Explorer.exe has stopped responding (Crashes and restarts on both laptop and PC)

[Spily]

Hello,

In the past 2 weeks both my laptop and built PC have been experiencing explorer.exe crashes and restarts. Whenever I am in file explorer I get periodic crashes of explorer.exe on my PC. As well, when on my laptop, my explorer.exe will crash, the most recent one was during a nvidia update for my GPU, causing the update to cease as well. Just recently, and for the first time, my laptop also had a memory error that said programs must be closed in order to prevent information loss (which has never happened before).

I'm terribly scared that my problem could be a virus but I don't recall ever downloading or visiting sites where I may find malicious content. The faulting modules appear to be different as well, my explorer.exe has crashed with the following faulting modules:
ntdll.dll (PC)
msvcrt.dll (PC/LAPTOP)
stackhashes of various kinds (PC that I can see so far) (could be a memory issue given my laptop just had a memory error??)

Source
Windows Explorer


Summary
Stopped working


Date
‎2016-‎10-‎04 3:35 PM


Status
Report sent


Description
Faulting Application Path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe


Problem signature
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Explorer.EXE
Application Version: 10.0.14393.206
Application Timestamp: 57dacb32
Fault Module Name: msvcrt.dll
Fault Module Version: 7.0.14393.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 57899b47
Exception Code: 40000015
Exception Offset: 000000000000c2c2
OS Version: 10.0.14393.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID: 4105
Additional Information 1: a284
Additional Information 2: a28441c90050489c22b009cc7a9b0ae5
Additional Information 3: af7b
Additional Information 4: af7b1ce30cd7462e87e06bda0ec89efd


Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 3615cc087e157bde55bbba1aca918349 (120560880437)

Source
Windows Explorer


Summary
Stopped working


Date
‎2016-‎10-‎04 7:17 PM


Status
Report sent


Description
Faulting Application Path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe


Problem signature
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Explorer.EXE
Application Version: 10.0.14393.206
Application Timestamp: 57dacb32
Fault Module Name: StackHash_cdf8
Fault Module Version: 10.0.14393.206
Fault Module Timestamp: 57dac931
Exception Code: c0000374
Exception Offset: PCH_6D_FROM_ntdll+0x00000000000A59A4
OS Version: 10.0.14393.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID: 4105
Additional Information 1: cdf8
Additional Information 2: cdf8b3ad55ea2fe7b047f920eb673094
Additional Information 3: 6a8f
Additional Information 4: 6a8f495e263a935d4e8588f5880824f0


Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 4d425fbfc2632fdc780bd5e3dd78e92b (120562186236)


Log Name: Application
Source: Application Error
Date: 2016-10-04 7:17:06 PM
Event ID: 1000
Task Category: (100)
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: Matt-Desktop
Description:
Faulting application name: Explorer.EXE, version: 10.0.14393.206, time stamp: 0x57dacb32
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 10.0.14393.206, time stamp: 0x57dac931
Exception code: 0xc0000374
Fault offset: 0x00000000000f73f3
Faulting process id: 0x7d0
Faulting application start time: 0x01d21e767d8efae9
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Report Id: 901b5f82-7a4d-4cf7-962c-ef93559c6b67
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Application Error" />
<EventID Qualifiers="0">1000</EventID>
<Level>2</Level>
<Task>100</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2016-10-04T23:17:06.320427700Z" />
<EventRecordID>5795</EventRecordID>
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>Matt-Desktop</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>Explorer.EXE</Data>
<Data>10.0.14393.206</Data>
<Data>57dacb32</Data>
<Data>ntdll.dll</Data>
<Data>10.0.14393.206</Data>
<Data>57dac931</Data>
<Data>c0000374</Data>
<Data>00000000000f73f3</Data>
<Data>7d0</Data>
<Data>01d21e767d8efae9</Data>
<Data>C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE</Data>
<Data>C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll</Data>
<Data>901b5f82-7a4d-4cf7-962c-ef93559c6b67</Data>
<Data>
</Data>
<Data>
</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>



Here is the event from when my laptop crashed explorer.exe while running NVIDIA update:

Source
setup.exe


Summary
Stopped working


Date
‎2016-‎10-‎06 7:05 PM


Status
Report sent


Description
Faulting Application Path: C:\ProgramData\NVIDIA Corporation\GeForce Experience\Update\setup.exe


Problem signature
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: setup.exe_unknown
Application Version: 0.0.0.0
Application Timestamp: 57d87fc5
Fault Module Name: NVI2.DLL
Fault Module Version: 2.1002.224.1962
Fault Module Timestamp: 57d880dc
Exception Code: 40000015
Exception Offset: 00278476
OS Version: 10.0.14393.2.0.0.768.101
Locale ID: 4105
Additional Information 1: cc11
Additional Information 2: cc115b01f0ed766d234341697fd2fb54
Additional Information 3: a69e
Additional Information 4: a69e91d4ff7581de1f9879cd4789f9bd


Extra information about the problem
Bucket ID: 7263eb9f84a9261c6ce17cd9d4b00234 (108420972726)

Please, any help would be appreciated.

 

[logg sar]

Hello,

In the past 2 weeks both my laptop and built PC have been experiencing explorer.exe crashes and restarts. Whenever I am in file explorer I get periodic crashes of explorer.exe on my PC. As well, when on my laptop, my explorer.exe will crash, the most recent one was during a nvidia update for my GPU, causing the update to cease as well. Just recently, and for the first time, my laptop also had a memory error that said programs must be closed in order to prevent information loss (which has never happened before).

I'm terribly scared that my problem could be a virus but I don't recall ever downloading or visiting sites where I may find malicious content. The faulting modules appear to be different as well, my explorer.exe has crashed with the following faulting modules:
ntdll.dll (PC)
msvcrt.dll (PC/LAPTOP)
stackhashes of various kinds (PC that I can see so far) (could be a memory issue given my laptop just had a memory error??)

Hi

check your systems with an (best bootable) virus scanner.

Good Luck!

 

[Spily]

I've already completed a scan using Anti-malware bytes and eset. They have found nothing on my systems.

 

[OldGrayGary]

Hi Spily ... and welcome to the forums ...


It's crazy late here in Southern California, so I'll just put a quick note in here at the moment .... and try for a closer look at things late tomorrow (busy times in my repair business)...

You mention system restarts: I'd imagine there are some fatal errors going on for some of those. You'll probably want to turn off the setting in "System Failure" for "automatically restart" (you'll want to remove the checkmark from that option-box). Turning that setting off will allow you to see the error message display on screen (the "Blue Screen of Death", or "BSOD") ... it can yield decent clues. Here are the steps to find that setting:
1) Right click the Windows 10 Start Menu icon
2) Select System
3) Select Advanced Settings
4) In the Startup and Recovery section, select Settings
6) In the System Failure section, remove the checkmark from the option box in front of "automatically restart"
7) Click on OK to save and exit.


Can't hurt to run diagnostics anytime a system is acting up. It's the first thing I do when a customer brings a computer to me: regardless of what their problem is: it's good to rule out any bad hardware that can complicate troubleshooting. Test the main components: system memory, hard drive, temperatures of cpu/hard drive/motherboard. Some systems have extensive built-in diagnostics available by pressing a special function key (or key combo) at system power-on [details for that would be in the user guide for your make/model].

You can save EventViewer's "Administrative Events" error log as an evtx file, too, and attach that in your next post, if you'd like us to take a look at that.

Apologies if I've mis-typed a few things ... I'm falling asleep at the keyboard! (that's the trouble with the "old" part of OldGray....)