windows explorer has stopped working, windows explorer is restarting LOOP!

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• Wednesday, March 07, 2007 2:30 PMhtown

   
  

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  Have the same problem. New desktop brand new out of the box. started getting the exact error mssg. Tried system restore through Start>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore all within the 5 second window that you have before the error "windows explorer has stopped working" knocks you off. Also tried turning User ID off, no luck. Also went into safe mode after turning User ID off and doing a "system restore", no luck! Please help.

  • Proposed As Answer byJuzar Thingna Saturday, January 31, 2009 4:45 AM
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• Tuesday, March 13, 2007 10:48 AMfergie9818

   
  

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  I have exactly the same problem and if anyone has an answer to this PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reply.

  • Proposed As Answer byMike114 Friday, March 27, 2009 1:04 PM
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• Saturday, March 17, 2007 2:40 PMcasual01

   
  

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  I have exactly the same problem on a new Dell desktop, and if anyone has an answer to this PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reply.
  
  I take it, this is going to be one of those problems that Microsoft won't answer until enough people complain that it is an actual problem.
  
   
• Saturday, March 17, 2007 3:11 PMmoses1489

   
  

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  I have the same problem as you guys. Its amazing how there is not one solution to this yet. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SOMEONE FIND A SOLUTION. I can't get anything done. My computer is my life. That sounds bad, but still, email me if you come up with anything-- moses1489@yahoo.com

   

  Thanks,

  Moses

  • Proposed As Answer byfreebird1 Tuesday, August 18, 2009 11:59 PM
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• Saturday, March 17, 2007 3:30 PMNancyM137

   
  

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  I have this problem too!  I upgraded my Dell laptop from XP Pro to Vista Business.  I CANNOT OPEN THE CONTROL PANEL.  What kills me is that Microsoft programmed the two message boxes, and they don't even address them in their own support systems.  This is a serious problem that needs a hotfix!
  
   
• Sunday, March 18, 2007 5:56 AMtaseme163

   
  

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  what happened is a virus. it is not a problem with vista.

  I called E-machines for help and they had me shut down my computer and as soon as I turned it on i repeatedly pressed F8 ( approx. 3 times per second) until i got a restore message  and i choose safe mode.  then you can A) go to start>all programs>accessories>system tools>system restore   -- and then restore your computer. or you can B) ...if you have vista... when you press start go to the search bar and type in rstrui then enter and it will bring up restore. My computer automatically set its restore point.

  once I got bakc on he suggested i get a virus protector becuase i most likely picked it up from the internet.

   

  hope this helps... sorry if it doesn't.

   
• Sunday, March 18, 2007 8:04 PMNancyM137

   
  

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  I got mine fixed.  Not a virus in my case.  I needed to move all of the pre-Vista .cpl files out of the System32 folder and put them back in one-at-a-time until I found the offending control panel file.  In my opinion, Vista should be smart enough to block the file it doesn't like.
  
   
• Tuesday, March 20, 2007 1:37 AMRagman18

   
  

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  Had the same problem.  Interesting fix.  Which .cpl was it?

  Fixed my problem by restoring my Win XP image I created before upgrading to VISTA.

  I THINK THE BEST SOLUTION WILL BE TO WAIT UNTIL VISTA SP1 IS RELEASED BEFORE UPGRADING TO VISTA!

  Please post reply if you isolate the offending .cpl file.

   
• Wednesday, March 21, 2007 7:33 PMBBHELP

   
  

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  I work at a tech support desk for Online Learning at a Community College in California. A student brought in his brand new laptop and was having this issue. Here is how I fixed it. ( Ive seen at least 19 other cases since)

  Press Ctrl-alt-delete and bring up the Task Manager, click on the tab Processes and end the process 'System Idle Process', this will stop the looping effect. Then go to file, select New task (run), type explorer in the box and hit ok. This will manually restart Windows Explorer.

  This is a bad bug, it should have been caught by Q&A at Microsoft BEFORE RELEASE. Most folks are not tech savvy enough to know how to fix this issue and so far the support desks I have called at HP, DELL and Gateway have no idea how to fix this. I didnt bother calling Microsoft because I dont have 4-5 hours to sit on hold.

   

  Todd Williamson

  MSCE, MSO, A+, N+, CCN

   
• Monday, March 26, 2007 12:56 PMasibony

   
  

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  hi,
  I having the same problem with Windows Vista Home Basic. I could not find any service called  'System Idle Process'
  any ideas?
  thanks
  
  
   
• Tuesday, March 27, 2007 9:10 PMNancyM137

   
  

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  In my case it was Firebird2Control.cpl
  
  
  
   
• Thursday, April 05, 2007 5:24 PMAnonymous10299

   
  

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  When i try to end the System Idle process I get an error that states this operation cannot be performed.  any other ideas?
   
• Friday, April 06, 2007 1:39 AMZ10

   
  

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  I have a same problem ,new laptop from Dell, with Vista basic, After one day of using I started to have same problem , can not run IE7, the looping is repeating all the time. I install Firefox for using the Internet. I hope Microsoft will solve the problem ASAP. I dont know what to do.
  
   
• Monday, April 09, 2007 8:54 AMAnonymous10138

   
  

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  hi

   

  my first experience with vista....yuk. Anyway a friend had downloaded and installed a program called spylocked,  trend picked it up as a problem, tried to remove it but then went into dreaded windows explorer loop etc. Had no backup or restore point to go back to so found this article http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic85376.html#manual.  Copied the fixsl.reg to my xp laptop then to a usb key. The only way then was to boot in safe mode on vista laptop then do the control + alt + delete, then select start task manager. Now goto File and new task. You still get delays but hang in there and type in c:\windows\explorer.exe then click ok. You  can now run explorer without the program shutting down but you will still get small delays due the error message popping up. I just waited till the error box closed then performed what i wanted to do. Put in the usb key with the reg file on it then navigate to the usb key and copy the file to the c drive.  Now the file is copied to c: run the file to import the settings into the registry. After the import my problems stopped. I then went through the list of files they recommended to rename to bad, the only file i found was qzviz.dllqzviz.dll. I then followed the rest of the arcticle but couldnt run  SmitfraudFix.exe cause it dont work on vista.  Do a full virus check and when all is good do a restore point.

   

  Hope this helps someone and glad to go back to my windows xp machine.

   
• Sunday, April 15, 2007 5:09 PMperfectzero

   
  

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  yeah same problem brand new laptop straight out of the box with vista business, everytime try to move a file explorer stops working and restarts, tried system restore which doesn't work as it always fails to complete! And to top it off my 360 has just died with a hardware failure and its only 9 months old!! Getting very disgruntled with microsoft!!! Someone please help!!!
   
• Monday, April 16, 2007 3:50 PMAnonymous9792

   
  

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  hey people !

   

                          you can run windows explorer by using the run command : start> all programs >

  accessories> run... you might wanna right click run to add it to quick launch coz it looks like we

  gonna have to get used to opening explorer that way... I have the same problem but i installed

  Debian etch on another drive so i just swap drives... not a fan of microsoft anyway so i'll just stick to linux...

   
• Monday, April 16, 2007 6:56 PMpgaugler72

   
  

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  I have the same issue, but when I run the new tash, the message returns.... I ran every virus scan that I have downloaded, and none of them are locating any viruses.  I can't download any other software to try to fix the registry ( according to the techie at microsoft this is the issue) because I can't access anything that was saved due to the windows explorer retatring every 10 seconds or so.  now what?

