Windows 8 File Explorer crashes when scrolling in Pictures folder

[Jtkpenguin]

Hi guys,
I've a HP All-in-one Model no: 23-K315na; Win8.1; Fully patched; All Drivers up-2-date;
16GB Ram; 1TB Hard Disk; Free Space 635GB; Pictures folder has 159GB (I'm an amateur Photographer!)
Eset Smart Security v8; scanned clean; also scanned with MWB clean

PROBLEM:
When I open the Pictures folder it's fine until I start to scroll down, then File Explorer just closes, it doesn't open again on it's own I have to re-open it manually.
I can open any of the folders that are visible on the screen, no crashes
I'm able to open Documents; Downloads etc, it only seems to be the Pictures folder that I have this problem in

What I've tried:
Putting a tick in 'Always show icons, never Thumbnails' in 'Folder Options'
Removed tick in 'Display file icon on Thumbnails'
I've tried looking up similar issues on the net & there are some ppl with the exact same issues but nobody seems to have a solution

Not sure what to try next... any help or advice appreciated TIA
JTK

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi Penguin & welcome to the forum.

I've seen this sort of problem before and on earlier versions of Windows as well.
This is almost always due to Windows Registry corruption or due to hard read errors on the hard drive. You have a software failure to troubleshoot and a possible hardware error.
The first thing I would do, is to attempt to backup that pictures folder to external media such as external hdd, cd\dvd, or online Cloud storage account. Next, you should test that hard drive with SEATOOLS free diagnostic from seage.com. Ensure that your run BOTH short and long tests. If SEATOOLS returns any errors, your hard drive has partially failed, and must be replaced. This happens in ALL computers 1-3 years old, and that's the reason why it's a good idea to buy an extended warranty on your computers. Hard drive makers only test their drives to last no longer than the extended warranty, but only 1 yr. guaranteed due to the factory warranty. Laptop drives rarely last beyond 3 years now, and desktop drives begin to fail after 5 yrs.

If SEATOOLS told you that you had to do a drive replacment and Factory Restoration of Windows, you can then retest that Pictures folder by copying it back from the backed up external media location I mention above and retest. The problem, in most cases will be resolved.

If the problem persists, there's a strong likelihood your Pictures folder was infected by a virus that your Eset missed. Eset is only an average A-V, and doesn't rate in the top 5 products on anyone's review lists. If you get to this point, you should download the free MALWAREBYTES from malwarebytes.com and scan for spyware viruses. Remove any and all viruses found in that folder as well as your entire C: boot drive. This should resolve that problem.

If the problem persists still, I submit you should uninstall the ESET and attempt to access the Pictures folder photos again. If you can see them and manipulate them, your ESET is damaged, not updated, or just plain messed up. You should replace with a quality A-V such as Avast AV Free 2015, Norton AV 2015, or McAfee AV 2015. Better yet, upgrade to the paid Internet Security Suite versions of these products.

These are the most common solutions to this kind of problem.

Best of luck,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[Jtkpenguin]

Hi BigBearJedi,
Thank you so much for your help & advice....
I've done the following:
- Saved a 'Fabs4tech' backup of my system (excluding Pictures) to another PC
- Saved all of the folders in the Pictures folder to another PC, I've a few individual files which I can't scroll down to save!
- Run CCleaner
- Run MWB - full scan found no issues
- Downloaded & installed Seagate Tools for Windows - BUT it didn't find any drives to scan!

One issue: I don't have a CD drive in this pc so I'm trying to create a Seagate for DOS on another pc & will attempt to boot from an ext. CD Drive, once I figure out how to do that on this Win8.1 OS... Any clues?

Eset is fully up-2-date; hasn't found anything when scanning & nor has it warned me about anything suspicious, I'm extremely careful but I know stuff can still slip in....
I'm very surprised to read that Eset isn't amongst the most highly regarded AV's these days!
I will disable the AV module & re-try scrolling down, then un-install it as your suggestion (but I don't like my pc's running 'naked' so I'll hope that MWB will protect me in the mean-time!)

I can't create a new folder in Pictures to try & save the files that are not in folders, it just closes the window as per my original problem...

Thanks for your help...
Jtkpenguin

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi BigBearJedi,
Thank you so much for your help & advice....
I've done the following:
- Saved a 'Fabs4tech' backup of my system (excluding Pictures) to another PC
- Saved all of the folders in the Pictures folder to another PC, I've a few individual files which I can't scroll down to save!
- Run CCleaner
- Run MWB - full scan found no issues
- Downloaded & installed Seagate Tools for Windows - BUT it didn't find any drives to scan!
>>>Hi Penguin; excellent work so far! You didn't mention the maker of your 1TB drive, so it's one of the handful that Seagate cannot recognize; including some WD drives (you'll need to download DLG Lifeguard from wd.com for that type of drive), HGST (requires a special utiltity on wd.com site), Hitachi drive (you'll need to download DRIVE FITNESS test from wd.com), or Fujitsu or Toshiba drives. Most of these companies have all merged and the only 2 are now SEAGATE & WD. If you have one of these other drives, SEATOOLS won't find it, and you need to use one of those special utilties in order to test. That can be a pain if you don't have them onhand; you'll have to do some searching. HP All-in-ones, and desktop typically do not use the last 2 drives; Fujitsu & Toshiba. Toshiba stopped making hard drives in 1991; I was laid off from the factory here in the US where these were made. Toshiba never made drives for the PC market; only the Mac market; very few people know this. Toshiba doesn't make their own drives, they typically use Fujitsu, sometimes Hitachi/Seagate/WD in their own laptops. Toshiba also doesn't make their own drive diagnostic tool for their Toshiba labeled drives, so you have to figure out whose drive it really is, and then download/apply the appropriate drive diagnostic tool to test. Like I said; quite a pain. You may wish to pay a competent Computer Pro to do this test for you.<<<

