Question Windows explorer.exe application error after bad restart

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DarthGizmo

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May 19, 2016
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I was having trouble with an Xbox Game Pass and EA Sports game crashing. I tried rebooting and the computer froze.

I then forced rebooted by cutting the power, but then I got a weird Bing Co-Pilot suddenly appearing on the taskbar.

Now often when I shut down or restart I am getting :

"Explorer.exe application error: the instruction at <memory address> referenced memory at <memory address> could not be written."

I have fixed this a few times with different methods, but the problem always comes back, especially when I run anything related to a Microsoft app or game, but sometimes just it randomly appears when I restart or shutdown.

I am pretty desperate to fix this, any ideas?
 
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rgd1101 said:
full system spec? include brand and model of the psu?
malware scan the system?
what the dns server?
Click to expand...

Okay, here are the specs. Also, I edited the original message to make the problem more understandable:

PSU: TUF GAMING 750 W GOLD

Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D 6-Core Processor, 3301 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 12 Logical Processor(s)

MPG B550 GAMING PLUS (MS-7C56)

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB
Total Physical Memory 31.9 GB

64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Windows 11
 
rgd1101 said:
ran any memory test?
use dism to repair windows?
Click to expand...

I ran these two steps and also a few times I have run sfc /scannow as many have suggested. I thought everything was fine, it shutdown and rebooted successfully without the error message.

Just now I rebooted and I got another of the error messages, so I am really not sure what is causing this.

I thought that those gaming apps crashing was responsible for the problem, and maybe it was, but now I am getting this error message seemingly at random.

What do you suggest? Do you think a windows restore would be helpful?
 
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Btw, Microsoft is suggesting disabling "fast startup" or changing the size of virtual memory, do you feel either of these steps are warranted?

Seems to not address the real issue though.
 
I am not sure the answer to your questions, but this is a brand new computer, I can give you more specs, but this is just a Windows 11 issue, right?

I understand that Fast Startup could contribute to the issue, but does disabling it actually fix the memory issue, or just mask the problem? If I turned on Fast Startup again, would the problem just come back?

It appears that turning off Fast Startup doesn't even have anu effect on restarting, just powering on after shutdown, so I don't see how that helps anyhow since I'm getting the error on restarts.

Do you have any theories about why a bad shutdown would cause this particular error? And why does it happen seemingly at random?

Thank you for your help.
 
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Just letting you know:

I tried to do a System Restore from a restore point about 3 weeks ago, and it said it was successful, but the computer would not restart, it got stuck in a loop.

It tried to do Automatic Repair, couldn't repair, then I chose 2/16 as a Restore Point, and it worked.

Is this an indication that I did indeed have some sort of problem?
 
Latest update:

Disabling Fast Startup doesn't help.

System Restore did not help.

All other troubleshooting steps did not help.

Some are suggesting that this is a bug with the latest Windows update.
 
If anyone is still interested in solving this:

I can't do a clean boot, it is just running the programs that I uncheck when I hit DISABLE ALL and APPLY.

Hitting F8 does not clean boot either.

Trying to disable Fast Startup does not work.

I am leaning towards the theory that my whole shutdown and restart process is somehow broken, since all the errors seem connected to that issue.

With this in mind, any suggestions?
 
I am considering a fresh install of the OS, but just wondering why I cannot do a clean boot, what is the reason for this?

Also, how do I exactly update the BIOS? How do I know if it is up to date already?
 
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UPDATE:

For those still interested in this thread, I think I have isolated and located the main issue causing this error message:

1. After extensive hardware and malware diagnostics this week with a computer professional, we have ruled out these things as issues, everything checks out fine.

2. I then ran into this thread on reddit which seemed very interesting:

https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1aeau3s/explorerexe_application_error_popup/

3. We do have xbox controllers, and these problems did start right when the update happened. So after running many many different tests, I was able to fix this error consistently and only by disabling GAME INPUT HOST SERVICES from the taskbar menu

So it appears that the recent Windows update has conflicted with the Xbox controllers and caused this error message, I am convinced that they need to fix this with their next Windows update. This latest update was even supposed to address similar issues but obviously failed.

Does anyone know how Game Input Host Services becomes active or installed in the first place?

I am pretty sure that Game Input Host Services is related to both the Xbox App and the Xbox Controllers, so I'm not sure if it was installed in one of those ways.

In the meanwhile, I don't want to disable Game Input Host Services every time I shut down or restart, does anyone have any other interesting ideas for fixes based on what I've said here?
 
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DarthGizmo said:
In the meanwhile, I don't want to disable Game Input Host Services every time I shut down or restart, does anyone have any other interesting ideas for fixes based on what I've said here?
Click to expand...
Only thing that comes to mind is that you can change your screen and sleep settings to make your computer enter sleep mode instead of shutting down.

