Windows file explorer intermittently crashes plus other glitches


chmillman

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8:26 PM
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Windows 11 Pro
Since, I don't know, maybe a few weeks now - I don't remember when the last updates were installed, I have Explorer randomly crash and restart itself, result all open folder items are closed. Also it has started occasionally forgetting the display scaling for certain open folders, it shows up at 100% (all the type is way too small) when I have the global scaling at 150%. Usually minimizing and maximizing them gets them back to normal size. Anyone else experiencing this?

I am running 2 4K screens (12Gb graphics card) - Win11's multi monitor support has been abysmal since day one. When the computer wakes from sleep, I sometimes find program windows (Photoshop for example) which were on one monitor now stretched halfway across the second, and that the bottom of the window is off-screen - like again it forgot the scaling or something. Needs a lot of pushing and pulling the window edges to get it back fully on the monitor screen.
 
Windows Build/Version
22H2 22621.1778

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Just now seeing your post. Sorry no one has responded. Here are things to try in no particular order..
1. Make sure you have no corrupt system files that is causing this problem. Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow
Pay attention to the scan results to see if SFC found anything it could not repair. If it found corruption it could not fix followup with this command (note the spaces)
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Restart computer

2. Check reliability monitor for clues. Using Reliability Monitor for Troubleshooting

3. More daunting is event viewer. Make note of the time explorer crashes and look for events at that time. I have to admit it is not for the faint of heart.
How to use Event Viewer on Windows 10

4. a video driver can cause explorer to crash. Make sure your graphics driver is updated.

5. 3rd party apps can also cause explorer to crash. The best way to find software conflict is by using Clean Boot. But if it happens really seldom, it would be difficult to run in clean boot until it does. But you can use Task Manager>startup apps. Disable all 3rd party apps. Restart

6. Clear Windows Explorer History
It is not very common for Windows users to clear their Windows Explorer history. Using Windows Explorer for long periods of time can accumulate a lot of files which can cause the utility to crash.
  1. Open the Start Menu and type “File Explorer Options“
  2. Click on “File Explorer Options” and navigate to the General tab
7. Rebuild search indexing Reset and Rebuild Search Index in Windows 11 Tutorial

8.. Repair Install Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial
 

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