   

   

   
• Wednesday, April 18, 2007 7:21 PMKingsley

   
  

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  TRY THIS: RIGHT CLICK ON INTERNET EXPLORER ICON, THEN "RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR" EMAIL ME IF IT WORKS
   
• Wednesday, April 18, 2007 7:26 PMKingsley

   
  

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  Try this: RIGHT CLICK ON INTERNET EXPLORER ICON THE "RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR
  
   
• Thursday, April 19, 2007 1:32 AMJames2_0_0_7

   
  

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  This post help me fix that problem
  
  

  Edspring

  01-17-2007, 04:59 AM

  Hi,
  
  Yes that was the file name so if you can't find that one then I will explain how I found it and maybe if you use the same method you may find the cause of your problems.
  
  If you run Task Manager (ctrl-alt-del etc) you can use the run the "New Task" option as a browser. In the browse window select all files (*.*) and go to C:\Windows\System32 subdirectory and sort by date modified. Look at all the most recent files, especially those that carry the date when things started to go wrong and later. Right click these files individually and study the date created and date accessed, if you can find a file the was created on the day things went wrong and has been accessed within the last hour or so, then this could be the problem file. Mine was "gwquvw.dll" so look for something that is not obviously a system file and move it into the recycle bin, if nothing changes look for other similar files and do the same. If this still doesn't work restore the files from the recycle bin in case they are needed. Other than that I have no other info I can give you at this time.
  
  Good luck, enjoy a beer for me too

  
  
   
• Thursday, April 19, 2007 5:55 PMmatttavarez1002

   
  

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  my problem was Firebird2Control.cpl also. i think i downloaded it from a program i got from giveawayoftheday.com. i think it was gocrm that did it try to putFirebird2Control.cpl in the start search and see if it comes up. delete it and it will be back to normal

   
• Friday, April 20, 2007 12:53 AMBlack

   
  

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  I tried your troubleshooting . its not working . kindly help me with some other troubleshooting.
   
• Friday, April 20, 2007 9:04 AMMathan Raj

   
  

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  Hi folks,

  Please try to do a startup repair by boot the computer by Vista DVD.  While booting from the DVD the installer will do the statup repair automatically otherwise we have to choose that manually. Select repair tools from the "Install now" window after booting from vista DVD.

   

  Also I would suggest you to create a new user account and check for the issue. If the problem still presist in the new user account try to run the SFC util from the command prompt. Right click on "CMD" and "Run as Adimistrator", then type "sfc /scannow" press enter ( while you running the utility we have to make sure the Vista DVD is inside in the DVD drive).

   

  Try to do a inpace upgrade (Running the Vista installer from the Desktop then doing an Upgrade installation)  and then check. Good luck!

   

  Regards,

  Mathan Raj A

  Technical Support Executive  - Windows Vista.

   
• Friday, April 20, 2007 11:30 PMcacai

   
  

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  if youve tried safe mode, lask known good config, syst restore but still could not get through windows explorer error in vista try this..****restart syst & press F8 on the dell logo..choose start up repair..if start up repair is not available on advance startup options try popping in the vista cd & restart syst & press  F12 & choose cd drive on the options & continuosly tap on the enter key..wait till you see options to do repair..choose repair & follow the prompts & restart syst..if still no go, try emailing me at liquidsusay@yahoo.com or at my mobile 09168451896..its all for free support..
   
• Sunday, April 22, 2007 8:41 AMsnydermmm5

   
  

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  Hello,
  
  
      I am having the exact same problem.... none of the suggestions have yet to solve my problem. the error shows up right when I start up the computer... I have not downloaded anything from the internet... I am currently running an entire system scan for any malware on my system... I don't know what it is with Vista... there seems to be so many bug with this operating system. I really hope microsoft comes up with a solution soon.... Please E-mail me if sombody comes up with a solution. my address is snydermmm5@yahoo.com.
  
   
• Sunday, April 22, 2007 3:51 PMladydi662

   
  

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  I have the exact same issue...right out of the box.  I tried going to control panel, internet options, advanced and reset explorer settings.  This worked but had to be done every time I tried to open explorer.  I have now taken the advice of downloading firefox and use it for the internet.  I also find that the internet is much faster....explorer was very sluggish.  Hope this helps.
  
   
• Sunday, April 22, 2007 6:16 PMradical1

   
  

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  similar problem here!!!  so annoying, although it sounds like some of you guys have it worse than me.....  my new vista laptop 2 weeks ol and been ok up to now....... now i cannot access my E Drive at all DVDW drive..... everything else is OK (ish)  but whenever i try to access data on a disc through the DVDR drive i get the dreaded "WSindows has stopped working" message..... restarts and so the loop goes on.....  tried a system restore, ran norton and all spyware tools (i dont think its anything like that now anyways)...   its so annoying as now i cant access that drive so cant transfer anymore files onto it.....

   

  Looking through Google and the forums there are lots of people having problems...... WHAT THE HELL ARE MICROSOFT DOING??  anybody know?   and what are you doing> Just living with the problem?    how annoying is this.... 

   
• Monday, April 23, 2007 8:06 PMladydi662

   
  

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  Found a solution thru searching on answers.com linked to petesbloggerama.  Someone suggested right clicking on IE7 and running as administrator then go into control panel, user accounts, then click user account on or off.  Uncheck the box, then choose OK.  Someone also suggested going into control panel, network and internet, click on security tab and uncheck "enable protected mode".  Hope this helps.
  
  
   
• Monday, April 23, 2007 10:55 PMUS KHAN

   
  

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  restart  the system while you are restarting the system press F8 then go to in Recovery Mode, select the option system recovery and then select the option system restore. on earlier date hope this will solve your problem it's for Win Vista.
   
• Wednesday, April 25, 2007 8:38 AMLisaC

   
  

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  I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM!!!! It's so frustrating. I just got my new laptop with Windows Vista, 2 weeks ago. Everything worked fine until yesterday. I got the 'Windows Explorer has stopped working' loop message.

   

  Thank god for this site! You guys have been a great help.

   

  I was worried that I would have to reset Explorer in Control Panel everytime I used the net!

  The solution of right clicking on the Explorer button and selecting 'run as system administration', works.

   

  But I am so annoyed with Microsoft that i have just downloaded Firefox to use as my default browser instead. Here is the URL for the 2007 version of Firefox http://www.firefox2007.com/ It is free and very fast process.

   

  I attempted to delete all of my .cpl files (pre-Vista), but I was blocked by my computer, saying i didn't have access. There was no Firebird2Control.cpl file either.

   

  Until Microsoft come up with a solution, I will continue to use Firefox (and encourage everyone I know to) as my default browser. I hope Microsoft fix this problem soon. It is unacceptable for Microsoft to have sold this new version to the public, without first de-bugging all mojor problems.

   

  I hope this helps.

  Lisa

  queenbitchlisa@hotmail.com

   

   

   

   
• Wednesday, April 25, 2007 11:36 AMNancyM137

   
  

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  Lisa,
  
  I think you may be confusing Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer.  My problem was specifically Windows Explorer, not the browser.  My problem was fixed by moving Firebird2Control.cpl out of the System32 folder.  This is a control panel applet related to the Firebird database management system which I had installed in XP before I upgraded to Vista.  Therefore my problem started immediately after I upgraded, and I had no restore points.
  
  If you are having trouble with Windows Explorer (in addition to having trouble with Internet Explorer?), you may be able to fix your problem by going back to a restore point, because you were OK for a few weeks.
  
  If you need to move the cpl files out of the system32 folder, you may need to turn off the User Account Control temporarily.
  
  I know many people are having trouble with Internet Explorer also, and I hope Microsoft is working on all of these issues. 
  
  Nancy
  
   
• Wednesday, April 25, 2007 5:51 PMJoshyt

   
  

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  I am using vista premium on  a laptop and I get the same problems. I also get windows side bar has stopped working, windows messenger has stopped working. And my windows messenger has never worked since. each time I sign in it encounters the same problem and closes down. does anybody have an answer for it.

   

   
• Monday, April 30, 2007 1:59 PMCB458

   
  

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  I just did what you recommend and it works!!!!!

