To test the corrupted thumbnail cache theory, try this (you can turn it back
on after the test).
Go to Control Panel > Folder Options > View tab. Put a check next to
"Always show icons, never thumbnails" (Apply, OK).
Navigate to C:\Program Files\Windows Mail using the Tiles View. Does
opening the folder crash explorer? Even with its icon reset to the Default?
If it doesn't crash, or I guess even if it does, go to Start
Menu\Programs\Accessories\System Tools and open Disk Cleanup.
Put a checkmark next to Thumbnails. Click on OK This will rebuild your
Thumbnails database.
Then un-check "Always show icons, never thumbnails" (Apply, OK).
"JasonH" <JasonH@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news
83D7C48-4CD2-49B5-A529-3E2D848E0339@microsoft.com...
> I'm running Vista Home Premium x86. Everything is up to date, antivirus
> and
> antispyware are clean. About a week ago, I started noticing that whenever
> I
> went into Computer, opened C:\Program Files and scrolled to the bottom of
> the
> list (in Tiles view), I would get an instant "Windows Explorer Has Stopped
> Working" message and crash out to my desktop. Through trial and error, I
> determined that the dynamic icon for C:\Program Files\Windows Mail was
> somehow causing this, and sure enough, when I went to a static icon view
> like
> Details, I could scroll all the way down with no problems. I've edited
> the
> WM folder icon so that it no longer crashes Windows Explorer on sight, but
> now whenever I try to open C:\Program Files\Windows Mail (just the folder,
> not the program) it still crashes Windows Explorer -- even after restarts.
> The modified date for the Windows Mail folder is 7/11/07 -- which was the
> day
> I installed the latest batch of patches from Windows Update, so I think
> the
> last Windows Mail patch is somehow to blame. At any rate, this never
> happened before 7/11/07.
>
> It seems like it must be a corrupted icon or thumbnail path, but the crash
> happens so quickly that I can't do anything about it. I suppose I could
> tinker with it in safe mode, but I don't know if I could identify the
> offending file. The Windows Mail program seems to open normally (though I
> use Outlook, so I can't tell if it's working). I guess I just want to
> report
> this to MS so that it cah be dealt with in a future patch. It does,
> however,
> make me wish I could just uninstall the problematic program...