Windows Explorer random closing

[CaptainChaos]

Hi

I have scanned & saved hundreds of family photos and am trying to reorder them so I don't have duplicates etc. etc.

When doing this, I get the "Windows Explorer has enountered a problem & has to close". I click "ok" and it closes and then comes back with the normal home screen (all icons present & correct). If I try to do the same file reordering, it does it again, so I can't finish what I started.

I understand that the most likely cause is a shell extension somewhere causing this to happen.

I have the shellxview programme which comes up with over 100 shell extensions. It was also suggested to disable some of them & see if that solves the problem.

1) Can I disable ALL of them & enable them one by one, or will that just stop my computer working?
2) Which ones are more likely to cause this problem?
3) I also get Explorer closing when I go into a folder with avi's in it. Is this related, do you think?

Any help & idiots guide will help greatly, thanks!

Ian

[Salmon Trout]

How many photos do you have in one folder?

[CaptainChaos]

Well the "main" folder is 26.9Gb, and the folders within that is 1271 folders & 22,032 files.

I just want to get rid of all the duplicates, and stop the Windows explorer error message - it happened when I looked at the folders!

I'm not sure if the number of files is relevant, simply because I have a totally separate folder with a few avi's in it & it does exactly the same when I open that one and try to move files ....

[TheShadow]

A common problem that rears its ugly head when you open a large folder, is that for a folder to open it has to fit in memory.  Either add more memory (RAM) or split your large folders down into smaller folders.

Then, start the process of getting your pictures off of your Hard Drive and on to much safer DVD's.
A hard drive is the worse possible place to store things that you don't want to loose, like personal pictures.

Good Luck,
 

[CaptainChaos]

Cheers TheShadow,

This is the message I get when Windows Explorer gives up:

Error Signature

AppName: explorer.exe
AppVer: 6.0.2900.5512
ModName: divx.dll
ModVer: 6.8.5.9
Offset: 0012e59d

I will try splitting the folders down, that may help, but is the above anything to go by?

Cheers

[Salmon Trout]

AppName: explorer.exe
AppVer: 6.0.2900.5512
ModName: divx.dll
ModVer: 6.8.5.9
Offset: 0012e59d

divx.dll is associated with a video codec used to play mpeg4 AVI files. It could also be part of a virus, if you have been downloading video files or software from dubious sources.


1. The crash could be caused by Explorer trying to create thumbnails. You could check this by seeing if the problem goes away if you open Explorer (first of all in a non-problem folder, naturally) and choose any view other than Thumbnails, (e.g. Details or List) and then go into Tools - Folder Options - View and click the "Apply to all folders".

If it does go away then at least we've got a clue what to try next.

2. Have you, or anyone else using this computer, downloaded videos from torrent sites or run any dodgy exe files? Have you got antivirus? Is it up-to-date? When did you last run a virus scan?

If you haven't lately then you should, and if a virus or viruses are detected, post in the Malware section.

[CaptainChaos]

I think TheShadow had the right answer ... the folder with all the sub-folders was 26.9Gb, 1271 folders and 22,033 files.

I've just opened a new folder and taken 50 folders at a time & worked on them - no Explorer crashing so far.

Maybe that was it.

Salmon ... I've got Malwarebytes, AVG 8.5, Spybot, CCleaner, Adaware and Zone Alarm. They've all come up clean.

It could be the thumbnail thing, too, because I'm sure the computer is thinking "oh come on - how many files?" and gives up.

I don't download any dodgy stuff, although the hijackers/virus makers are getting really clever & sneaky at the moment!

Thanks for your help.

One last question about CCleaner. Is it safe to just do a clean with the analyzed results (the ticked box ones) or should I know what I'm doing?

[patio]

With CCleaner you can safely clean all but the registry...

[elwilli]

Do not waste your time with Internet Explorer. Everything Microsoft does not smell too good. Install Firefox or Google Chrome and have no problem.