   

  thank you so much

   
• Tuesday, May 01, 2007 4:33 PMWAYNE92

   
  

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  Jesus Christ above

  Im here 4 hours later on my day off work STILL trying to fix this...Because of the Microsoft Explorer coming back again every 5-10seconds I cannot do anything in regards to fixing the problem..Windows Vista is a disgrace, didnt the tech guys behind this know that this bug with occur eventually???? 

  Someone please help with a 100% solution!!!! There really must be one around!!!

   
• Wednesday, May 02, 2007 6:48 AMviper581

   
  

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  If you are running an ISP such as MSN ,make sure to set the Home page of Internet Explorer  7 to Internet Explorer 7 and the Home page of your other ISP to it's Home page. I had the same trouble. Also check your Privacy settings, make sure Internet Explorer is allowed.
   
• Wednesday, May 02, 2007 6:49 AMviper581

   
  

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  If you are running an ISP such as MSN ,make sure to set the Home page of Internet Explorer  7 to Internet Explorer 7 and the Home page of your other ISP to it's Home page. I had the same trouble. Also check your Privacy settings, make sure Internet Explorer is allowed.
   
• Wednesday, May 02, 2007 9:08 PMnwmm

   
  

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  I just had the same problem and fixed it.  I just followed what someone else had said.  Press cntrl+alt+del open task manager, the go to file new task(run).  Click on browse then select all files instead of all programs.  Look for the date modified tab and click on it.  Find some of the most reacent files and look for a dll file.  Mine was called fyxkahh.dll.  Delete it and it should stop restarting.
   
• Thursday, May 03, 2007 12:56 PMmarkdwig

   
  

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  Did anyone ever get an answer to this. My 2 week old laptop started doing this last night. It is caught in a loop and I cannt access anything else. I have also noticed that there is an icon called spylocked 3.6 on my desktop . Any help would be appreciated.

   
• Thursday, May 03, 2007 2:36 PMNancyM137

   
  

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  markdwig,
  Someone on the Dell forum had this exact problem.  Spylocked is malware.  He removed it with a downloadable sypware remover called superantispyware.  (He did not give a link). 
  After cleaning your computer, make sure your AV and anti-spyware programs are up to date.
  good luck
  Nancy
  
  
   
• Friday, May 04, 2007 1:18 AMdon6

   
  

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  same problem. please call.  303.906.2093
   
• Friday, May 04, 2007 5:16 AMkulugertz

   
  

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  Open task manager...   click on file...  new task (run)...  type: iexplore and click OK,

  it will open internet explorer, then go to this link to download superantispyware http://www.superantispyware.com/downloadfile.html?productid=SUPERANTISPYWAREFREE

  Install the software and run a full scan... and remove all the spyware/malware that will be detected

   

  Then make sure that you update your antivirus software and other antispyware softwares and scan your computer once a week.

   

  Good luck!

   
• Friday, May 04, 2007 9:23 PMJoshyt

   
  

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  I had the same problem. I also had the same  problem with windows side bar and windows live messenger. Itried everything and even the Dell support team could not solve the issue. Finally I reinstalled the system (factory image) but still the problem came up. Then I uninstalled the GOOGLE DESKTOP and I am free of trouble. I can only say that it worked with me...why not give it a try, if you are using vista and you have google desktop installed.

   

  joshy

   

   
• Saturday, May 05, 2007 5:09 AMchrisinboulder

   
  

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  I disabled McAfee site advisor and so far so good.
   
• Saturday, May 05, 2007 10:08 PMbeagle123

   
  

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  I have a new HP laptop..Windows Vista premium home edtion..

   

  was getting the windows explorer has stopped working message over and over.

   

  follow these steps..

   

  ctrl-alt-delete...start task manager..File..new task....browse..(at bottom right change from programs to All files)  views.. details to show date...sort by date..find newest .dll file and deleted it..

   

  mine was called "dxovx.dll"    I deleted that file and the looping "windows explorer has stopped working" message FINALLY WENT AWAY!!

   

  just find newest .dll in system 32 directory.....it's probably that one..cause u really can't do anything after you first get loop message..

  hope it helps..headache gone for now.

  ltr

   

   
• Sunday, May 06, 2007 4:03 PMMosesk1489

   
  

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  My solution was simple: I had recently downloaded and installed a video codec from the internet. So, I opened up "Add/Remove Programs", found the codec, uninstalled/removed it, and the problem was fixed. No more LOOPING!!

   

  This may be the case for most of you, because I've been getting emails from people with this problem, and everytime I've suggested this solution to them, they've emailed back thanking me. =)

  So... this may be your case. However, in your case, it could be anything (i.e. online game, file transfer, video/audio codec, etc.)

  Furthermore, because the loop kills anything you open up in about five seconds, there is no possible way for you to open "Add/Remove Programs" that quickly, let alone uninstall anything.

   

  So, here's what I suggest:

   

  Hit Ctrl+Alt+Delete

  Click on Start Task Manager

  *A small window should open up*

  Click on the Applications tab (under File, Options, Views, Windows, etc.)

  Click on New Task... at the bottom-right of the window

  *This should open up an even smaller window*

  Type in C:\

  *This should open up your C:\ folder*

  On the left side of the "C:\" folder, you'll see a list

  Click on My Computer, and when that opens up...

  There should be a button right above where the window icons are that reads Uninstall or change a program (for you it might be Add/Remove Programs), click on it

  When the window fully loads, and the loop doesn't kill it, choose the program(s) that you recently installed before the loop began, remove it, and hope to God, it works!

   

  If, after going through this whole process with theTask Manager, the loop is still killing the My Computer page, just keep trying! Sometimes it may kill the window, sometimes it might not. I'd try it until that time comes.

   

  I hope this works for you guys. I know how frustrating it could be. Personally, I think the Vista needed more time in Beta, but that's just me.

   

  Cheers!

  Moses

   

  moses1489@yahoo.com (questions, comments, etc.)

   

   

   
• Tuesday, May 08, 2007 12:11 AMDamalulu

   
  

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  Thanks so much!!  I have tried for 2 days now to find SOMETHING.  Finally I came across your message.  This worked for me.  Thanks for taking the time to post it!!
   
• Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:00 AMDolf Digger

   
  

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  Thanks for the heads up on this one. Luckily I could access the internet on a second computer to find your solution.
   
• Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:50 PMdvcs

   
  

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  I tempted to download windows media player plugin from one of the Pxxn site and ignored all the alerts from vista, and landed into same problem. Deadly virus effected my laptop, immediately Mcafee antivirus detected it and able to clean that one. But this problem persists in my PC. Windows explorer stopped working and restarting in LOOP and also installed spylocked kind of software. Then I have a recovery CD which is provided by the vendor. With that I am able to recover back to normal. Luckily I have noticed few recovery points while doing the recovery process. Then I decided not to download any plugin from unknown sites. But I beleive Vista has this known bug, after hearing all your messages.
  
  
  
   
• Thursday, May 10, 2007 6:08 AMGot Shafted Also

   
  

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  Got my problem fixed thanks to a combination of suggestions found in this forum.  Thanks to all.

   

  I to got the virus by downloading a supposed "video codec" off the internet.  My HP laptop was looping too fast (about 5 to 10 seconds) to be able to go through the screens and turn off User ID (which it turns out didn't do anything anyway).  Ctl-Alt-Del didn't do anything either. I couldn't get any apps running to try to remove the malware before Explorer restarted and closed all the apps. 

   

  My search of the internet turned up a link to a program "removeSpyLocked3.6".  In retrospect, it appears that this is probably software written by the hackers to charge you $29.95 to remove the SpyLocked "virus" that they loaded on your computer.  I made the mistake of running this and it installed SpyHunter on my computer which hijacked my IE to put me into their website for which they wanted to charge the $29.95.  Their website listed some eastern block country for the company (Latvia I belive).  The SpyHunter software wouldn't run without payment - I didn't pay.

