Windows 10 Explorer Keeps Crashing? Here Are 10 Solutions

Windows Explorer, also called File Explorer, is one of the most frequently used applications on Windows computers. But sometimes you may encounter serious issues related to it such as File Explorer isn’t responding and Windows Explorer needs to be restarted.

This post focuses on the Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing issue. And there are several causes of the Windows Explorer keeps crashing Windows 10 error: improper system settings, incompatible third-party software, permission issues, and some other causes.

10 Solutions to Windows 10 Explorer Keeps Crashing

How to solve the problem that Windows 10 File Explorer crashes? There are 10 useful methods for you.

Quick Video Guide:

Solution 1: Keep Your Windows Up to Date

The first and easiest solution you can try to fix the problem is to keep your Windows up to date. Keep your operating system up to date can solve many problems related to the system.

But if you cannot ensure whether your Windows system is up to date, then follow the instructions below to check for updates:

Step 1: Press Win + I keys at the same time to open Settings and then select Update & Security.

Step 2: Choose Windows Update and then click Check for updates on the right panel.

Step 3: If there are available updates, Windows will start to download them automatically. After downloading the updates successfully, restart your computer to perform the installation process.

After you have installed the up to date operating system, see whether Windows 10 File Explorer keeps crashing. If yes, try the next methods.

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Solution 2: Disable Thumbnails

Thumbnails can be the culprit of causing Windows 10 Explorer to keep crashing, especially when there are a number of images in a folder. Thus, disabling thumbnails can be a useful solution to solve the issue that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Type control panel in the Search bar and then click Control Panel.

Step 2: Set View by: Large icons and then click File Explorer Options.

Step 3: Go to the View tab and then check Always show icons, never thumbnails. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

After disabling thumbnails, the problem that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing should be solved.

Solution 3: Clear File Explorer History

Clearing File Explorer history can help you to resolve the issue that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. Follow the steps to do that:

Step 1: Open File Explorer Options and then go to the General tab.

Step 2: Click Clear in the Privacy section. Then File Explorer history will be cleared in seconds.

Solution 4: Launch Folder Windows in a Separate Process

All File Explorer windows run in the explorer.exe process by default. Therefore, if one of the File Explorer windows crashes, then the problem that Windows Explorer keeps crashing will appear.

In order to solve the problem, you should enable the “Launch folder windows in a separate process” setting. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Open File Explorer Options and then go to the View tab.

Step 2: Check Launch folder windows in a separate process and then click Apply and OK to save changes.

Solution 5: Run CHKDSK and SFC Scans

You can also try to run CHKDISK and SFC scans to solve the problem that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing.

Perform a Hard Disk Check

Step 1: Type cmd in the Search box and then right-click Command Prompt to choose Run as administrator. Click Yes.

Step 2: Type chkdsk /f /r in the window and then press Enter.

Step 3: Press Y key to confirm that you want to run a hard disk check when the system starts the next time and Enter key. Then exit the command line window.

Now restart your computer to make Windows perform the hard disk check. Then check if this solves the issue that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing.

Perform a System File Check

If run CHKDSK doesn’t work, then you can try to perform a system file check.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2: Type sfc /scannow in the window and then press Enter.

Then wait for Windows to detect whether you have damaged system files, if there are, Windows will fix them automatically.

Now restart your computer to check if Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing, if it does, try the following methods.

Solution 6: Make Changes to Graphics Card Driver

Outdated graphics card drivers can cause the error that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing, therefore, you should update or reinstall your graphics card driver. Here is the tutorial to reinstall your graphics card driver:

Step 1: Press Win + X keys at the same time to choose Device Manager.

Step 2: Expand Display adapters in the newly pop-out window, then right-click your graphics card to choose Uninstall device.

Step 3: Check Delete the driver software for this device and then click Uninstall.

Step 4: Reboot your computer, your system will automatically reinstall your graphics card.

Step 5: If Windows doesn’t reinstall your graphics card driver, then you should visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website to download the latest driver for your device.

Step 6: Open Device Manager again, click Action on the top to choose Scan for hardware changes.

After the process has finished, restart your computer to check if Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. If yes, try the next ones.

Solution 7: Check Installed Add-ons

The culprit of the Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing issue can be the installed add-ons. A number of applications install add-ons in Windows Explorer. These add-ons are very convenient, but they can also slow down or crash Windows Explorer.

Therefore, you should see whether you have installed add-ons to Windows Explorer. If there are installed add-ons, then you should disable or uninstall all third-party add-ons. And if this solution works, then you can re-enable the add-ons one by one to find the culprit.

You can use the third-party to see detailed information and then use it to disable installed add-ons.

Solution 8: Run Netsh Winsock Reset

Running Netsh Winsock Reset can help you to solve the issue that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. Follow the steps to do that:

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as administrator.

Step 2: Type netsh winsock reset in the window and then press Enter.

Step 3: Restart your computer and then check if Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing.

Solution 9: Check Account Permission

If you notice that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing when you try to access a specific folder, then you’d better check if you have the full permission over this folder. Follow the instructions below to do that:

Step 1: Open File Explorer, then right-click the folder you want to make changes to choose Properties.

Step 2: Go to the Security tab and then choose Advanced.

Step 3: Click Change next to Owner, and then input administrator (your user account) in the box under the Enter the object name to select section. Click Check Names to make sure that the name is right. Click OK to exit Select User or Group and then click OK to save changes.

Step 4: In the User Properties window, go to the Security tab and then click Edit… to change permissions.

Step 5: In the Permission for Administrators section, check Allow for Full Control, and then click OK to save changes.

After you get the full permission to access the folder, then check if Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing.

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Solution 10: Disable Quick Access and Set Open File Explorer to This PC

In most cases, Quick access can make it easier and faster to open a folder. However, this can be the cause that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. Therefore, you can try disabling Quick access to fix the problem. Here is the tutorial:

Step 1: Open File Explorer Options and then go to the General tab.

Step 2: Set Open File Explorer to This PC instead of Quick access.

Step 3: Uncheck both Show recently used files in Quick access and Show frequently used folders in Quick access under the Privacy section. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

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Useful Suggestion

When you use your computer, Windows 10 Explorer may crash, so does your system. Therefore, in order to quickly restore your computer when Windows 10 Explorer crashes or system crashes, you’d better create s system image when your computer runs normally.

Referring to create a system image, it is highly recommended to use MiniTool ShadowMaker – a piece of fantastic and professional backup and restore software. It is pretty easy and safe to back up and restore your system.

In addition to backing up your operating system, you can also use MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up files and folders, disks and partitions. And you can also perform universal restore other than restoring your system to the original computer.

What’s more, MiniTool ShadowMaker allows you to sync files and folders to other locations and use the Clone Disk feature to make a bootable external hard drive. What’s better, you can use it for free within 30 days, so just download it and have a try.

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Here are the instructions to create a system image with MiniTool ShadowMaker:

Step 1: Download and launch MiniTool ShadowMaker, then click Keep Trial.

Step 2: Go to the Backup page. MiniTool ShadowMaker backs up the operating system and selects the destination by default. So you just need to click Back Up Now to start creating a system image.

Step 4: Wait for MiniTool ShadowMaker to finish backing up the operating system.

Final Words

To sum up, if you want to find some feasible solutions to get rid of the Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing problem, try the methods mentioned above in this post. In addition, backing up your system regularly can help you to safeguard your system and files.

If you have other solutions to deal with the Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing issue or have any confusion about the solutions, leave a comment below or send an email to [email protected].