Re: Qucikly Restart Windows Explorer(Windows 7/Vista)
Restarting Windows Explorer (so you don't have to restart the computer) works great if you are the only user of the computer and Explorer freezes before you had a chance to save something important you were working on; a Word document, for example. And using these tips is a lot easier than navigating through Task Manager to end the process, then restarting it manually. But if there is more than one user then some programs that are loaded to all users at boot may not restart properly for them. And even if the only user, some may not restart for you. For example, you may notice a hardware monitor used keep tabs on your temperatures in your System Tray/Notification Area may not restart and in some cases, a security program may not fully restart for all users.
So, in my [not a Windows expert] opinion, I feel restarting Explorer is a temporary measure used to give you a little extra time, and perhaps one last opportunity to save what you are working on before the whole system crashes and that you should perform a computer restart as soon as possible to ensure everything, including security, is restarted completely.
BTW, there is also a widely published Registry tweak to add "Restart Explorer" to the right click menu when you right click on the desktop. But frankly, if you have to use that option often because Windows Explorer freezes that often, you have other problems that should be resolved first.