   

  I rebooted my computer from a CD based Koppix (Linux) disk.  This allowed me to search my harddisk for the latest additions in the system32 directory and the program files directory.  I found that SpyLock was installed and a dll named dxovx.dll was in my system32 directory.  SpyHunter had created a hidden directory in my program files directory along with a hidden SpyLocked3.6 directory along with a "Video_AX_(something)" directory (I don't remember the whole name)  I  was unable to delete the files using Koppix and didn't want to take the time to solve that problem.  So,I rebooted my computer and hit F8 to get to the startup options and selected Safe Mode with command prompt.  (Safe Mode had the same problems with Explorer looping so I couldn't do anymore there than in normal boot mode.)  In the safe mode with command prompt (DOS) I was able to find the hidden files and directories using the "dir *. -ah" command which showed both hidden directores.  I then deleted them along with the dll in the system32 directory.  When I rebooted, the problem still existed and Explorer was still looping.

   

  I went back to this forum and found the reference to starting Task Manager with Ctl-Alt-Del.  But since ctl-alt-del wouldn't work for me, I was able to right click on the task bar and launch Taks Manager before Explorer restarted.  This allowed me to open windows that didn't get closed when Explorer closed.  I followed the directions listed by Mosesk1489 to eventually get to the control panel (although not exactly as he described). I opened the Programs and Features application.  In this app I was able to "uninstall" programs.  I "uninstalled" the three programs, SpyLocked, SpyHunter and Video AX (something).  I got a windows message stating that the programs had already been removed (since I deleted them in DOS) and asked if I wanted to remove them from the programs list.  I clicked on YES and rebooted and my problem was gone. 

   

  I then went into Control Panel and opened Performance Information and Tools then clicked on Manage Startup Programs on the left window pane.  Low and behold, the programs were still listed in the startup list.  I removed them from the list.  Hopefully I got all references and instances removed.

   

  Hope this works for everyone where other solutions didn't. 

   

  btw - I didn't see the right click on Explorer Icon and "run a administrator" until after I cleaned my system.  If that works, it would be a lot easier than going through the Task Manager solution I describe above.  You should still delete all files that were installed in your computer.  Just stopping the problem doesn't get rid of the malware.

   
• Thursday, May 10, 2007 2:49 PMshazzygalyorks

   
  

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  Hi I have exactly the same problem and have tried everything on this site so far to correct it to no avail ... I have been unable to use my comp for 3 days now and its driving me mad ... Please somebody help me !!!!!
   
• Thursday, May 10, 2007 10:35 PMTHANKFUL-ITS-OVER

   
  

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  Hi Kulugertz,

   

  Many Thanks for sharing your info as i installed the software you recommended and it actually got rid of that horrible looping message regarding windows explorer!

   

  I'm so Thankful its over ;-D

   
• Friday, May 11, 2007 9:44 PMchisel

   
  

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  I have just bought a new Toshiba abd I HAVE EXACT SAME PROBLEM!!!!

   

  Very dissatisfied with Microsoft at present - WE NEED HELP ON THIS

   

  I have tried th spyware and virus removal tools but no effect

   

  Please assist URGENTLY

   
• Friday, May 11, 2007 11:57 PMNeado

   
  

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  My brother just had this happen after looking at it for some time heres your guy's problem.

   

  First ctrl+alt+del and go to your task manager and then click the processes tab.

   

  Then highlight explorer.exe and end task so it stops spamming you, You will loose your start menu and desktop icons and so forth temporarily.

   

  Then click file>new task> this will open a window similar to the run from the start menu.

   

  type C:\ and hit Ok...

   

  From here click on my computer on the left side.

   

  From here click on add/remove programs on the left side...

   

  BET YOU HAVE THIS Video AX Object #.## of some number version.

   

  read up on this here http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/uninstall/4217/Video-AX-Object-2.07.html

   

  Its a trojan disguised as a video codec. remove this and restart your computer and hope it works.

   

  If not the trojan has already spread, run a antivirus if you have 1 the same way you got to your add/remove programs.

   

  Also can try the custom uninstall from this directory.

   

  C:\Program Files\Video AX Object\uninst.exe

   

  None of these worked for my brother it was too late we had to reformat and reinstall.

   

  It is a trojan the people who posted about the system 32 file way is because it infects your system32 files... Id suggest a virus scan to remove those files and not just manually doing it.

   
• Sunday, May 13, 2007 6:00 PMssrac

   
  

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  I have a Dell with Vista.I had the same problem from recently. I have also had a problem with no favorites showing up in the menu bar under Favorites.First close all Explorer widows open. I went to the control panel, open Internet options, then go to the advanced tab. Click on the reset tab, then reset all to factory settings. You'll lose all cookies and saved passwords. Wait till all the options have a reset and a check mark is placed by them. After that go to the Security tab and uncheck enabel protected mode. Click OK to accept then re open Explorer.

  This leaves you somewhat un protected but at least I got rid of the "explorer has stopped"

   
• Monday, May 14, 2007 4:42 PMpauly1974

   
  

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  SOLUTION..
   Ok i reread these postings a thousand times and stll couldnt figure it out .. then i suddenly got it to work ..
   go to ctrl alt del  and start task manager
  click new task and type in
  c:\windows\explorer.exe
   click ok
  on the left hand side in the FOLDERS click desk top
  then in the middle of the screen click control panel
  in this find programs and features and click
  this is your add and remove folder. the VIRUS file should be near the top just check the dates.
   right click and delete it. reboot and its gone..
   many thanks to all the people who posted on this site you were very very helpfull.
  
  
   
• Friday, May 18, 2007 5:29 PMjginnc

   
  

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  found this on another site and it worked immediately for me. rebooted computer and f8 while starting. followed options to system restore and used date that was a day or two prior to having problems. worked fine.
  
   
• Tuesday, May 22, 2007 9:38 PMBuzzzzzzzzz

   
  

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  Same problem as well. Fixed in the same way as above my was called viuaoq.dll. Only took 5 1/2 hours to fix the problem.

   
• Wednesday, May 23, 2007 4:42 AMmrscrazyowl

   
  

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  i don';t know how to fix it i already restored system but it still doesn't work
   
• Wednesday, May 23, 2007 9:01 AMnotoe

   
  

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  are you still having problems with windows has stopped working
   
• Friday, May 25, 2007 4:19 PMtrodoff

   
  

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  I have only just installed the program and just started to run it and it has stoped the window popping up already thanks so much the other things didnt work so thank again your a gem.
   
• Friday, May 25, 2007 6:26 PMjhconner

   
  

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  this(the above solution)  worked for me. the file that messed up mine was indwvm.dll, i took it out and it stopped, so i renamed it and put it back and its like nothing ever happened. thx for the info
  
   
• Friday, May 25, 2007 9:58 PMBrian Galvin

   
  

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  Cheers,

   

   Tried all til i got to yours, worked a charm

   

  Last time i'll get a codec to watch porn

   

  lesson learned

   
• Sunday, May 27, 2007 4:37 PMRichardPerl

   
  

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  My son's Vista Business computer exibited the same problem, I fixed it by going to programs in control panel (I had to be very quick to get there) and uninstalling an application that installed right before the problem occured called "Windows Sytem Alert". I am seeing on the internet that there are variances of this program name. Look for the date that it installed. I hope that this helps.

   

  RichardPerl

   
• Monday, May 28, 2007 5:20 AMSakkeer

   
  

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   do one thing in vista. press start menu, select  run and type "msconfig". u will get a new window,select startup and unclick "system", save changes,exit with restart.

  it's work for me.

  thank u

  sakkeer

   
• Monday, May 28, 2007 1:30 PMBrian2192

   
  

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  do you loose all your files, does the pc reboot.
   
