What to Do When File Explorer Keeps Crashing

Quick Tips

• If your File Explorer crashes once or twice, it shouldn’t be a cause for issue, but persistent crashes might require deeper troubleshooting.
• You can technically use a third-party file explorer tool to bypass the stock Windows software and potentially prevent crashes.
• Restarting File Explorer via the Task Manager will usually get rid of any temporary glitches, which can resolve most common problems.

If your File Explorer keeps crashing, you might see the screen go completely blank or be unable to access files from the toolbar. It’s one of the worst possible issues to have, especially if File Explorer keeps crashing, no matter what apps you have open. Here are some troubleshooting steps that may help.

Fix 1 – Restart the Application if File Explorer Keeps Crashing

File Explorer is much more than the window that you see when browsing files, so you need to make sure you stop the underlying process to reset its internal cache and solve glitches.

Step 1. Open the Task Manager (you can use “Ctrl + Alt + Delete” and select it if you don’t see the toolbar).

Step 2. In the “Processes” tab (which should open by default), right-click on “Windows Explorer” and select “Restart.”

Step 3. Repeat this for the “explorer.exe” process if you can see it.

Fix 2 – Resetting File Explorer’s Cache

If File Explorer crashes, it could indicate that it has a lot of garbage files in its cache, taking up space.

Step 1. Open File Explorer.

Step 2. Click on the three dots in the toolbar at the top and click on “Options.”

Step 3. Under “Clear File Explorer history,” click on the “Clear” button.

Step 4. Press “Apply” if you can, then click on “OK” to exit.

Step 5. You may need to restart your PC.

Fix 3 – Turn Off Preview and Thumbnails

Thumbnails and file previews can use up too much memory and cause File Explorer to crash if you have multiple programs running.

Step 1. Open File Explorer and click on the “View” tab in the toolbar.

Step 2. Deselect the option “Preview pane.”

Step 3. Click on the three-dots icon and select “Options.”

Step 4. Go to the “View” tab in the dialog window and check “Always show icons, never thumbnails.”

Step 5. Click on “Apply” and then on “OK.”

Fix 4 – Rebuild the Search Index

File Explorer uses Windows Search for indexing, but when that fails, it can lead to the issue where File Explorer keeps crashing or stuttering. To fix this:

Step 1. Open Settings with “Win + I.”

Step 2. Go to the “Privacy and security” tab and select “Search.”

Step 3. Scroll down and select “Advanced indexing options.”

Step 4. Click on “Advanced” in the first dialog window, then on “Rebuild” in the second dialogue window, and wait for the process to finish. After that, click on “OK” to exit the window. You may need to restart the PC.

Fix 5 – Repair System Files

You can use a built-in system utility to detect corrupted system files and re-download them from the internet.

Step 1. Open the Terminal as an admin and go to the Command Prompt (or search for the Command Prompt and open it as administrator).

Step 2. Type in or paste the following command, then hit “Enter:”

sfc /scannow

Step 3. Wait for the process to finish, which might take a while.