Explorer 'Not Responding'

[Orrie]

Hi,
[Windows XP, SP2]
For the past several days, every time I shut down, a small window appears
telling me to wait while Explorer shuts down, after that, another little
window appears saying there's a problem shutting Exlorer, asking if I want
to End or return to Windows. These are similar to, but I don't think exactly
the same as, the windows that appear when trying to close an unresponsive
program with Task Manager.

It doesn't seem to make any difference if I click End Now or Return to
Windows, because the window goes away and the shut down process continues.

Two more small windows appear in sequence. The first one shows that
Connection Tray is shutting down, and then MCI connections. I have to click
End Now for each of these, too.

What is this all about?

My 4-year old computer has been running slowly, and I find that Explorer or
my other file managers (2xplorer and xplorer2) respond very slowly to input.
At times clicking on a program .EXE file doesn't open the program as it
should.

Could it be that the Explorer file has gotten messed up? Is it possible to
diagnose and fix it without having reinstall Windows XP?

Thank you.

Orrie

 

[Bill in Co.]

Or you could possibly try an easier way out and just use System Restore to
roll back to a point that predates this problem (if you don't want to debug
it, and assuming you have no clue as to what has happened to cause this
recent change). Of course, you'll lose the system changes since then in
the process. However, if you suspect it's due to a virus or trojan, it
would be better to diagnose it first.

 

[Orrie]

What will happen if I rollback under these circumstances:

I thought the problem might be due to having too much clutter on my
four-year old computer, so I have been doing some "house cleaning," trying
to locate and either delete or uninstall unneeded programs and files. I use
Windows Add/Remove Programs or the programs' own uninstall routines. And I
try to get info on each case before I do anything. It doesn't look like this
has helped much, if at all.

Would a rollback restore all the DLL's and other files that were deleted by
my "house cleaning." Would I have to reinstall the programs I deleted; some
of those were useless OEM apps or other programs I have no way to reinstall.

I routinely delete temp files and the Recycle Bin very often, and also
defrag the hard drive using PC Magazine's Defrag-a-File utility whenever it
shows more than a few% fragmentation. (By the way, this has helped with a
problem I was having with Outlook Express freezing.)

As for viruses, trojans, spyware, etc., Kaspersky Internet Security suite
has not found any, although KIS itself slows down operations noticeably.

My computer does have a lot of programs, tons of files, and the 120 GB hard
drive has about 45 GB of free space.

Thanks for your attention and advice.

Orrie

Or you could possibly try an easier way out and just use System Restore to
roll back to a point that predates this problem (if you don't want to
debug it, and assuming you have no clue as to what has happened to cause
this recent change). Of course, you'll lose the system changes since
then in the process. However, if you suspect it's due to a virus or
trojan, it would be better to diagnose it first.

Hi,
[Windows XP, SP2]
For the past several days, every time I shut down, a small window appears
telling me to wait while Explorer shuts down, after that, another little
window appears saying there's a problem shutting Exlorer, asking if I
want
to End or return to Windows. These are similar to, but I don't think
exactly
the same as, the windows that appear when trying to close an unresponsive
program with Task Manager.

It doesn't seem to make any difference if I click End Now or Return to
Windows, because the window goes away and the shut down process
continues.

Two more small windows appear in sequence. The first one shows that
Connection Tray is shutting down, and then MCI connections. I have to
click
End Now for each of these, too.

What is this all about?

My 4-year old computer has been running slowly, and I find that Explorer
or
my other file managers (2xplorer and xplorer2) respond very slowly to
input.
At times clicking on a program .EXE file doesn't open the program as it
should.

Could it be that the Explorer file has gotten messed up? Is it possible
to
diagnose and fix it without having reinstall Windows XP?

Thank you.

Orrie

 

[Bill in Co.]

If you have done all that since that much time, I'm not so sure I'd
recommend doing a System Restore, except as perhaps a near last resort.

I'm not sure - and wouldn't bet on it - that System Restore could and would
be able to return all those DLLs (and EXEs, etc) that have long since been
deleted that long ago.

One thing is sure, though - if you roll back, you would have to reinstall
those recent apps again, as the system won't know anything about them,
anymore.

You know, another option to consider might also be to run the windows repair
routine from the CD (and not have to do a complete reinstall). (Again,
if you're not able to step-by-step determine what went wrong).

Have you looked at the descriptions of either of these options at the
Microsoft web site? That might be the most informative way to decide.

Or maybe someone else here with more experience on XP will kick in, with
better suggestions.

