How to fix File Explorer keeps crashing in Windows?
Jul 10, 2025 pm 12:25 PMFrequent crashes of File Explorer can be solved through the following steps: 1. Uninstall recently installed conflicting software or plug-ins and try to start it cleanly; 2. Use SFC and DISM tools to repair system files; 3. Update or roll back the graphics card driver; 4. Clean up the thumbnail cache or reset the Explorer settings, which can be used in most cases to locate the root cause of the problem.
It is really annoying to frequently crash File Explorer, especially when you are about to open a folder or look for information suddenly stuck or even close. This situation may be caused by a variety of reasons, such as system file corruption, third-party software conflicts, driver problems, etc. The following methods are practical solutions to common problems and can be checked one by one.

1. Check for recently installed software or extensions
If you have recently installed some new software, especially the tools that will be integrated into the Explorer right-click menu (such as compression software, antivirus software, clipboard enhancement tools), they may conflict with Explorer and cause crashes.
You can try:

- Uninstall the recently installed related software;
- Or use the "clean boot" method to enter the system (disable all non-essential startup items and services) to see if it will crash;
- If you use some resource manager enhancement plugins (such as Classic Shell, etc.), you can also try uninstalling them first.
This type of problem usually returns to normal after uninstalling.
2. Run the system file check tool
If Windows system files are corrupted, they may also cause the Explorer to crash abnormally. At this time, you can use the system's own sfc and DISM tools to repair it.

The specific operations are as follows:
- Open a command prompt (administrator permissions);
- Enter
sfc /scannow
to execute; - Then run the following three commands in turn:
-
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
-
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
-
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
-
These commands can help you scan and fix system images and system files. After completion, restart the computer to see if there is any improvement.
3. Update or rollback the graphics card driver
Sometimes graphics card driver incompatibility can cause Explorer to crash, especially when opening image previews or thumbnails.
suggestion:
- Go to Device Manager → Show Adapter → Right-click your graphics card → Update drivers;
- If you have recently updated the driver, you can try "rollback the driver" back to the previous version;
- Or go to the official website to download the latest stable version of the driver and install it manually.
This step is particularly important for laptop users, because the graphics card drivers of many laptops are customized by manufacturers, and the version that is automatically updated by the system may not be the most stable.
4. Clear thumbnail cache and reset Explorer settings
Some cache files in the Explorer itself may also cause crashes, and clearing caches and resetting settings can sometimes solve the problem.
You can do this:
- Using the Disk Cleanup Tool, select Thumbnails to clean up;
- Or use the command:
cleanmgr /d %systemdrive%
and then check "Thumbnail"; - If it doesn't work, you can try resetting the Explorer-related settings in the registry (be careful);
- Or adjust the Explorer behavior through the Group Policy Editor (Professional Users Only).
In addition, if it just crashes when a specific folder is opened, it may be that the file index or cache at that location is broken, you can try to delete the .thumbs.db
file in that directory.
Basically these common troubleshooting methods. In most cases, through step-by-step testing of the above directions, you should be able to find the problem. If nothing is solved by chance, you may need to consider system restoring or reinstalling the system. But don't rush to get to that point, try the above method first.
The above is the detailed content of How to fix File Explorer keeps crashing in Windows?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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