• Monday, May 28, 2007 6:04 PMGizHow

   
  

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  Hi

   

  I have also had the same symptom and have fixed it using a similar route to one of the posts below.

   

  1. Use Ctrl Alt Del and access task manager.

  2. Click Applications and click new task.

  3. Use Browse option to find a new file that was downloaded the day or day before the windows explorer has stopped working loop.

  4. I sorted file by date and found a few files and directories called www.VideoJug.com which had been downloaded as an activeX component pretending to be a video codec.

  5. I deleted them all and all was OK.

  6. Beware these files and directories can have different names. Try searching for the text Video and see what you find.

   

  GizHow

   
• Tuesday, May 29, 2007 5:29 AMdocsprowl

   
  

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  I have been fighting with the same problem today.  After trying many of the suggestions in the replies, I was able to restore my system by selecting restart from the start menu, holding down the F8 key during restart before the windows icon appeared, then selecting "safe mode with prompt," then typing "rstrui.exe" after the prompt, then selecting a restore point, and finally restoring the system.  Hours of messing around, but I am breathing easier now.
   
• Thursday, May 31, 2007 9:50 AMbi9ary

   
  

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  i had a similar problem. mine was due to a .zip folder created by zip genius placed in the same folder with the unzipped folder. this creates some sort of loop that doesn't let you open any directory with that .zip folder. to fix it, use the command prompt, go to the directory and delete the .zip file that is causing this. bam, windows explorer is working now.
  some useful commands
  
  
   
• Sunday, June 03, 2007 6:55 PMk18dan

   
  

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  This is happerning to me too, the programmes/applications it has happened to so far are;

   

  internet explorer

  windows explorer

  host processes for windows services??

  win 32??

  live messenger

  any ms office programme

  firefox

   

  i get a cloudly white screen and get the error messege.... sometimes the programe will re-open other times it will not and you have to re-boot

   

  starting to really wind me up now, win xp is looking more and more attractive by the day

   

   

   
• Saturday, June 09, 2007 5:27 PMKabir_tyagi

   
  

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  hey u can also try this method get rid of this Spyware its actually a spyware so what u can do is goto download.com and download   Ad-Aware 2007  and just get rid of this spyware and to exit from this loop of getting this msg of WINDOWS EXPLORER IS RE_INSTALLING press ctrl+alt+del and select task manager to exit this loop and perform the necessary steps but the best step would be to delete the update that you have downloaded  and u can reply me the results guys so that i can help u better
   
• Monday, June 11, 2007 3:20 PMdeano1985

   
  

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  i dont have a system idle process, what can i do? i dont know much so i dont know what to do, i do know that this looping is mental!!!! ive just installed upgraded to vista from XP so am i right in guessing its some of my sofware that i already had conflicting with explorer, how do i  find out wich is the bad one. every one else seems to have had this problem after they have had vista working already. its never worked for me!!!
  
   
• Monday, June 11, 2007 9:24 PMChris_wizzzzard.com

   
  

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  I came across the same problem last night but 1st of all before you can use system restore you must make a system restore point before you come across any errors. I fixed my problem by booting into safe mode and just before it came up windows explorer has stopped working i clicked the start tab and typed into the search bar at the bottom of the list system and then chose system restore. however safe mode will then restart so keep tring and eventually system restore will load when you click it even if safe mode restarts system restore will still come up and when it does just ignore the error message and continue to restore and the pc will reboot and after the restore is complete you will be fine for any more help email me at chris@wizzzzard.com or wizzzzard.com@hotmail.co.uk or check out the website www.wizzzzard.com but if you want a reply then email me Chris at etheir one of the two email addresses thanks
   
• Thursday, June 14, 2007 3:50 AMi2enjoy

   
  

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  I fixed this damn problems thanks to the help from the people in here. To get rid of that loop, click on alt+ctr+dlt and go to task manager. Go to prrocess and click on explorer.exe and clcik on end process. now you will get rid of the annoying loop that keeps appearing like every five seconds. then go to the date modifeid section and delete any .dll file that was modified in the last day or so. my case it was gjkop.dll. restart and there you go.. cheers
   
• Saturday, June 16, 2007 1:20 PMmr draq

   
  

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• Thursday, June 21, 2007 3:14 AMsports_nut31

   
  

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  god i cant thank you enough for this information, you and the other people on this forum where more help then the tech help at microsoft ijust cant thank you enough
   
• Thursday, June 21, 2007 5:10 AMsanilsomakumar

   
  

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  Hey Mr. Moses.

  Thnx for the solution.  Its working.  I tried out in Vist Home premium.

   

  Thank u

   
• Friday, June 22, 2007 6:53 PMSimpleBNM

   
  

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  HI taseme163

  Thank you so much.

  My friend has come across same situation...

  After long troubleshoot.... your method succeeded.

  Thanks alot. I guess this method of restoration is very useful... for most of situations.

   

   

   
• Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:16 PMEigil Krogh Sorensen

   
  

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  Oh Thanx very much!!!!

   

  Now I got my Control Panel "Windows Explorer has stopped working" problem fixed also because of NancyM137's message about .cpl files!!!

   

  It turnes out to be a file with the name ALSNDMGR.cpl. This file seems to come from RealTek. It was installed by Driver Detective along with a RealTek driver for my sound card.

   

  Thank you!

   

   

  Best

  Eigil

   

   
• Wednesday, June 27, 2007 5:50 PMrloh91

   
  

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  Here's what I did that worked for me:

   

  Go to the Internet Explorer icon on you desk top, right click on it, and go down to "open file location", it should be the second one down.

   

    You will see a Windows Explorer window pop up and in it will be another Internet Explorer icon.  Right click on the icon and select the "run without add-ons" option. 

   

  Once it opens, go to Tools, select Internet Options, then go to the Progams tab and click on manage add-ons.

   

    At the top of the window is a button with the word 'show' in front of it.  Pick the option that says "Add-ons that have been used by internet explorer" and a list of add-ons will come up in the window below the button.  You have to click on each one individually and then click on disable at the bottom of the window.  Once they are all disabled, click OK twice.  You will get a message that says you may have to restart explorer.

   

    Once I did this, I could open it again from the icon on the desktop.

   
• Thursday, June 28, 2007 8:57 AMSmooth0918

   
  

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  Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! 

   

  I only wish I would have found this information two "Formats" ago...

   
• Friday, June 29, 2007 5:12 PMD. McGlone

   
  

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  yo, You are Fu**ing AWESOME! thank you i thought i had to Restart my Laptop! Phew! I am so Glad. What Can I Say Thanks
  
  D. McGlone
  
   
• Monday, July 02, 2007 12:11 AMMetalJet

   
  

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  I did this on my friend's laptop, but I didn't do it in safe mode.  I tried everyone else's solutions, but to no avail.  I typed in "msconfig" in the task manager and started the system restore from there.  Luckily the restore point was just 2 days ago and the problem started yesterday!
   
• Tuesday, July 03, 2007 8:02 PMGranster

   
  

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  NANCY YOU ARE A STAR!!!!!

  I removed Firebird2Control.cpl from the System 32 folder AND IT SOLVED THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!

   

  I put it in the c:/ folder just in case i need it later..... Does that sound right?

   

  THANKYOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

   
• Tuesday, July 03, 2007 8:18 PMulinos

   
  

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  For DELL customer just do pc restore
   
• Saturday, July 07, 2007 7:42 PMAngel Dominguez

   
  

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  I have this same problem. Suddendly I got a message from www.feelsecured.com indicating that my computer is infected by Trojan SPM/LX, I started to run McAfee scan it detected 2 infections by now. Probably it is a virus infection but it has been a headache to open the antivirus.
   