What will happen if I rollback under these circumstances:

I thought the problem might be due to having too much clutter on my
four-year old computer, so I have been doing some "house cleaning," trying
to locate and either delete or uninstall unneeded programs and files. I
use
Windows Add/Remove Programs or the programs' own uninstall routines. And I
try to get info on each case before I do anything. It doesn't look like
this
has helped much, if at all.

Would a rollback restore all the DLL's and other files that were deleted
by
my "house cleaning." Would I have to reinstall the programs I deleted;
some
of those were useless OEM apps or other programs I have no way to
reinstall.

I routinely delete temp files and the Recycle Bin very often, and also
defrag the hard drive using PC Magazine's Defrag-a-File utility whenever
it
shows more than a few% fragmentation. (By the way, this has helped with a
problem I was having with Outlook Express freezing.)

As for viruses, trojans, spyware, etc., Kaspersky Internet Security suite
has not found any, although KIS itself slows down operations noticeably.

My computer does have a lot of programs, tons of files, and the 120 GB
hard
drive has about 45 GB of free space.

Thanks for your attention and advice.

Orrie

Or you could possibly try an easier way out and just use System Restore
to
roll back to a point that predates this problem (if you don't want to
debug it, and assuming you have no clue as to what has happened to cause
this recent change). Of course, you'll lose the system changes since
then in the process. However, if you suspect it's due to a virus or
trojan, it would be better to diagnose it first.

Hi,
[Windows XP, SP2]
For the past several days, every time I shut down, a small window
appears
telling me to wait while Explorer shuts down, after that, another little
window appears saying there's a problem shutting Exlorer, asking if I
want
to End or return to Windows. These are similar to, but I don't think
exactly
the same as, the windows that appear when trying to close an
unresponsive
program with Task Manager.

It doesn't seem to make any difference if I click End Now or Return to
Windows, because the window goes away and the shut down process
continues.

Two more small windows appear in sequence. The first one shows that
Connection Tray is shutting down, and then MCI connections. I have to
click
End Now for each of these, too.

What is this all about?

My 4-year old computer has been running slowly, and I find that Explorer
or
my other file managers (2xplorer and xplorer2) respond very slowly to
input.
At times clicking on a program .EXE file doesn't open the program as it
should.

Could it be that the Explorer file has gotten messed up? Is it possible
to
diagnose and fix it without having reinstall Windows XP?

Thank you.

Orrie

 

[Orrie]

Thanks, Bill.

I did look at the articles on doing a clean install and a repair install,
and it looks like a repair install might be the way to go, since my computer
boots up (eventually) and doesn't seem to have any disk problems or other
hardware complications.

Orrie

If you have done all that since that much time, I'm not so sure I'd
recommend doing a System Restore, except as perhaps a near last resort.

I'm not sure - and wouldn't bet on it - that System Restore could and
would be able to return all those DLLs (and EXEs, etc) that have long
since been deleted that long ago.

One thing is sure, though - if you roll back, you would have to reinstall
those recent apps again, as the system won't know anything about them,
anymore.

You know, another option to consider might also be to run the windows
repair routine from the CD (and not have to do a complete reinstall).
(Again, if you're not able to step-by-step determine what went wrong).

Have you looked at the descriptions of either of these options at the
Microsoft web site? That might be the most informative way to decide.

Or maybe someone else here with more experience on XP will kick in, with
better suggestions.

What will happen if I rollback under these circumstances:

I thought the problem might be due to having too much clutter on my
four-year old computer, so I have been doing some "house cleaning,"
trying
to locate and either delete or uninstall unneeded programs and files. I
use
Windows Add/Remove Programs or the programs' own uninstall routines. And
I
try to get info on each case before I do anything. It doesn't look like
this
has helped much, if at all.

Would a rollback restore all the DLL's and other files that were deleted
by
my "house cleaning." Would I have to reinstall the programs I deleted;
some
of those were useless OEM apps or other programs I have no way to
reinstall.

I routinely delete temp files and the Recycle Bin very often, and also
defrag the hard drive using PC Magazine's Defrag-a-File utility whenever
it
shows more than a few% fragmentation. (By the way, this has helped with a
problem I was having with Outlook Express freezing.)

As for viruses, trojans, spyware, etc., Kaspersky Internet Security suite
has not found any, although KIS itself slows down operations noticeably.

My computer does have a lot of programs, tons of files, and the 120 GB
hard
drive has about 45 GB of free space.

Thanks for your attention and advice.

Orrie

Or you could possibly try an easier way out and just use System Restore
to
roll back to a point that predates this problem (if you don't want to
debug it, and assuming you have no clue as to what has happened to cause
this recent change). Of course, you'll lose the system changes since
then in the process. However, if you suspect it's due to a virus or
trojan, it would be better to diagnose it first.