However, you can also check your Windows startup processes/applications. Disable Game Input Host Services or Gaming service starting automatically with Windows.

You can do those things until Microsoft fixes the problem.
...
...
..
which may be some time, judging by this thread from a couple of years ago:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...guration/cba5ddce-6d39-4a0a-92d0-d8c6d5bb96cf

So yeah. There's workarounds you can attempt, and you are far from the only one affected by Game Input bugs.


Reading your post reminded me of a similar issue on my old PC. A game input process would sometimes completely screw up the system, locking it and forcing me to use the physical reset button. Other times it would cause the mouse cursor to jump around like crazy, or do strange things with Steam, sometimes rapidly minimising a game then switching back to it frantically.
Eventually i became affraid to use the controller anymore. The PC became unpredictable whenever the controller was plugged it. Except for a few very rare occasions, the controller had to be plugged in before anything weird happened but even without it the game device USB detection process could make everything go crazy.
Yet sometimes nothing bad happened.

Apart from the controller being plugged in and going haywire, nothing similar ever plagued that PC.

The process was a "driver" for the Strike FX PlayStation clone controller made by SpeedLink. Cheap but surprisingly excellent except the whole "game device process ate my computers brain" thing...
Now it seems Microsoft has tapped into the very same source of computer evil. Something seemingly only game controllers can do.
 
35below0 said:
Only thing that comes to mind is that you can change your screen and sleep settings to make your computer enter sleep mode instead of shutting down.

However, you can also check your Windows startup processes/applications. Disable Game Input Host Services or Gaming service starting automatically with Windows.

You can do those things until Microsoft fixes the problem.
...
...
..
which may be some time, judging by this thread from a couple of years ago:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...guration/cba5ddce-6d39-4a0a-92d0-d8c6d5bb96cf

So yeah. There's workarounds you can attempt, and you are far from the only one affected by Game Input bugs.


Reading your post reminded me of a similar issue on my old PC. A game input process would sometimes completely screw up the system, locking it and forcing me to use the physical reset button. Other times it would cause the mouse cursor to jump around like crazy, or do strange things with Steam, sometimes rapidly minimising a game then switching back to it frantically.
Eventually i became affraid to use the controller anymore. The PC became unpredictable whenever the controller was plugged it. Except for a few very rare occasions, the controller had to be plugged in before anything weird happened but even without it the game device USB detection process could make everything go crazy.
Yet sometimes nothing bad happened.

Apart from the controller being plugged in and going haywire, nothing similar ever plagued that PC.

The process was a "driver" for the Strike FX PlayStation clone controller made by SpeedLink. Cheap but surprisingly excellent except the whole "game device process ate my computers brain" thing...
Now it seems Microsoft has tapped into the very same source of computer evil. Something seemingly only game controllers can do.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the message, very helpful.

I guess all these problems started on my computer when I installed the Xbox App.

Do you know which games use this GameInput Host Service, is it only the Xbox App games?

Does Microsoft Game Input Host Service come pre-installed as part of Windows, or was it only installed when I downloaded the Xbox App itself?

If I uninstall the Xbox App and Game Bar, would it remove this GameInput Host Service, or would it always be there?

I disabled GameInput Host Service, but now I am concerned that games that need it to run properly will be messed up.
 
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Only game i know that requires it is Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020, because it was mentioned in the thread i linked.

You have little to lose by removing the services that cause problems. You can always reinstall if a particular game needs it.

Also be aware Windows will re-enable Game Input next time there's an update.
 
Yeah, I have MS Flight Simulator X, not sure if it needs it.

I was told by Microsoft Support that the Xbox App was what installed Game Input Host Services.

So if I uninstall the Xbox App, why does Game Input Host Services not uninstall also? Seems like it cannot be uninstalled, or do I need to uninstall Game Bar too?
 
Game Input is, or should be part of Windows. It's not just for Xbox or MS games. That said, i'm pretty sure it can be uninstalled and will stay uninstalled because i do not have it anywhere on my Win 11 system.
I'm not sure how i removed it IF i ever removed it. Maybe it was never installed.

I do have Game Bar installed but i never touched it. Never had a reason to remove it so it's just there i guess. Doing nothing.

Why don't you try to run games that you think need Game Input after disabling or uninstalling it? See if they complain, or if Windows automatically re-installs Game Input.

Eventually this may get fixed, but until then you'll have to either manually disable Game Input every time, or uninstall it completely and possibly lose the ability to play certain games.
 
Are you sure GameInput Host Services is already a part of windows? Microsoft support told me it was only installed when I downloaded the Xbox App.

Yeah, it is a tough decision what to do about it.

I hope Microsoft fixes this soon!
 
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