Task Manager integrated into explorer.exe?

Vash Aurion

New Member
So sometimes on my XP machines, explorer.exe will stop working, in which case I bring up the task manager, kill the process, and then run the process again, and then it's fixed. In Vista, however, if explorer.exe dies (can't use start bar), it seems as if nothing can be done. You bring up the task manager, and the window just sits there. When I try to click on anything in the process list, I can't. Does anyone know a work-around? This would be a massive design flaw if there is nothing that can be done.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad-Core
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus Formula (Air Cooled)
    Memory
    OCZ DDR2-800 2048MB (x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 8800 GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2220wm
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000 1TB
    Other Info
    Running Vista 64-bit with a Netgear Wn121t USB wifi adapter that is the source of all crashes. PSU is a Seasonic 650W High-Efficiency power supply.
Hello Vash,

Here are two options that you can use to open Task Manager in a situation like that:

  • Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC
  • Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, then click on Start Task Manager
Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Sounds like somebaody needs a clean install of their OS.

I have Vista Ultimate x32 and when explorer.exe crashes i can use the task manager perfectly to restart it. Must just be something with your config or you are just unlucky.

Not inferring anything but is your vista legit or torrent?

Cause if its a torrent then a whole can of worms is opened. So many things get done wrong when people rip cds and dvds. Most common is they corrupt some bit of it and that might be what has happened if you DL'ed it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    E6750 @ 3.6GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35 DS3
    Memory
    4GB 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    POV GTX285
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" Widescreen LG
    Screen Resolution
    1400x900
    Hard Drives
    2 x WD 500G
    PSU
    Coolermaster Silent Pro 700M
    Case
    Antec 900
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120 LFB
    Keyboard
    Logitech EX110
    Mouse
    Logitech MX400
    Other Info
    Graphics Driver - 190.38
It's a legit OEM copy. And Brink, I know how to bring up the task manager. That's easy. The problem is that when the explorer process is down, I cannot actually use the task manager. The window appears, but I cannot interact with anything in it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad-Core
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus Formula (Air Cooled)
    Memory
    OCZ DDR2-800 2048MB (x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 8800 GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2220wm
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000 1TB
    Other Info
    Running Vista 64-bit with a Netgear Wn121t USB wifi adapter that is the source of all crashes. PSU is a Seasonic 650W High-Efficiency power supply.
Hi Vash,

Do you mean to say that you cannot change tabs with your mouse or the tab key and cursor keys on your keyboard? Ensure that you are in the 'Applications' tab (this is the default tab). If you are able to use your mouse, click on 'New Task...'. If not, use the 'Tab' key on your keyboard until this button is highlighted. Click it or press enter/return. In the dialogue box that appears, type 'explorer'. Click 'OK' or press enter/return. Explorer should now restart.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Hi Vash,

Do you mean to say that you cannot change tabs with your mouse or the tab key and cursor keys on your keyboard? Ensure that you are in the 'Applications' tab (this is the default tab). If you are able to use your mouse, click on 'New Task...'. If not, use the 'Tab' key on your keyboard until this button is highlighted. Click it or press enter/return. In the dialogue box that appears, type 'explorer'. Click 'OK' or press enter/return. Explorer should now restart.

Yeah, I can't change tabs. My default is the process window, which I can never interact with when this happens. Thanks for the advice. I'll try it next time it happens.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad-Core
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus Formula (Air Cooled)
    Memory
    OCZ DDR2-800 2048MB (x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 8800 GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2220wm
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000 1TB
    Other Info
    Running Vista 64-bit with a Netgear Wn121t USB wifi adapter that is the source of all crashes. PSU is a Seasonic 650W High-Efficiency power supply.
Hi Vash,

To manually check whether my previous answer works, bring up the task manager and select the 'Processes' tab. Click on 'Image Name' to arrange the processes into alphabetical order. Scroll down and click on 'explorer' and then click 'End Process'. Confirm that you want to end this process by clicking 'End process' (the task bar should disappear) and then close the task manager. Follow the instructions in my previous post to restart explorer. I have tried this several times, and it has always worked, though why your default tab is different is puzzling. Have you actually got an 'Applications' tab on your task manager?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
It's a legit OEM copy. And Brink, I know how to bring up the task manager. That's easy. The problem is that when the explorer process is down, I cannot actually use the task manager. The window appears, but I cannot interact with anything in it.

Yeah, I can't change tabs. My default is the process window, which I can never interact with when this happens. Thanks for the advice. I'll try it next time it happens.

