as well as faulty hardware.
If you have done all the following things and none have resolved the issue, you will need to turn your attention to your hardware components.
1. turn off all overclocking
2. from command prompt as admin sfc /scannow See if it finds/fixes corrupted system files.(I saw that you did this)
3. clean boot. This error can be caused by software. This procedure can help you find which one. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial (I DID NOT see that you did this)
4. repair install (I did see where you said you did this already)
5. Clean install with nothing but manufacturer drivers. Do not install any 3rd party apps. Run the machine as a virgin for several days.
Yes, I know you do not want to do this. No one does but sometime it's necessary.

If you get the error, you can look toward your hardware. It's possible cpu, mobo, ram, even your drive could cause the problem.
If you don't get the error, you know it was file corruption or software conflict of some sort and the clean install fixed it.
test ram --you can run Windows memory diagnostics but Memtest86 is better, a lot better. Run at least 4 passes while you sleep. Even ONE failure indicates bad ram.
MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

If ram proves OK, use the tests I referenced above to test your other hardware.
Good luck. Hope someone else can give better advise.

@glasskuter has given you some good advice. So had people in your other thread.
Making multiple threads isn’t helpful, it might make you feel better but it just confuses the issue.

Great message, I really appreciate your help. I personally have found the multiple threads to be helpful.

I have a couple of thoughts:

1. I am interested in doing a clean boot, but I am unsure how to interpret the results. Once it boots, what have I learned? Should I be looking in the taskbar for unusual processes that are running? Because this problem happens seemingly at random, will a successful clean boot tell me anything?

2. I think part of the confusion is that sfc /scannow and DISM.exe did reveal issues, but only after the System Restore, so I'm not sure if it really is an issue or just a problem with the restore I did.

3. I tend to think it is file corruption or a software conflict, since this whole problem started when Madden 24 crashed and disconnected me from the internet and I couldn't restart the computer successfully. Do you think uninstalling Madden could fix the issue?

DoctorWho said:

Do you think uninstalling Madden could fix the issue?

Click to expand...

What do you have to lose. I suggest Revo Uninstaller Free. Remove all leftover remnants Revo finds. There is a portable version and an installed version. Revo Uninstaller Free

DoctorWho said:

sfc /scannow and DISM.exe did reveal issues,

Click to expand...

But did it indicate the issues were fixed?

DoctorWho said:

what have I learned?

Click to expand...

It's explained in detail in the tutorial. Read it through so you'll know what it does and what to expect. Follow it step by step. A clean boot should ALWAYS be the first troubleshooting step if one suspects software conflict being a problem. For your particular intermittant issue, you have to give it time. Using clean boot as a troubleshooting tool is not always fast.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something I shouldn't. But IMO , from what I've read, you put this machine together, fired it up, and immediately loaded it up with games before the machine was fully tested. I'm willing to bet you over clocked it too.By doing this you compounded the problem and made troubleshooting much more difficult as your problem could be in multiple directions. That's why I suggested you put the machine back to square one with a clean install so you would have a better idea which way to jump.