Windows Vista forum: Windows Explorer Not Responding...

Just to be clear, I am receiving no error messages. Windows Explorer just hangs there and when I close the program using the Task Manager it says "windows explorer is shutting down, looking for a solution" but then it just closes.

I have the same problem. Just a quick question. Do you have a wireless connection with a USB network hub? Since installing the Belkin USB device it is a problem to access files on the exernal hard drive. You click on My Computer and you will see the drive and then you click a few time to go into the tree and Oopps the problem starts. Complete crash and I have to shut down via the switch. Any help by Microsoft c.q. Belkin or others very welcome! Arend

I use Firefox. And to cover those websites that only use IE, Firefox has a plug-in (IE TAB) that will fool the internet to think it is using IE. I have IE, but it hangs up most of the time, too. Firefox works great. And you can customize it (I add the weather and a download bar so I know how long a download will take).

IMHO you'se guys are adding to the confusion. Not to mention windows already confusing use of INTERNET EXPLORER and WINDOWS EXPLORER. One is for browsing the WEB the other is for browsing your system. IE quit working for me earlier this year after an automatic update from MS. I switched to Firefox for web surfing. Windows Explorer still works as I believe it was intended. I have recently bought a new machine with Vista Home Premium. Internet Explorer worked, until MS upgraded it. I'm now back with FF. I have noticed while working with pictures in Windows Live Photo Gallery that selecting 50 to 100 files to delete or move causes WLPG to hang with the message (not responding) and it will just sit there until I CNTRL-ALT-DEL. I just chalked it up to some more of MS's blunders.

Thanks for your responses, but I am having issues with WINDOWS EXPLORER not IE. Refer to my initial post and let me know if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks again.

To reply to one comment about hard disk space, I have to say my available disk space is 348GB. And it is high time now that Windows has been around for 20 odd years, to differentiate between INTERNET Explorer (a web browser) and WINDOWS Explorer (File Manager) - blame Microsoft for the confusion; they OUGHT to have called the latter WINDOWS FILE MANAGER instead of Windows Explorer, because some idiots around the world think "Explorer" is Internet Explorer, and "Windows" is Microsoft Word.

Try Explorer 8 beta , which is more compatible with Vista or Firefox 3.

WHACKEE, whacko, that is a DUNCE DUH comment! Try Explorer 8 indeed. Are you an idiot or just plain bloody studpid?

I think it was just the 2 files I downloaded. Things have been working fine because I just haven't opened up the folder I downloaded them to since the problem. I'm just going to leave them there for now until I figure out whats going on. I will run that scan though, I appreciate it.

But the cure is not acceptable to many which is to have the author fix their application!

I regularly and often get the Windows Explorer Not Responding in Windows 7. Half the people who try to solve the problem give me information about Internet Explorer - what I need is a solutiion for WINDOWS EXPLORER. I am running Windows 7 Pro 64 bit. 4 GB RAM and my Hard Drive is one Tetrabyte. Any help suggestions appreciated

You mentioned that many others refer to Internet Explorer suggestions to your problem when your problem is with Windows Explorer.

Unless you live in Europe and purchased Windows 7 system in the last few months, your Windows will have installed with Internet Explorer very tightly integrated into Windows, such that your Desktop, (Explorer), Windows Explorer, and Internet Explorer, are all closely connected.

European users now purchase Windows 7 where they have a choice of browser, and IE is not installed by default. However I would suspect that many of the components of IE are still installed into the OS.

But since you are using Vista, then your Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer are closely related, and problems with one can cause difficulties with the other. That's why you often see these two grouped together in suggestions. For example, bad add-ons in IE can cause problems with explorer and Windows Explorer.

Specifically, Windows Explorer problems like 'not responding' can also be traced back to corrupt video files. If your Windows Explorer is attempting to open a folder in thumbnail view or Icon view, Explorer attempts to render the videos to display the icons. If it comes across a video that is corrupted, typically an AVI video, then it may crash. Changing the view for all folders to List or Details will prevent that.

If that is not the case with your Windows Explorer issue, then more details of the problem would help.

Mark

This issue is well discussed and once in a while you find a person new to the issue and they need a little more explaining. Here goes.

Microsoft does not consider the hanging explorer on a corrupt jpeg to be a bug. So far MS has shown no sign of making the app or OS resist a hang. This can confuse those that have not dealt with Microsoft or at all. As an author and more I have attended too many seminars, shows and inside roll outs so this issue is easy for me.

If you need more details I'll try to explain it another way but for now and the forseeable future the old Explorer hang is going to be with us for many more years.
Bob