Why Does File Explorer Keep Restarting

What Causes File Explorer to Crash Repeatedly?

Before jumping into the fixes, it helps to know what causes this behavior. File Explorer 📁 talks to almost every part of your computer and many outside programs you install.

Some common reasons File Explorer 📁 keeps restarting include:

Corrupted Quick Access History: File Explorer 📁 saves a list of your recently used files and folders. If this data gets broken, the program crashes every time it tries to load it.

Faulty Shell Extensions: Many programs add shortcuts to your right-click menu 🖱️, such as zip tools or cloud storage. If one of these extensions fails, it pulls File Explorer 📁 down with it.

Damaged System Files: Important Windows files can break because of sudden shutdowns, failed updates, or failing hard drives.

Outdated Video Drivers: Because File Explorer controls your screen and taskbar, severe display driver bugs can trigger restart loops.

Third-Party Software Conflicts: Strong antivirus software, custom desktop themes, or background tools can clash with Windows Explorer.

Step 1Clear File Explorer History

One of the most effective ways to fix a crashing File Explorer is clearing its history and cache. If broken recent files are causing the crash loop, wiping this data clean often fixes the problem right away.

If your screen is flashing too fast to click anything, you may need to open the Task Manager first by pressing the Ctrl, Shift, and Esc keys together, clicking File, choosing Run new task, typing control folders, and pressing Enter.

1. Click the Start menu, type File Explorer Options, and click the result to open it.
2. In the General tab, look near the bottom for the Privacy section.
3. Click the Clear button next to the option to clear File Explorer history.
4. Uncheck the boxes for opening File Explorer to Quick Access (change it to This PC if needed) and clear the options for showing recently used files and folders.
5. Click Apply and then OK.

Step 2Check for Problematic Context Menu Items

Have you ever right-clicked a file and seen extra options added by programs like WinRAR, 7-Zip, Dropbox, or Google Drive? These are called shell extensions. When a shell extension goes bad, File Explorer will crash the exact second you right-click something or even open a folder.

To find and turn off bad shell extensions safely, you can use a free tool called ShellExView from NirSoft. It lets you turn off extra right-click menu items safely.

1. Download and open ShellExView on your computer.
2. Go to the options menu and choose Hide All Microsoft Extensions. This makes sure you only look at third-party additions.
3. Select all the remaining items in the list by pressing the Ctrl and A keys.
4. Right-click the selected items and choose Disable Selected Items.
5. Restart your computer and see if File Explorer stops crashing. If it does, open ShellExView again, turn on a few items at a time, and test again until you find the exact program causing your crashes.

Step 3Run System File Checker and DISM Scans

If core Windows files are damaged or missing, File Explorer will act strangely. Windows includes built-in repair tools designed to find and replace broken system files automatically.

1. Click the Start menu, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator.
2. If a security warning pops up asking if you want to allow the app to make changes, click Yes.
3. Type the following command carefully and press Enter: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
4. Wait for the process to reach 100%. This tool downloads clean replacement files from Microsoft if it finds damage.
5. Next, type the following command and press Enter: sfc /scannow
6. Let the System File Checker finish scanning your computer. If it finds broken files, it will repair them automatically.
7. Restart your computer when the scan is finished.

Step 4Check for Display Driver Issues

Your graphics card driver controls how everything is drawn on your screen. When display drivers get old or corrupted, they can cause the visual interface—including the taskbar and File Explorer—to crash repeatedly.

1. Right-click the Start menu button and select Device Manager.
2. Scroll down and click the arrow next to Display adapters to open the list.
3. Right-click your graphics card, such as Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA, and select Update driver.
4. Choose Search automatically for drivers and follow any instructions on your screen.
5. You can also visit the official website of your graphics card maker to download and install the newest software for your system.

Step 5Test a New User Account

Many users notice that File Explorer crashes constantly on their main profile, but when they log into a different user account on the same computer, everything works perfectly. This happens because user-specific settings, registry entries, or corrupted profile data can trigger endless explorer.exe loops.

Many troubleshooting guides skip this step, but creating a fresh profile helps isolate the issue. It tells you right away if the problem affects your whole computer or just your personal profile.

1. Open the Settings app by pressing the Windows Key and I together.
2. Go to Accounts and then select Other users.
3. Click the Add account button.
4. Click the link saying you do not have this person's sign-in information, then select the option to add a user without a Microsoft account.
5. Enter a dummy username like TestUser, set a password if you want, and finish the setup.
6. Log out of your current account and log into the new TestUser account.
7. Open File Explorer and test it. If it works normally without crashing, your original user profile is broken, and you may need to move your files to the new account.

Step 6Perform a Clean Boot to Find Background Conflicts

If background programs or startup tools are conflicting with Windows, a normal restart will not help because those programs start right back up. A clean boot starts Windows with only the bare minimum drivers and startup programs, helping you find the software causing the crash.

Note: Performing a clean boot requires administrator privileges.

1. Press the Windows Key and R keys together, type msconfig, and press Enter to open System Configuration.
2. Go to the Services tab at the top.
3. Check the box at the bottom that says Hide all Microsoft services. Do not skip this step, or you might turn off important system services.
4. Click the Disable all button.
5. Go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager.
6. In Task Manager, click each startup item that is turned on and click Disable in the top right. Remember which ones you disabled so you can turn them back on later.
7. Close Task Manager, click Apply and OK in the System Configuration window, and restart your computer.

If File Explorer stops crashing after a clean boot, you know an outside app or service was causing the issue. You can slowly turn your startup apps and services back on one by one until you find the exact program responsible.

Advanced Prevention: Keeping File Explorer Stable

Once you get File Explorer working normally again, you will want to keep it that way. Follow these best practices to stop future restart loops:

• Be careful with customization apps: Tools that change the Windows taskbar, right-click menus, or folder looks often break during major Windows updates.
• Keep Windows updated: Microsoft frequently fixes bugs related to explorer.exe in monthly updates. Make sure your system stays up to date.
• Take care of your storage drive: Run regular disk checks and make sure your main drive never runs completely out of free space, because Windows needs virtual memory space to run background tasks smoothly.

Summary

File Explorer restart loops happen when the core Windows desktop process crashes and repeatedly tries to relaunch due to corrupted cache, faulty shell extensions, damaged system files, outdated display drivers, or background software conflicts. You can resolve these issues by clearing File Explorer history, disabling problematic third-party context menu extensions using ShellExView, running DISM and SFC repair scans from an administrator command prompt, updating your graphics drivers, testing a new user profile, or performing a clean boot to isolate conflicting background services. Reliable fixes like restarting the Windows Explorer task via Task Manager or clearing Quick Access history can restore stability without harming your personal files.