• Saturday, July 07, 2007 9:54 PMElvis15

   
  

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  I have been seeing this Windows Explorer error for a while now as I work in the IT industry. This is not Internet Explorer, but Windows Explorer, two totally separate programs with similar names. Windows Explorer controls things like open windows, desktop icons and the task bar and that is why these refresh whenever explorer restarts. Typically, calls I get related to this issue are from people who have new PCs with Vista and they were using the free trial from McAfee or Norton and no extra spyware protection. By the time I get called about the issue, their trial version had expired a week or two ago or they never bothered to schedule a scan and update the program to begin with and now they have SpyLocked/SpyCrush/SecurityToolbar, etc installed on their PCs. These are known spyware programs and can result in corruption or infection of valid Windows files.
  
  For those of you who've had this since unboxing their PC (you haven't downloaded anything to your computer yet, I assume, otherwise you've probably picked up spyware), I'm not sure what might be causing it but as your system is new you can reinstall Vista and it should be fine. It's not like you had any files on your PC yet and this will give you a clean install.
  
  For everyone else who's been running Vista a while or just upgraded XP to Vista, the easiest solution is to run System Restore and restoring to a date when the problem didn't occur. The key for any of this is to get the Task Manager open and stop the explorer.exe file. Then you can click new task and run "C:/" and proceed from there. If you can get to his page you can look up anything I'm mentioning here for where it's located in the Vista file system. Removing the dll or cpl file may cause Vista to not work correctly even if it fixes the Windows Explorer issue.
  
  Since you can access the c: drive now, you can also go to the Program Files directory and run any security software you trust that you have installed or open Internet Explorer to download new ones. I like Avast! and Ad-Aware if you don't know any good programs. Make sure they're updated and that you scan at least once a week as well. This may remove any issues right away and then you won't have problems in the future. On a service like this I may run 5 or 6 different security tools to fully clean a system in safe mode.
  
  If that doesn't work I'd recommend the "sfc /scannow" or "chkdsk /r" commands with the operating system or recovery disk in the drive to repair any infected or corrupted files. You may have to open the command prompt to do this by clicking new task again and typing "cmd" to open the window. These will take the clean files from the CD and fix the ones on the hard drive. Again, update and rerun your security software.
  
  A number of the other solutions listed in other posts here will probably also do the trick but may not be as safe and cause more issues. Certainly one of these solutions will. This is a virus/spyware problem so if you don't have the three main types of security programs updated and scanning (anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall) you will be infected at some point or another. I just started a scan on a PC and it had already found two trojans and 2 adware so they must be removed prior to fixing operating system files and this explorer error.
  
  Good luck!
  
   
• Sunday, July 08, 2007 3:10 AMKen Aubuchon

   
  

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  This fixed my problem.  Does anyone know why it suddenly started??  I've had the Notebook since May with no problems until today.
   
• Tuesday, July 10, 2007 10:36 AMD. McGlone

   
  

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  Hey, I Have A New Windows Vista Premium Laptop, And I Know The Problem!!!
  If You Have Downloaded Something Recently (Even If Its Important, Except If Its NortonAnti Virus or something) Delete It. Or Especially If Its called "SpyLocked" its the main Thing Which Gives you Immovable Trojan and Christmas Tree Viruses!!! NEVER DOWNLOAD THAT!!!
  
  Thank You!
  
   
• Friday, July 13, 2007 3:21 AMDvail2000

   
  

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  My Wifes new Acer started doing the same thing tonight.  She had installed a Logictech webcam that on the box stated Windows Vista compatible.  I wound up haveing to do the Ctrl+Alt+Del to get to the task manager and then New Task of C:\ and going to my computer and then control panel.  Then to back up / restore and doing a back of to before she installed the web cam software.  It seemed to fix the problem.  I will be taking the web cam back to the store and sending an E-mail to Logictech about the problem. 

   

    Dave

   
• Friday, July 13, 2007 2:54 PMAtulrs

   
  

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  Hi Moses,

  Thanks a zillion.... The solution worked.....

   
• Tuesday, July 17, 2007 9:15 AMbeautifulasever

   
  

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  USMCSKI wrote:

  Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just loops over and over so i cant access anything on my laptop i tried to do a system restore from the boot up but it says i have no restore points, Please someone tellme how to fix this!!

   
• Sunday, July 22, 2007 12:40 PMLost_In_Vista

   
  

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  Dear All,

          

   I have tried the methods from page 1 until page 7 but still can't solve my problem. My vista business keep showing me "Windows Explorer has stopped", "Windows explorer restarting" whenever execute the windows explorer. Vista with windows explorer error is like a stroke machine. It's very irritating. I just purchased Ibm x-series laptop for more than a week and the error message has hit me. I only installed microsoft office 2000 and sysmantec anti-virus 10.2.  

   

   I really hope that microsoft technical staff can make an annoucement and provide solution abt this issue. We paid the software price but help them to diagnose the problems.  Really really upset.

   

  May I get someone to help me...Please...please....

   

   

   

   
• Tuesday, July 24, 2007 12:08 PMfirdous

   
  

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  Hi   I used ur method but it didn't work
   
• Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:08 PMmtennant

   
  

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  My problem is similar, with some differences--
  -doesn't loop continuously, just when R-click desktop, click File in Explorer, or use a few programs (one is AdAware, but SpyBot works).  Not problem with IE, just MS Explorer.
  -Have tried practically everything suggested in this thread, except for complete re-install.
  
  The problem started after working correctly for several weeks, and a few days after a LotusNotes install. A web search did not show up any known conflicts with Lotus & Vista.
  
  No viruses or trojans, no new .exe, .dll, or .cpl files that could explain the change.
  
  I have Vista Home Premium (pre-installed) on a new Dell XPS M1210, Intel Core 2 CPU 2.00 GHz, 2038 MB Ram.
  
  As with everyone on this thread, I am at my wits' end.  Who has the solution?????  My never-ending gratitude!
  
  
  
   
• Friday, July 27, 2007 8:19 AMLost_In_Vista

   
  

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  It sounds a bit weird but after i installed k-lite codec pack, my windows explorer turn to normal. No problem at all. It may be coincident but my laptop so far working well for 3 days. I will post again if I hit the same problem.

   

  Good luck guys !

   
• Friday, July 27, 2007 6:51 PMknuckle dragger

   
  

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  HI, FOLKS! (ESPECIALLY MICROSOFT DWEEBS, IF YA'LL READ THIS THING, AND IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE YOU ARE...)

  BUT I'M HAVING THE SAME FRIGGIN' PROBLEM AS IS EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW BUYING A NEW CRAPTOP WITH VISTA ON IT...NOT ONE PERSON I'VE MET HAS HAD A GOOD THING TO SAY ABOUT IT...IT'S ENOUGH TO MAKE ME GO MAC, AND I HATE MAC!

   

  SO, FOLKS AT MICROSOFT, LISTEN UP...I HAVE READ ALL THES GOOD FOLKS COMMENTS, ALL WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, AND YES, I HAVE IT TOO AND A FEW OTHER PROBLEMS AS WELL, ALL MS VISTA RELATED, AND IT SHOULDN'T TAKE THIS MANY COMPLAINTS OR THIS MANY NICE FOLKS TRYING TO DO YOUR MICROSOFT JOB OF FINDING A DOZEN POTENTIAL WAYS TO SOLVE THIS, AND ALL WITHOUT CERTAINTY OF SUCCESS... 

   

  MICROSOFT- READ THESE, AND KNOW THAT YOUR SOFTWARE IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED.

  SPEND SOME TIME AND MONEY ON IT, (WE  KNOW YA' HAVE IT!!) AND THEN, HAVE ONE OF THOSE AUTOMATIC DOWNLOADING PATCHES FIX IT WHEN WE NEXT SIGN ON, SO IT'S DONE, RIGHTEOUSLY AND PROPERLY AS IS YOUR JOB, DUTY AND OBLIGATION TO THE PEOPLE UPON WHOM YOU'VE FORCED THIS PREMATURELY LAUNCHED SOFTWARE.