Vash,

Do you still have the tabs in Task Manager to select from? If not, then you might be in Small Footprint mode. See if your Task Manager looks like this in this tutorial.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/114377-task-manager-small-footprint-mode.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Once more a clean install would most likely solve all of your problems... :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    E6750 @ 3.6GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte P35 DS3
    Memory
    4GB 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    POV GTX285
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    19" Widescreen LG
    Screen Resolution
    1400x900
    Hard Drives
    2 x WD 500G
    PSU
    Coolermaster Silent Pro 700M
    Case
    Antec 900
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120 LFB
    Keyboard
    Logitech EX110
    Mouse
    Logitech MX400
    Other Info
    Graphics Driver - 190.38
You can do a tweak with Vista with Vista Manager where it runs explorer.exe and the shell as two seperate processes, so when one crashes, you can still use the other, which might fix your problem.

It's something along the lines of this, I can't check atm as I'm not at home.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
    Motherboard
    XFX MB-750I-72P9 NF750i
    Memory
    4096MB Corsair XMS2 PC-5400
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS Nvidia Geforce GTX470
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" S2409W & Dell 20" E207WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 & 1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    750GB Western Digital Caviar Black & 500GB Samsung
    PSU
    750 watt Thermaltake Toughpower
    Case
    Coolermaster Dominator 690 Nvidia Edition
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT Cooler, 6x 120mm Chassis Fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G11 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (2007 edition)
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Other Info
    abit airpace 54mbps wireless PCI-E x1 card
Dwarf's advice didn't work. I'ma try that Vista Manager trick since that sounds like a remedy for the problem I'm having.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 Quad-Core
    Motherboard
    Asus Maximus Formula (Air Cooled)
    Memory
    OCZ DDR2-800 2048MB (x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX 8800 GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster 2220wm
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi Deskstar 7k1000 1TB
    Other Info
    Running Vista 64-bit with a Netgear Wn121t USB wifi adapter that is the source of all crashes. PSU is a Seasonic 650W High-Efficiency power supply.
There's a 15 day trial you can get, which does everything...Removed By Dmex
When you get it, you'll find the tweak in Customise System>Desktop>Create Seperate Processes for Desktop and Explorer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
    Motherboard
    XFX MB-750I-72P9 NF750i
    Memory
    4096MB Corsair XMS2 PC-5400
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS Nvidia Geforce GTX470
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" S2409W & Dell 20" E207WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 & 1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    750GB Western Digital Caviar Black & 500GB Samsung
    PSU
    750 watt Thermaltake Toughpower
    Case
    Coolermaster Dominator 690 Nvidia Edition
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT Cooler, 6x 120mm Chassis Fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G11 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (2007 edition)
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Other Info
    abit airpace 54mbps wireless PCI-E x1 card
There's a 15 day trial you can get, which does everything...Removed By Dmex
When you get it, you'll find the tweak in Customise System>Desktop>Create Seperate Processes for Desktop and Explorer.

Everlong,

No warez or Illegal discussion :eek:

Steven
 

My Computer

Hi Vash,

Does this happen at random, or does it occur when you are running a certain program or combination of programs? Does your mouse still work? Is it USB or PS/2? Whatever is causing your problem could also be affecting the driver(s) for your keyboard and/or mouse. If you are using a USB keyboard and mouse, and you have the necessary adapters to convert them to PS/2 (assuming, of course, that you have PS/2 sockets available), try using the alternative interface (if you have an alternative keyboard and mouse try those as well).
Have a look at the following Tutorial http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/84215-folder-options.html at 'Step Two'. Referring to the 3rd image in this section, check that the option 'Launch folder windows in a separate process' is checked (ticked).
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
There's a 15 day trial you can get, which does everything...Removed By Dmex
When you get it, you'll find the tweak in Customise System>Desktop>Create Seperate Processes for Desktop and Explorer.

Everlong,

No warez or Illegal discussion :eek:

Steven

Sorry, I'll keep it in mind :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550
    Motherboard
    XFX MB-750I-72P9 NF750i
    Memory
    4096MB Corsair XMS2 PC-5400
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS Nvidia Geforce GTX470
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xonar DX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" S2409W & Dell 20" E207WFP
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 & 1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    750GB Western Digital Caviar Black & 500GB Samsung
    PSU
    750 watt Thermaltake Toughpower
    Case
    Coolermaster Dominator 690 Nvidia Edition
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT Cooler, 6x 120mm Chassis Fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G11 Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (2007 edition)
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
    Other Info
    abit airpace 54mbps wireless PCI-E x1 card
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