Solutions to Fix Windows 10 Explorer Keeps Crashing

Windows Explorer, also called File Explorer, is one of the most frequently used applications on Windows computers. But sometimes we find that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. Therefore, we have tried the following solutions to solve the problem.

Solution 1: Keep the Windows Up to Date

The first and easiest solution is to keep the Windows up to date. Keeping the OS up to date can solve many problems related to the system. Here is the way to do it:

Step 1: Press Win + I keys at the same time to open Settings and then select Update & Security.

Step 2: Choose Windows Update and then click Check for updates on the right panel.

Step 3: If there are available updates, Windows will start to download them automatically. After downloading the updates successfully, restart the computer to perform the installation process.

After making the OS up to date, check if Windows 10 File Explorer keeps crashing. If it does, try the next methods.

Solution 2: Disable Thumbnails

Thumbnails can be the culprit of the “Windows 10 Explorer to keep crashing” error, especially when there are many images in a folder. Thus, disabling thumbnails can be a useful solution to solve the issue. Here is a quick guide:

Step 1: Type control panel in the Search bar and then click Control Panel.

Step 2: Set View by: Large icons and then click File Explorer Options.

Step 3: Go to the View tab and then check Always show icons, never thumbnails. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

After disabling thumbnails, the problem that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing should be solved.

Solution 3: Clear File Explorer History

Clearing File Explorer history can resolve the issue that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. Follow the steps to do that:

Step 1: Open File Explorer Options and then go to the General tab.

Step 2: Click Clear in the Privacy section. Then File Explorer history will be cleared in seconds.

Solution 4: Launch Folder Windows in a Separate Process

All File Explorer windows run in the explorer.exe process by default. Therefore, if one of the File Explorer windows crashes, then the problem that Windows Explorer keeps crashing will appear. So enabling the “Launch folder windows in a separate process” setting may solve the problem. Here is a quick guide:

 

Step 1: Open File Explorer Options and then go to the View tab.

Step 2: Check Launch folder windows in a separate process and then click Apply and OK to save changes.

Solution 5: Run CHKDSK and SFC Scans

Running CHKDISK and SFC scans may solve the problem that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing.

Perform a Hard Disk Check

Step 1: Type cmd in the Search box and then right-click Command Prompt to choose Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type chkdsk /f /r in the window and then press Enter.

Step 3: Press Y key and Enter key. Then exit the command line window.

Now restart the computer to make Windows perform the hard disk check. Then check if this solves the issue.

Perform a System File Check

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as an administrator.

Step 2: Type sfc /scannow in the window and then press Enter.

Then wait for Windows to detect whether there are damaged system files, if there are, Windows will fix them automatically.

Now restart the PC to check if Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing, if it does, try the following methods.

Solution 5: Reinstall the Graphics Card Driver

Step 1: Press Win + X keys at the same time to choose Device Manager.

Step 2: Expand Display adapters in the newly pop-out window, then right-click the graphics card to choose Uninstall device.

Step 3: Check Delete the driver software for this device and then click Uninstall.

Step 4: Reboot the computer, the system will automatically reinstall the graphics card.

Step 5: If Windows doesn’t reinstall the graphics card driver, then go to the graphics card manufacturer’s website to download the latest driver for the device.

Step 6: Open Device Manager again, click Action on the top to choose Scan for hardware changes.

After the process has finished, restart the computer to check if Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing. If yes, try the next ones.

Solution 6: Disable Quick Access and Set Open File Explorer to This PC

Step 1: Open File Explorer Options and then go to the General tab.

Step 2: Set Open File Explorer to This PC instead of Quick access.

Step 3: Uncheck both Show recently used files in Quick access and Show frequently used folders in Quick access under the Privacy section. Click Apply and OK to save changes.

To learn more solutions to solve the problem that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing, read this post – Windows 10 Explorer Keeps Crashing? Here Are 10 Solutions.

Useful Suggestion

What should we do after solving the problem that Windows 10 Explorer keeps crashing? We should back up our system when our system runs normally so that we can perform disaster recovery quickly. And we find that MiniTool ShadowMaker is the best one for us to back up the system.