One issue: I don't have a CD drive in this pc so I'm trying to create a Seagate for DOS on another pc & will attempt to boot from an ext. CD Drive, once I figure out how to do that on this Win8.1 OS... Any clues?
>>>This is also a real problem, as you should try to create the Seatools Windows or Linux versions for Win8.1 testing. Chances are, you simply don't have an actual Seagate drive. Easiest way to tell there, is open up the HP and pull out the hard drive. This is usually pretty easy if you've opened up desktop PC cases in the past. It's just a few screws; about 15 min. or so. If this bothers you or makes you nervous, again, I suggest you take it in to your local Computer Pro and have them pull the drive, and for a few dollars more they can test it for you to make your life easier. Should be between $35-$90 US or so. Creating SEATOOLS on USB media is even more challenging than trying to do them on cd/dvd media. Again, take to your local Tech or ask if you can borrow a Flash Drive with SEATOOLS FOR WINDOWS already on it or a disc and repeat test.<<<

Eset is fully up-2-date; hasn't found anything when scanning & nor has it warned me about anything suspicious, I'm extremely careful but I know stuff can still slip in....
I'm very surprised to read that Eset isn't amongst the most highly regarded AV's these days!
>>>Read the reviews from the major A-V testing organizations such as here: AV-TEST – The Independent IT-Security Institute
AV Test gives Eset a much higher mark than I've personally witnessed. Eset has crashed several of my client pc's even when I install it from scratch; and their virus removal is really bad. IMO.<<<

I will disable the AV module & re-try scrolling down, then un-install it as your suggestion (but I don't like my pc's running 'naked' so I'll hope that MWB will protect me in the mean-time!)
>>>I concur. You can also simply disconnect the Ethernet network cable from the back of the HP or if using wifi; enable Airplane Mode and that will turn off the radio and all wifi connections in the PC--both achieve no internet during your scan. And MWB will protect it; but only partially as the free version is not foreground priority realtime protection; Eset, Avast, Norton, and the other guys do that. It's a background secondary priority on-demand scanner.<<<

I can't create a new folder in Pictures to try & save the files that are not in folders, it just closes the window as per my original problem...
>>>I see. Well, we'll know more after you find a way to either test that existing hard drive or replace it and reinstall your Windows from factory image.<<<
Thanks for your help...
Jtkpenguin

>>>You're very welcome! Keep the faith and keep us posted.<<<BBJ>>>

 

[Jtkpenguin]

Hi, sorry for the long delay in reporting my progress, I've been (still am) ill with Bronchitis & not able to do much... but I wanted to update you & let you know that my issue seems to be sorted.
What I did....
I downloaded several hard disk scanners & run them in both windows & booted from external DVD drive (UBCD) - all gave my drive the all-clear
Disabled Eset & tried to scroll down in Pictures folder, uninstalled it & tried again - same as original issue
Went into 'Safe Mode' & tried scrolling down - same issue

After getting very frustrated with this, & constantly being prompted to upgrade to Win10, I backed up everything & took the plunge, the upgrade went without a hitch (how lucky am I, eh?) & I'm now able to access & scroll down within the Pictures folder, so happy days...

Thanks again for your help.
Jtkpenguin

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi Penguin,

No problem on the delay. Very glad you got it all working! And that you're hard drive tested out ok. It's interesting about the Win10 upgrade process; I've done both the live download from Microsoft's website and the ISO file manual installation; they both went quite smoothly. Looking at hundreds of other posts on this Forum and other Tech Forums I visit under Win10; many people have problems, but that's usually due to a combination of Windows corruption, virus/malware infestation, or a failing hard drive; sometimes people will have all 3. Occasionally, people will need to do a BIOS update, depending on their physical hardware. I've got several friends who also reported the Win10 upgrade went smoothly for them; including 1 friend who did his Win10 upgrade on his netbook at 35,000 ft. during a plane flight! Of course these people are all IT professionals, and they keep their machines running smoothly, updates, no viruses, etc. etc.

As with the earlier upgrades (XP-Vista; Vista-7; Win7-->Win8/8.1); it's usually the people who don't take care of their computers, or fill them up with junk and never think to clean them out PRIOR to clicking that upgrade button who experience the most problems. Fortunately for me, I call that Upgrade button the $100 button; since that's usually what it costs them to fix their scrambled computers. Not one of these people ever reads all the warnings that Microsoft puts into their upgrade license agreement, so therefore they have no idea that the upgrade will usually fail if their computer fails to meeting the OS upgrade requirements, or if their computer is running Windows poorly on an earlier version of Windows they have now; they expect Win10 to be a panacea and resolve all their problems! Instead, Windows OS upgrades usually make things worse.

Thanks for getting back to me (us) and letting us know your result!
Cheers!

<<<<BBJ>>>>