Question Weird Win10 File explorer crash

Jul 15, 2019
6
0
10
Hello

I hava e really weird Win10 file explorer crashes. Never see problem like this before.
So I download a movie (mkv, Avi or mp4 formats). When i go to the folder and do left or right mouse click on the file (the media file) the file explorer crash immediately. It’s kick me on the desktop without any messages. If there is other file explorer windows opened at that time all of them close immediately too. No message or blue/black screen just kick me on the desktop. But the pc still running and everything else is running normally.
The weird things is when i use VLC player File/Open file and go to the folder with the movie i can play it, rename it, copy, cut, delete and everything which you can usually do with the file explorer.
When i use file explorer If there is another file for example STR file with subtitles in the same folder with the movie i can do everything with it without problem but ones I click with the mouse on the movie file the file explorer crash.
The other weird things is that this happens only on random media file. For example it’s hapen on files which was working before and I already watched. So i have a lot of mkv files. One is working the other one crash. The files are the same format. No differences. At the same time VLC players plays everything.
Its a new gaming build. I’m playing AAA games without any problem.
Win10 is updated. Already try a lot file explorer fixes steps which I find in the web. Already try with troubleshooting, copy the file on different location or drive, updade drivers, reinstall drivers and VLC player, restart file explorer from task manager and restart the Pc.
Will be really thankful if someone can help.
Thank you
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
have you tried this?

right click start button
choose powershell (admin)
type SFC /scannow and press enter
once its completed, copy/paste this command into same window:
Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth and press enter
SFC fixes system files, second command cleans image files, re run SFC if it failed to fix all files and restart PC
 
Jul 15, 2019
6
0
10
Thank you very much for your reply!

So I do everything what you say few times and every time i get this:


PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> SFC /SCANNOW

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 14% complete.

Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
Repair-WindowsImage : The specified buffer contains ill-formed data.
At line:1 char:1
  • Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth
  • ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: :)) [Repair-WindowsImage], COMException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : Microsoft.Dism.Commands.RepairWindowsImageCommand

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

and I do restart on the end.

Unfortunately nothing change. I have the same problem.
Any other ideas?

Thank you very much one more time
 

Colif

Win 11 Master
Moderator
which version of win 10 are you on?
can you right click start
choose run...
type winver and press enter

Current version is 1903

the 2nd command didn't work, you got an error... I have a way to fix that error but it depends on which version of windows 10 you have installed now.

The second command is a DISM command. DISM = Deployment Image Servicing and Management - every windows 10 install has a copy of the source code it used to install, it is the Image. DISM manages the Image, and in your error it found files on the image that are bad and it went looking for a source, and couldn't find one.

the fix I have uses a copy of the current ISO of WIndows to fix the bad files. The only problem occurs if you have an older version of win 10 currently installed as the ISO has to match the installed version

SO if you are on 1903 now, you can do this:
Download a copy of the win 10 iso from Here - create ISO by telling it you want to make DVD - and then mount that ISO in file explorer (see Here) and then copy paste the below command into command prompt (admin)

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /source:WIM:X:\Sources\Install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

Where "X" is the drive letter where the ISO is located. Simply change the "X" to the correct drive letter

once its completed, re run sfc/scannow and restart PC



if you don't have 1903 installed, you might think about updating win 10 as it could fix it as well. Version updates replace the image so might fix the problem.
 
Last edited:
Jul 15, 2019
6
0
10
which version of win 10 are you on?
can you right click start
choose run...
type winver and press enter

Current version is 1903

the 2nd command didn't work, you got an error... I have a way to fix that error but it depends on which version of windows 10 you have installed now.

The second command is a DISM command. DISM = Deployment Image Servicing and Management - every windows 10 install has a copy of the source code it used to install, it is the Image. DISM manages the Image, and in your error it found files on the image that are bad and it went looking for a source, and couldn't find one.

the fix I have uses a copy of the current ISO of WIndows to fix the bad files. The only problem occurs if you have an older version of win 10 currently installed as the ISO has to match the installed version

SO if you are on 1903 now, you can do this:
Download a copy of the win 10 iso from Here - create ISO by telling it you want to make DVD - and then mount that ISO in file explorer (see Here) and then copy paste the below command into command prompt (admin)

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /source:WIM:X:\Sources\Install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

Where "X" is the drive letter where the ISO is located. Simply change the "X" to the correct drive letter

once its completed, re run sfc/scannow and restart PC



if you don't have 1903 installed, you might think about updating win 10 as it could fix it as well. Version updates replace the image so might fix the problem.


Hello
Thank you again for your reply.
So my win10 version was 1903. I don't do any upgrade.

I download copy of win10, create ISO and open it exactly as you say.
I enter the command in command prompt (admin) and this is what a get.



Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18362.239]
(c) 2019 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth /source:WIM:F:\Sources\Install.wim:1 /LimitAccess

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 10.0.18362.1

Image Version: 10.0.18362.239

[==========================100.0%==========================]
Error: 605

The specified buffer contains ill-formed data.

The DISM log file can be found at C:\WINDOWS\Logs\DISM\dism.log

C:\WINDOWS\system32>

Then i get two alerts from my Anti-virus Avast:

We've blocked cmd.exe because it was infected with IDP.ALEXA.51
This one ask me to be moved in Avast Virst Chest

We've blocked wwzRetallEgs.exe because it was infected with IDP.Generic
This one ask me for restart to be repair.

Then i do sfc/scannow in PowerShell (Admin) and this is what i get:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> sfc /scannow

Beginning system scan. This process will take some time.

Beginning verification phase of system scan.
Verification 14% complete.

Windows Resource Protection could not perform the requested operation.
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

Then I do restart. Nothing change. The same problem.

Then i try everything without Anti-virus program. I shut down Avast.
Everything was the same. The same messages.
unfortunately I still have the same problem.
Any other ideas?

Thank you for your time.
 
Jul 17, 2019
1
0
10
Its not a Windows 10 issue, more of an add-on issue. Different tools provide right-click operations in Windows Explorer via installed add-ons. When you do a right-click, Explorer tries to load all the addons it has been presented with....one addon-does not play nicely and boom it brings down Windows Explorer.

I have had this happen on a machine of mine too and I ended up getting a tool called ShellExView. According to the site it does this:

Displays the details of shell extensions installed on your computer, and allows you to easily disable and enable each shell extension.

Go through all of your Context Menu plugins and turn off the most likely ones ( the ones from recent installs of software most likely) and keep doing that until the problem stops.

Or if you have an inkling of the software you installed which may be causing the problem, unistall it first and try again.