Windows 7 Windows Explorer crash on one directory

M

MaryXYX

Extraordinary Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2011
Messages
12
If I click on one directory I get "Windows Explorer has stopped working". It used to be fine but crashes WE every time now. A colleague suggested right click and reset the properties, but right click causes the crash too.

I can open it remotely from an XP system, and I can navigate it in a DOS box so I know the files are all still good.

Disk check says "No problems".
Sophos anti-virus scan finds nothing.
Malwarebytes scan finds nothing.
None of these crash or report corruption.

As the files are still accessible I don't really have a problem, but I was wondering if there were any diagnostics I could collect.
 
Solution
M
The SCF repair happens every time SCF runs, not multiple times in one run. The file is [1:22{11}]"simsunb.ttf" and it does say it has copied it "from store" each time. Both this file and the bad blocks are on the System partition. Considering what "simsunb" is - and the fact that I don't read Chinese - I could very well get by without it.

My understanding was that the parameters I used for Chkdsk included /F but performed more checks as well. That is on the data partition - on the system partition it schedules a check at restart.

The partition where I had the original problem comes up clean in Chkdsk. I renamed the folder and renamed it back, and that cured the problem of Windows Explorer crashing. I don't like that sort of 'cure'...
Sort by date Sort by votes
If you can open it from a remote sytem, do you have the capability to move folders out (or files) to see if you can find one causing a problem? After you move them into another folder, try opening that one with explorer.

Are you dealing with any particular type of file?

Do you see any error messages in Event Viewer?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Before you compose another post with detail. I'm betting it is a (multi)media folder?
Do you have any DivX Codec programs installed?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
sfc ran for a long time but I don't know if it did anything. There is a huge log full of "Pending copies" and "Multiple Owner Folders".
Not a multimedia folder - a root folder for several sub-folders.
I copied the entire tree and the copy is accessible via DOS and Explorer so I don't have any "lost file" problems.

Event Viewer - I should have thought of that. It says lots of bad blocks. I ran disk checks and three bad blocks were found in system files - none in the directory with the problem. Then it reboots, runs the disk check again and finds the same blocks, and again ...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
MaryXYX said:
sfc ran for a long time but I don't know if it did anything. There is a huge log full of "Pending copies" and "Multiple Owner Folders".
Click to expand...
These are normal log entries. What you look for is, did the scan finish with no integrity violations, or were some files not repairable.

What switches are you running Chkdsk with?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I found "Cannot repair" for a "ttf", but "repaired by copying from backup".
It repaired the same file by copying from backup three times, so I assume it didn't actually repair it.

For the system partition I can't run chkdsk with active options. I used the "run at reboot" option from explorer/tools/check.
This one found bad blocks.
For the partition with the problem folder I did that, and also ran chkdsk /X /B.
This one didn't find or fix anything.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Normally, when it can't repair a file, in this case a font, it will not try again. Where are you getting the impression it is trying 3 times to repair. Are these 3 separate system checks or just one? What font is it trying to repair? Did you run the findstr command mentioned here?

I am not the expert on Chkdsk, but I think the /F switch is what they normally use. The options you used says it "implied" /F, so perhaps in a manner you did. But it really should not just keep trying to repair the same area...
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
The SCF repair happens every time SCF runs, not multiple times in one run. The file is [1:22{11}]"simsunb.ttf" and it does say it has copied it "from store" each time. Both this file and the bad blocks are on the System partition. Considering what "simsunb" is - and the fact that I don't read Chinese - I could very well get by without it.

My understanding was that the parameters I used for Chkdsk included /F but performed more checks as well. That is on the data partition - on the system partition it schedules a check at restart.

The partition where I had the original problem comes up clean in Chkdsk. I renamed the folder and renamed it back, and that cured the problem of Windows Explorer crashing. I don't like that sort of 'cure' because it could come back just as easily.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
In my Fonts folder, it is listed as SimSun-ExtB and shows as English in the preview, even though the picture shows something else.

I could only guess about what was causing your problem, but glad you got it fixed.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

  • Featured
  • Article Article
Windows 11 Update: Fix for File Explorer Crash and Accessibility Enhancements
Replies
0
Views
341
ChatGPT
  • Featured
  • Article Article
Reduce File Explorer CPU Usage in Windows 11 24H2: Safe, Low-Risk Fixes
Replies
0
Views
241
ChatGPT
  • Solved
Windows 10 Windows Explorer crashes/lags after connecting external monitor
Replies
1
Views
2K
Josephur
  • Solved
Windows 10 Windows Explorer crashes/lags after connecting external monitor
Replies
1
Views
1K
Neemobeer
  • Solved
Windows 10 Windows Explorer crashes (and restarts) after waking up from sleep every time
Replies
1
Views
1K
ChatGPT