How To Fix Explorer Crashes When Right-Click In Windows 8

Reader Question:
“Hi Wally, I’m having trouble with the Windows explorer in Windows 8. Explorer crashes whenever I right-click a folder. I don’t know what to do here!“ - Cassandra C., USA

Before addressing any computer issue, I always recommend scanning and repairing any underlying problems affecting your PC health and performance:

Step 1 : Download PC Repair & Optimizer Tool (WinThruster for Win 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP and 2000 – Microsoft Gold Certified).
Step 2 : Click “Start Scan” to find Windows registry issues that could be causing PC problems.
Step 3 : Click “Repair All” to fix all issues.

Setting up weekly (or daily) automatic scans will help prevent system problems and keep your PC running fast and trouble-free.

Wally’s Answer: Some people have been experiencing this issue with the Windows 8 explorer but its not a big problem. The explorer crashes and the user can’t perform regular tasks like opening files and making new folders. Don’t worry, this problem is really easy to fix.

Problem

The Windows 8 Explorer crashes when a folder is right-clicked.
The Windows 8 Explorer crashes when something in the left-pane is right-clicked.

Cause

This problem is usually caused by third-party applications or Windows Explorer add-ons.

Solution

To fix this you will need to boot your computer using a clean boot. Clean boot temporarily limits some functionality but everything will come back to normal once you boot your computer normally. The steps to boot normally are explained at the end of this blog post.

How To Enter Clean Boot In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

Press Windows Key + R > type msconfig > press Enter
In the System Configuration dialog-box that appears, Go to the Services tab and make sure to check the box next to Hide all Microsoft services.
Now, click the Disable All button to disable all services.
Go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager
In the Task Manager window, go to the Startup tab
Now disable all startup items on the list one by one by clicking the item from the list and clicking the Disable button.
Close the Task Manager.
Close the System Configuration dialog-box and Restart the computer. After the computer is restarted you will have a clean boot environment.

Booting the computer in “clean boot” should have solved the problem, but if it didn’t solve the problem then try using ShellExView.

Using ShellExView To Fix Explorer Crashes In Windows 8

Download ShellExView by clicking here. Run ShellExView and disable all non-Windows *.dll files. This should prevent third-party programs from interfering with the Windows explorer’s context menu. This should solve the problem.

How To Reset The Computer To Start Normally After Clean Boot In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

Press Windows Key + R > type msconfig > press Enter
Go to the General tab, and click the Normal Startup option.
In the System Configuration dialog-box that appears, Go to the Services tab > and make sure to check the box next to Hide all Microsoft services.
Now click the Enable All button.
Now go to the Startup tab and click Open Task Manager
In the Task Manager window, go to the Startup tab
Now enable all startup items on the list one by one by clicking the item from the list and clicking the Enable, click OK when you are done.
Restart the computer and Windows should boot normally now.

I Hope You Liked This Blog Article! If You Need Additional Support on This Issue Then Please Don’t Hesitate To Contact Me On Facebook.

Is Your PC Healthy?

I always recommend to my readers to regularly use a trusted registry cleaner and optimizer such as WinThruster or CCleaner. Many problems that you encounter can be attributed to a corrupt and bloated registry.

Happy Computing!

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About the Author

Wally PhillipsWindows Wally is a helpful guy. It’s just in his nature. It’s why he started a blog in the first place. He heard over and over how hard it was to find simple, plain-English solutions to Windows troubleshooting problems on the Internet. Enter: Windows Wally. Ask away, and he will answer.