Orrie wrote:
Hi,
[Windows XP, SP2]
For the past several days, every time I shut down, a small window
appears
telling me to wait while Explorer shuts down, after that, another
little
window appears saying there's a problem shutting Exlorer, asking if I
want
to End or return to Windows. These are similar to, but I don't think
exactly
the same as, the windows that appear when trying to close an
unresponsive
program with Task Manager.

It doesn't seem to make any difference if I click End Now or Return to
Windows, because the window goes away and the shut down process
continues.

Two more small windows appear in sequence. The first one shows that
Connection Tray is shutting down, and then MCI connections. I have to
click
End Now for each of these, too.

What is this all about?

My 4-year old computer has been running slowly, and I find that
Explorer
or
my other file managers (2xplorer and xplorer2) respond very slowly to
input.
At times clicking on a program .EXE file doesn't open the program as it
should.

Could it be that the Explorer file has gotten messed up? Is it possible
to
diagnose and fix it without having reinstall Windows XP?

Thank you.

Orrie

 

[Bill in Co.]

OK, then! I'm surprised no one else chipped in here with some other
suggestions. Since I haven't been on WinXP too long (but have been long on
Win98SE), I was hoping someone else might chip in

But I think your idea is a pretty good one (the repair install). And from
what I've picked up here so far, it seems like a pretty good and safe bet.

Thanks, Bill.

I did look at the articles on doing a clean install and a repair install,
and it looks like a repair install might be the way to go, since my
computer
boots up (eventually) and doesn't seem to have any disk problems or other
hardware complications.

Orrie

If you have done all that since that much time, I'm not so sure I'd
recommend doing a System Restore, except as perhaps a near last resort.

I'm not sure - and wouldn't bet on it - that System Restore could and
would be able to return all those DLLs (and EXEs, etc) that have long
since been deleted that long ago.

One thing is sure, though - if you roll back, you would have to reinstall
those recent apps again, as the system won't know anything about them,
anymore.

You know, another option to consider might also be to run the windows
repair routine from the CD (and not have to do a complete reinstall).
(Again, if you're not able to step-by-step determine what went wrong).

Have you looked at the descriptions of either of these options at the
Microsoft web site? That might be the most informative way to decide.

Or maybe someone else here with more experience on XP will kick in, with
better suggestions.

What will happen if I rollback under these circumstances:

I thought the problem might be due to having too much clutter on my
four-year old computer, so I have been doing some "house cleaning,"
trying
to locate and either delete or uninstall unneeded programs and files. I
use
Windows Add/Remove Programs or the programs' own uninstall routines. And
I
try to get info on each case before I do anything. It doesn't look like
this
has helped much, if at all.

Would a rollback restore all the DLL's and other files that were deleted
by
my "house cleaning." Would I have to reinstall the programs I deleted;
some
of those were useless OEM apps or other programs I have no way to
reinstall.

I routinely delete temp files and the Recycle Bin very often, and also
defrag the hard drive using PC Magazine's Defrag-a-File utility whenever
it
shows more than a few% fragmentation. (By the way, this has helped with
a
problem I was having with Outlook Express freezing.)

As for viruses, trojans, spyware, etc., Kaspersky Internet Security
suite
has not found any, although KIS itself slows down operations noticeably.

My computer does have a lot of programs, tons of files, and the 120 GB
hard
drive has about 45 GB of free space.

Thanks for your attention and advice.

Orrie

Or you could possibly try an easier way out and just use System Restore
to
roll back to a point that predates this problem (if you don't want to
debug it, and assuming you have no clue as to what has happened to
cause
this recent change). Of course, you'll lose the system changes since
then in the process. However, if you suspect it's due to a virus or
trojan, it would be better to diagnose it first.

Orrie wrote:
Hi,
[Windows XP, SP2]
For the past several days, every time I shut down, a small window
appears
telling me to wait while Explorer shuts down, after that, another
little
window appears saying there's a problem shutting Exlorer, asking if I
want
to End or return to Windows. These are similar to, but I don't think
exactly
the same as, the windows that appear when trying to close an
unresponsive
program with Task Manager.

It doesn't seem to make any difference if I click End Now or Return to
Windows, because the window goes away and the shut down process
continues.

Two more small windows appear in sequence. The first one shows that
Connection Tray is shutting down, and then MCI connections. I have to
click
End Now for each of these, too.

What is this all about?

My 4-year old computer has been running slowly, and I find that
Explorer
or
my other file managers (2xplorer and xplorer2) respond very slowly to
input.
At times clicking on a program .EXE file doesn't open the program as
it
should.

Could it be that the Explorer file has gotten messed up? Is it
possible
to
diagnose and fix it without having reinstall Windows XP?

Thank you.

Orrie