Windows Explorer Suddenly Says C-Ya

[Guest]

Windows Explorer either "freezes" or .... I'm not sure how to exactly
describe this .... but the symptoms are that my entire screen goes totally
blank (black but not the infamous BSOD), then my wallpaper reappears, then
all my icons, but in my system tray all the icons except the clock and the
volume control are gone. The "now gone" icons are my Symantec Internet
Security icon and also an icon for my Epson printer. Also, Windows Explorer
does NOT automatically re-open. I have to restart it. Once I do that, my
computer seems to operate normally. My system tray icons will all return as
normal when I reboot.

With me so far? Now, here's the problem: The only happens when I use my
CD-RW drive (even if only looking at the contents of a CD and not necessarily
burning), DVD (as issue as if using the CD-RW drive), or USB port (if I plug
in a thumb drive).

Grrrrr!!! When the system tray icons aren't showing, I don't know if I have
internet security or not, so I usually promptly reboot in order to get the
icons back. Am I fooling myself? (Wouldn't be unusual or the first time!)
:-|

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts or solutions, as Ross Perot once said,
I'm all ears!

My computer is a Dell Dimension 4550, XP Home with SP-2 happily installed,
768 MB SDRAM. I update my Symantec anti-virus DAILY and have the following
set to run every day: Norton Anti-Virus, Ad-Aware SE and Spybot S&D. So far
(meaning for the last 15 months or so), I have been virus free.

Thanks to all.

Jim

 

[Don Taylor]

Windows Explorer either "freezes" or .... I'm not sure how to exactly
describe this .... but the symptoms are that my entire screen goes totally
blank (black but not the infamous BSOD), then my wallpaper reappears, then
all my icons, but in my system tray all the icons except the clock and the
volume control are gone. The "now gone" icons are my Symantec Internet
Security icon and also an icon for my Epson printer. Also, Windows Explorer
does NOT automatically re-open. I have to restart it. Once I do that, my
computer seems to operate normally. My system tray icons will all return as
normal when I reboot.

Symptoms appear to be consistent with Windows Explorer crashing.

Most people find there are no events in the event log after this,
I believe this to be intentional, but a miracle might happen, check
the log to see if you are lucky.

The tray icons disappearing is also common with this. A few software
authors thought to add a check for crashing Windows Explorer and
restoring their icons, but many don't do this.

With me so far? Now, here's the problem: The only happens when I use my
CD-RW drive (even if only looking at the contents of a CD and not necessarily
burning), DVD (as issue as if using the CD-RW drive), or USB port (if I plug
in a thumb drive).

Tracking down AND REALLY FIXING Windows Explorer crashes is a thankless
and seemingly often hopeless task.

Grrrrr!!! When the system tray icons aren't showing, I don't know if I have
internet security or not, so I usually promptly reboot in order to get the
icons back. Am I fooling myself? (Wouldn't be unusual or the first time!)
:-|

You might try <ctrl><alt><del> and look at the process list, to see
if your security tasks are still listed or not, but to be really
honest, even if you see them there, we both have to wonder if they
are really still running.

I suppose you COULD do what I do, intentionally ftp in a virus
binary. That won't run the binary, it will just put the binary on
the disk. If the instant that ftp completes you get a pop-up warning
from your antiviral software saying it was detected and deleted
then you have a little more evidence that is still there. (I've
done that now and then, just to test the defenses, but I have all
the armor up and know the binary will not execute when I do this,
whether it is detected as viral or not)

Likewise you COULD go to grc or one of the other internet security
testing pages and have it try to hammer your system after this has
happened. That might give you a little more confidence.

But, being cautious and conservative, I'd do what you did, and reboot.

Anyway, if anyone has any thoughts or solutions, as Ross Perot once said,
I'm all ears!

There have been all sorts of people reporting Windows Explorer
crashes, almost all it seems after the introduction of SP2. A very
tiny number of really definite fixes have been found, but those
seem to be for rather specific circumstances. There is, as far as
I've been able to tell, nothing out there that scans a system,
detects causes for this lying in wait, and tells the user exactly
what these are and how to trigger them to show that this is the
case.

My computer is a Dell Dimension 4550, XP Home with SP-2 happily installed,
768 MB SDRAM. I update my Symantec anti-virus DAILY and have the following
set to run every day: Norton Anti-Virus, Ad-Aware SE and Spybot S&D. So far
(meaning for the last 15 months or so), I have been virus free.

Describing how you have carefully checked to make sure this isn't
a virus or mal-ware infection is good, but some folks will probably
still say that this is probably the cause. I haven't seen ANYBODY
with real evidence for that.

 

[Malke]

Jim wrote:

(with various snippages)

Windows Explorer either "freezes" or .... I'm not sure how to exactly
describe this .... but the symptoms are that my entire screen goes
totally blank (black but not the infamous BSOD), then my wallpaper
reappears, then all my icons, but in my system tray all the icons
except the clock and the volume control are gone. The "now gone"
icons are my Symantec Internet Security icon and also an icon for my
Epson printer. Also, Windows Explorer does NOT automatically re-open.
I have to restart it. Once I do that, my computer seems to operate
normally. My system tray icons will all return as normal when I
reboot.

The only happens when I use my CD-RW drive (even if only looking at the
contents of a CD and not necessarily burning), DVD (as issue as if
using the CD-RW drive), or USB port (if I plug in a thumb drive).

My computer is a Dell Dimension 4550, XP Home with SP-2 happily
installed, 768 MB SDRAM. I update my Symantec anti-virus DAILY and
have the following set to run every day: Norton Anti-Virus, Ad-Aware
SE and Spybot S&D. So far (meaning for the last 15 months or so), I
have been virus free.

This sounds like a hardware issue. Run the Dell diagnostics (F12 for
boot menu to get to the diagnostics) and do a thorough test. If
anything fails, contact Dell tech support.

Malke