   

  OTHERWISE, YOU REALLY SHOULD BE TAKEN TO COURT AND SUED FOR THE MILLIONS OF HOURS AND DOLLARS FOLKS LOST, ARE LOSING AND WILL LOSE UNTIL YOU GET THIS ISSUE FIXED....

   

  sorry for the caps, didn't think you'd read it otherwise, maybe your eyes hurt from looking at the screen so much, and THAT'S WHY YOU HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT VISTA SUCKS AND NEEDS FIXIN' OR KILLIN', whew... all the rest of ya'll out there, sorry about that....i get mighty irritated when i see the little people getting shat upon by the big man, who seems so complacent from his riches, he doesn't care... at least before, he made money giving something good to the people, now...well, i've said it enough, haha! saludos to those sufferin', and to those whom fix it!

  hawke sends

  :-)

  >>---->

   

   
• Saturday, July 28, 2007 9:24 AMendzo

   
  

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  i have windows vista on  my pc and i do have the same problem and know how i got it DO NOT INSTALL ACTIVE X from videos or anything into ur pc thats wot i done and now i have he vrus pro which i didnt no about and it is a virus cover up

   

   

  to solve the problem press F8 when restatarting

   

  then go down to repair my pc not safe mode

   

  then it nwill say repair windows start windows restore and windows memeory diagnostics go and restore it from here

   

  hope this help if u still have problems email me on endzo_16@hotmail.co.uk

   
• Sunday, July 29, 2007 9:34 AMBODGEITANDSTAY

   
  

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  JUST USE YOUR VISTA DISC TO RESTOYOUR PC AND ALL WILL BE OK

   
• Monday, July 30, 2007 1:01 AMalistairnz

   
  

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  Hey guys,

   

  I encountered this problem, last night and have been spending practically all morning trying to fix this problem, 5 minutes ago i read that upon restarting your computer and pressing F8, you can find the option of restoring your computer to a previous time, i was not sure as i managed to do this in safe mode and it did not work, but this option SO FAR (5 minutes) has managed to work for me. Hopefully it stays ok

   

  Give it a crack and good luck! Surely microsoft will respond to this major issue soon

   

   

   
• Tuesday, July 31, 2007 6:20 AMbbigRay

   
  

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  Thanks for your help man, I had worked on this dam thing for two F'vn days now.
  
  Thanks,
  
   
• Friday, August 03, 2007 4:50 PMDEBOPRIYA

   
  

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  try to do a msconfig from safe mode.....

  if doesnot help try and reinstall the operating stytem....

   

   

  thanx...

   

   
• Sunday, August 05, 2007 9:41 PMtilak_1978

   
  

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  Hi, Pls install trojanremover from www.majorgeeks.com... and run it.It will surely help you get rid of this problem.

  I had the same problem and got it resolved.It is a 30 day trial version ..so just goahead

   

   

   

   
• Sunday, August 05, 2007 9:45 PMtilak_1978

   
  

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  use trojanremover 6.6.2 from www.majorgeeks.com .It is a 30 day trial software to remove trojan virus.

   

  I had the same problem and it was resolved.Just try !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   

   

   
• Monday, August 06, 2007 3:44 PMkarthikin

   
  

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  Guys here is the resolution for this problem<windows explorer has stopped working>,

   

  Please follow these steps

   

  1.Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and go to Task Manager-->go to Run-->New Task-->Type "appwiz.cpl" Press Enter

  2.It'll open a  window called "Programs and Features" Scroll Down to highlight the file "Windows Safety Alerts or Windows Security Alerts "  then click on Uninstall.

  Note:It will restart the nb

  3.If same problem once again means do follw steps 1 & 2 once again   90% it will fix the problem..

   

                                     OR

  Still if not fixing means

   

  4.Run the Virus scan and del  all the files like virus spywares malwares..

  5.If u people facing the problem after installing any software, please uninstall the particular software and follow the steps 1.2.3

   

  Reg,

  Karthik

   

   

   
• Wednesday, August 08, 2007 10:36 AMDLeighH

   
  

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  Thank you for this post.  This fixed my problem as well.   The offending file in my case was Firebird2Control.cpl

   

   
• Wednesday, August 08, 2007 11:49 PMMUSA9111

   
  

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  USMCSKI wrote:

  Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just loops over and over so i cant access anything on my laptop i tried to do a system restore from the boot up but it says i have no restore points, Please someone tellme how to fix this!!

   
• Thursday, August 09, 2007 8:51 AMplutus1947

   
  

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  Hi Todd, (BBHELP)

   

  I tried your fix but when I tried to end the process you suggested I was given the error 'The operation could not be completed. The operation is not valid for this process'.

   

  Am I doing something wrong?

   

  John

   
• Sunday, August 12, 2007 12:23 PMJames_m99

   
  

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  This solution worked a treat - many thanks!

   
• Sunday, August 12, 2007 2:12 PMrams_mcaodc

   
  

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  thanks a lot it worked for me

   
• Sunday, August 12, 2007 4:45 PMwhatever4546

   
  

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  thank you the advice you gave solved everything thank you

   
• Sunday, August 12, 2007 5:39 PMbazeel

   
  

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  Hi Todd.
  I followed your instructions but was not allowed to end the system idle process.
  What now?
  Cheers,  BAsil
   
  
   
• Sunday, August 12, 2007 5:54 PMBuckeye Turf

   
  

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  I've had a refurbished eMachines pc with Windows Vista for about a week now and last night I started getting that same error message. I tried using System Restore but the looping effect prevented me from running it, and then I hadn't established any restore points yet. Ultimately, it appears that the user has to re-format their hard drive, which is what I did. Now, everything seems to be fine *knock on wood*.

   

   
• Monday, August 13, 2007 8:16 PMDublin Donal

   
  

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  This works. I now stop sweating and go and enjoy the beer you suggest.

   

  Well done and thanks

   

   

   
• Monday, August 13, 2007 8:17 PMDublin Donal

   
  

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  This works. I can now stop sweating and go and enjoy the beer you suggest.

   

  Well done and thanks

   

   

   
• Tuesday, August 14, 2007 5:46 AMGarth2

   
  

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  I also tried running IE as administrator. The symptom did not appear, but it also did not fix the problem, because I'm not willing to go through the pain of running IE as administrator every time.

   

  FIXES TO MY PROBLEM -- AND I HAD A REALLY UNSTABLE SYSTEM

  1) There appear to be a number of Outlook and IE toolbars that are not compatible under Vista. They've created absolute hell for me just to figure out what's wrong. Try disabling suspected toolbars for IE and Outlook and disable ActiveX plug-ins for IE. Then enable them one by one. I haven't found a problem with any Microsoft toolbars or ActiveX controls. My culprits, I believe, were Skype (a totally useless toolbar, anyway -- what were they thinking?), and LinkedIn, and some others. I was told by HP that OmniPage is a mess, too (whatever it is).

   

  2a) I turned of McAffee Firewall, Virus, Scanner, and all the other utilities it loads (hunt through the UI, it's hard to find everywhere to turn this stuff off.) Then, go into msconfig and uncheck anything related to McAfee. Use Windows Firewall and Windows Defender instead and just forget about loading a virus scanner. I haven't found one that actually works, and I've tried the 5 or so of them recommended by Microsoft. I think (yes, I really do think this) that virus scanning is overrated. Be careful which files you open (I may regret this later, but this has been my method for 5 years now. With a firewall, I feel safe, and I have been for 5 years. No viruses on my old machine)

   

  2b) THIS PART WAS THE KEY TO MY SOLUTION: Out of desparation I rebooted in Safe Mode, not having a clue and not planning to unload and reload drivers, etc. one by one. Was just going to see if the system worked. It did work. Perfectly. Not really a surprise.

