Windows Explorer has encountered an error

i get an error about once an hour or so saying that

Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

the error sig is:
AppName: explorer.exe AppVer: 6.0.2900.5512 ModName: unknown
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 02dd1509

it just started like a couple weeks ago i believe
i have ran all spyware/adaware/virus scans and found nothing

the error shows up when i have my documents or any other Explorer navigation page up, and then i close it. it loads Explorer right back up. but sometimes the drwatson error thing will go not responding (i dont submit error reports tho)

any help will be much appreciated

i am using XP sp3

 

Have you tried the system file checker?

start>run>typein 'cmd'

type 'sfc /scannow' into the black box which opens. (note the double n)

 

just did this, but it is asking for an XP Pro sp3 disk?? I have the media center edition, and sp3 from windows updates

 

Seems like you have one of the many SP3 incompatibilities.

Try uninstalling SP3 from add remove programs in the control panel and see if it persists.

 

ok, did that and after having to restart my computer 3 times to get my mouse and keyboard to work, i went to My Computer, closed it, and got the same error

 

But now you should be able to run sfc safely.

 

Ran sfc, didn't give me any problems this time. after it was done opened My Computer and closed it again. still getting the error.

 

Download Memtest or Memtest86 from here and test your memory.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads26.html

 

usec Memtest86, found no errors, still getting the Explorer error

 

It might be one of the shell extensions that is causing the crash, you know the ones you see when you right click stuff. Third party shell extensions that go bad can crash W Explorer. There's a program called "ShellExView" that will allow you to view and disable extensions, and then try and see if the crash occurs and if it does re-enble that one and try another. If you find that say a winrar shell extension is the cause, just uninstall and reinstall winrar to see if that fixes it.

 

Oh thank you thank you thank you!!!
after going through almost 300 shell's i got to Yahoo...
and yup there it was! my problem, i uninstalled yahoo messenger and re installed it, and No More Error!!!:-D

Thanks Again for everyone's help!!!

 

Well done Appzalien and thanks for the tip.

 

I feel bad now, 300 extensions? I should have told you to do only third party ones and skip Microsofts.
I'm glad you found it though, I have always kind of hated Yahoo myself, so it wouldn't have suprised me much if it had happened to me.

 

I basically had the same problem as aaron112691. My windows explorer errors are random. One time it may be the comctl32.dll the next time it may be the oli.dll or just plain unknown. I ran virus scans with Bitdefender and ad-aware se and use spywareblaster and found no problems. I did disable Dr. Watson.
Ran sfc /scannow with no problems. Ran Memtest 86 v2.01 no problems.Ran shellexview to no avail. I'm at wits end:cry. Any help would be appreciated.I really don't want to have to do a reinstall of XP SP3.o

 

It is not normally a good idea to piggy back onto an old thread, but since Aaron now seems to be OK, let's see what can be done.

What happens if you run in safe mode?

You often find that if the pc runs well in safe mode, but staggers in normal mode there is a software problem and the underlying hardware is OK.

However you haven't said if the problem arose before or after SP3?

When introduced Vista was renowned for being harder on memory components than XP so Vista had problems on XP pcs that satisfactorily ran XP.

You also haven't said if you uninstalled SP3. This makes XP more Vista-like so it is necessary to uninstall SP3 to check.

 

First off ..I am sorry for piggybacking on this post studiot. It won't happen again. Thank you for your help.
I tried in Safe mode and still have the problem. I have been running SP3 ever since it was released and have had no problems. This just started a few days ago. I used Bitdefender's uninstall tool to remove my av to install the new version(as they state to do.) and it has seemed to be what started it(but NOT sure).
The problem is when I try to send app to the recycle bin is when I encounter this error. But it's weird. It only does it for Microsoft downloads(exe's) at least it appears that way. So you believe i should uninstall SP3 before trying anything else?
Also when the recycle bin box appears it has the NO box but not the yes box to check

 

There have been all sorts of problems reported with the recycle bin lately. Thre doesn't seem to be one culprit program however.

What other changes have you made?

You used to sometimes be able to clear problems, simply by selecting another icon for the bin, restarting windows, and then reselecting the 'proper' one.

 

I haven't made any other changes. I only have what I use. I don't try alot of software. I just update what I have when need it

 

Updates are changes too.

 

I did a XP repair to no avail .I will reformat