Solved explorer.exe - Application Error on shutdown or restart


Hairy Scot

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OS
Windows 11 Pro X64 Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.80
This error pops up with each shutdown or restart:-
explorer.exe - Application Error
The instruction at <memory address> referenced memory at <memory address>. The memory could not be "<read or write>".
Click on OK to terminate the program.
It is apparently a well known phenomenon.
I've gone through DISM and SFC exercise and some of the suggested work around solutions, but it persists.

Has anyone else come across this, and managed to fix it?
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (OS Build 26200.7171)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro X64 Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.80
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS PN54
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen
    Motherboard
    A. ELM_PN54 (FP8DDR5)
    Memory
    RAM 31.0GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon 860M Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2718Q (3840x2160@60Hz) DELL U2913WM (2560x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160@60Hz / 2560x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1863GB Crucial CT2000T500SSD8 SSD
    931GB Crucial CT1000E100SSD8 SSD
This error pops up with each shutdown or restart:-

It is apparently a well known phenomenon.
I've gone through DISM and SFC exercise and some of the suggested work around solutions, but it persists.

Has anyone else come across this, and managed to fix it?


Assuming it's a Windows issue... an In-Place upgrade should fix it.

Use Option Two, the ISO method.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8457 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Assuming it's a Windows issue... an In-Place upgrade should fix it.

Use Option Two, the ISO method.

Thank you, I'll give that a try when I get the time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro X64 Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.80
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS PN54
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen
    Motherboard
    A. ELM_PN54 (FP8DDR5)
    Memory
    RAM 31.0GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon 860M Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2718Q (3840x2160@60Hz) DELL U2913WM (2560x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160@60Hz / 2560x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1863GB Crucial CT2000T500SSD8 SSD
    931GB Crucial CT1000E100SSD8 SSD

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8457 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
Notice @Ghot used the word "assuming". It's just as likely to be hardware or incompatible software.
An "instruction referenced memory that could not be read or write" error indicates that a program tried to access a memory location it doesn't have permission for, which can be caused by corrupted memory, incompatible software, or hardware issues

You can eliminate it being incompatible software by using clean boot.. If it doesn't happen in a clean boot, you have some software conflicting with Windows. You have to use process of elimination to find which one. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial

Ram can be tested using a memtest86 boot drive. Run minimum of 4 passes. 1 error is a failure. MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    2x1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+2tb Kingston m2.nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26200.8457
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26200.8457

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro X64 Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.80
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS PN54
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen
    Motherboard
    A. ELM_PN54 (FP8DDR5)
    Memory
    RAM 31.0GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon 860M Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2718Q (3840x2160@60Hz) DELL U2913WM (2560x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160@60Hz / 2560x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1863GB Crucial CT2000T500SSD8 SSD
    931GB Crucial CT1000E100SSD8 SSD
Tried it. Made no difference.


Then it's an issue with a 3rd party program or driver.
Or maybe a conflict hardware issue as @glasskuter mentioned.

Try a Clean Boot as suggested. If the problem goes away... slowly add things back in, until you find the culprit.

If the Clean Boot doesn't help... test the memory next.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8457 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
I tracked it down to StartAllBack.
Uninstalled the version I was running and installed latest version from Microsoft Store.
Doing this also fixed some Taskbar issues.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro X64 Version 25H2 (OS Build 26200.80
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS PN54
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen
    Motherboard
    A. ELM_PN54 (FP8DDR5)
    Memory
    RAM 31.0GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon 860M Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    DELL U2718Q (3840x2160@60Hz) DELL U2913WM (2560x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160@60Hz / 2560x1080@60Hz
    Hard Drives
    1863GB Crucial CT2000T500SSD8 SSD
    931GB Crucial CT1000E100SSD8 SSD

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