   

  2c) Reboot normally. I have absolutely no problems now. None. And I had big problems:

  - Network wouldn't connect after coming out of sleep.

  - IE routinely crashing

  - Explorer hanging

  - Outlook routinely crashing

  - Search Indexer no longer spins up out of control and uses 50% of my processor power.

  - Computer freezing. Mouse pointer, clock second hand frozen. Keyboard non-functional. Basically, no input/output from the console. Had to do a hard reset in these situations.

  - Many, many other problems. By my estimation, I spent 20 to 30 hours a week over two months dealing with Vista issues. Now, I have absolutely no problem.

   

  My symptom was continually having Outlook or IE stop responding (like, 3-5 times a day). However, I did experience a continual loop as described in some posts. Eventually they exited as long as IE or Outlook did not hang.  My hanging symptom sounds somewhat like the infitnite loop referred to in these posts, so I'm posting here.

   

  OPINION

  What do you think the economic cost to the country is of having been hoodwinked into buying a beta product? The cost is in billions when you consider business sytem downtime, lost personal productivity, people yelling at each other out of aggravation, support personnel at the ends of their ropes, etc. Vista is pretty close to a train wreck, if not in it's overall performance (it's bad, but maybe not a train wreck),  then in the execution of its delivery and the effect on the human beings who have to use it. HP tells me to call MS. MS tells me that yes, it's their operating system, but the OEM vendor is responsible. Would love to see some accountability on this one, but MS has to care enough to drive it.

   

  Remember the bumper sticker that people would put on the old Bell Telephone trucks? "We don't care. We don't have to."

   
• Friday, August 17, 2007 3:53 AMnico215

   
  

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  ANYONE PLEASE HELP
  i have the same issue and it started two days ago. Windows explorer crashes evere 10 min or so and instantly when i go into control panel or my computer. What is intersting is that i have not installed any programs or drivers in a week. instead THE PROBLEM STARTED AFTER I INSTALLED VARIOUS "IMPORTANT" UPDATES FROM MICROSOFT. so i dont know what to blame except microsoft and the OS itself!. no viruses. no drivers. no programs.. but windows update. i have tried everything, system restore, uninstalling those updates, disabling user account control, ran anti-virus, everything nothing has worked if anyone knows of another solution please help thanks! 

   

  AND BY the way, once they get vista right and without problems, seriosly i will never get another version of windows. its too hard for microsoft to jsut get it right. i mean as of now xp seems more stable than vista, and vista has already been out for 6 months!! is ridiculous that microsoft advertised improved security. but i highly doubt that when windows explorer itself can be damaged so easily. this didnt even happen in xp. its like they are going backwards.

   
• Friday, August 17, 2007 4:41 AMmandeep

   
  

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  USMCSKI wrote:

  Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just loops over and over so i cant access anything on my laptop i tried to do a system restore from the boot up but it says i have no restore points, Please someone tellme how to fix this!!

   
• Friday, August 17, 2007 4:41 AMmandeep

   
  

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  USMCSKI wrote:

  Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just loops over and over so i cant access anything on my laptop i tried to do a system restore from the boot up but it says i have no restore points, Please someone tellme how to fix this!!

   
• Sunday, August 19, 2007 10:33 AMFawad Mastoi

   
  

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  Exacty same problem here. Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just keeps looping over.

   

  Possible reason might be Nero, but not too sure. Microsoft is quick on charging 100's $$$ and whinge when someone makes pirated copies, but if their products are going to be like this, they probably are worth $5.00. Big mistake buying this piece of *** Vista.

   
• Monday, August 20, 2007 1:45 AMRICHARD ALLEN W

   
  

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  WANT DO I DO?

   

   
• Saturday, August 25, 2007 8:24 AMmidamah

   
  

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  I did what ssrac said. I went to internet options clicked on advanced tab then clicked on reset then reset again, i let it do it's thing all wala I am able to use it again without any problem. yayy thanks! I just got this computer yesterday, I was furious when the pop up thing started happening.

   

   
• Saturday, August 25, 2007 11:06 PMJeremy Martin

   
  

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  I had a similar problem with my hp laptop...everytime i opened control panel explore.exe would restart.  I checked the event logs and found that the HP quicklaunch module was causing the crash.  I uninstalled the quicklaunch software and it works fine now.  This might not help much, but i believe, at least with the control panel issue that there may be some third party management software that may be causing the problem.

   

   
• Sunday, August 26, 2007 1:38 AMZadry

   
  

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  THANK YOU!!! You are AWESOME.. I've been dealing with this for 3 days now &

  DELL wanted to charge me $125 just for helping me check on my software over the phone.

  I did just as you said and found the lil bugger under fwjgtk.dll.

  

  THANKS AGAIN! You are a Life Saver!

   
• Tuesday, August 28, 2007 6:59 PMabbo

   
  

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  I had this problem on a brand new computer loaded with Windows VISTA premium., could not open a single program for a very frustrating week.! 

  I could not open system restore from the start menu so i was completely stumped. - however .....

  Shut down computer - then power up and immediately press F8 key repeatedly until safe mode menu is on screen - select option Start using a command - be patient and wait for dos screen -  type in rstrui -  wait for the restore page - select choose a restore date - wait - enter a restore date ( one that you are confident the system was working perfectly) - wait for the system to shut down and reboot - Success problem solved.

  What caused this problem is unknown - still investigating.

  Thanks to the original author my problem is resolved - thanks again. 

   
• Friday, August 31, 2007 3:36 PMeNd

   
  

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  Thank you.

   

  I really really thanks to you,James2(0_0)7 .

   

   

  Ton of Thanks.

   

   

   
• Sunday, September 02, 2007 4:41 AMJasonw2019

   
  

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  Guys - this really isn't exactly just a software bug.  I just verifed the same problem on a Windows Vista Home Premium laptop and low and behold it's a nasty little virus.  While it's true that you can end the process on the explorer.exe - it may be that the issue continuously occurs when you restart the explorer process - which you need to be able to function on the desktop normally.  Most likely you will need to verify that that a virus isn't causing the problem.  In this case there were a couple of Trojan Horses and one in particular dropped a .dll that I believe was causing the problem - i was able to verify in the set of processes a process that was running that looked out of place.  The antivirus caught the rogue dll in addition to the other trojans etc... and it stopped on the reboot.  Because the explorer was continuing to restart which would cause open windows to shutdown (this was happening every 3-5 seconds) i had to end the explorer process - but i was able to install an antivirus and ran the scans.  I haven't quite figured out how the is getting by in the registry (windows restore is turned off).  Nonetheless the windows explorer process has corrected itself for now.

   
• Sunday, September 02, 2007 5:15 PMscubachik

   
  

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  I do not get the option for recovery mode when I press F8.   I get every kind of 'safe mode' and several other options but no recovery mode.   This computer is only 2 weeks old and belongs to my teenage son.  I am going to attempt using his recovery disk that came with the computer.   I will be sticking with XP on my computer, however, because I don't trust VISTA!
   
• Monday, September 03, 2007 4:14 PMRamkrishna3

   
  

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  I am getting the dialog box "Windows Explorer has stoped working" and

   

  hpqwmiex module stoped working  Messages.... 

   

  I am not able to see the Desktop icons like Start button and other icons .. Please help me

   

   
• Tuesday, September 04, 2007 2:34 AMnitesh2007ahir

   
  

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  Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just loops over and over so i cant access anything on my laptop i tried to do a system restore from the boot up but it says i have no restore points, Please someone tellme how to fix this!! same problem! looking for the reply solution.........

  USMCSKI wrote:

  Just bought a new Laptop with Win Vista  worked fine till i started getting this Windows explorer has stopped working, then another window comes up and says Windows explorer is restarting, and it just loops over and over so i cant access anything on my laptop i tried to do a system restore from the boot up but it says i have no restore points, Please someone tellme how to fix this!!