Dealing With Windows Explorer Errors
Q. What is Windows Explorer and how do I access it?
Windows Explorer is an application that comes with all Windows Operating Systems and is used for managing all files, folders and drives stored on your PC. Its graphical user interface allows users to access the contents of the data stored within these files or drives. There are three ways to open Explorer and these are as follows: Right click on the 'My Computer' icon and select explore. Use the Windows key on your keyboard and press Win+e. Go to Start - All Programs - Accessories and click on Windows Explorer.
Q. What errors am I likely to encounter when using Explorer?
The most common error users will face when using Explorer is the message 'Windows has encountered an error and needs to close.' Usually this message appears on screen when right clicking on a folder stored on your hard drive.
Q. What causes these errors?
Usually this message will appear randomly and once you reopen Explorer and try the same action again, it's likely your command will function this time. Sometimes spyware can be a culprit for causing Explorer errors or perhaps a third party shell extension is to blame. These extensions are the entries on the menu you see when you right click on a file. Third party shells that are added to this menu can sometimes cause conflict and generate Explorer error messages. To find the exact cause of what's causing your computer to encounter an error, you need to make a note of what you were attempting when it happened and look it up on the Microsoft Knowledgebase or other support website. There is a wide variety of causes and each will have its own particular course of action to rectify the issue.
Q. What else can I do to prevent these errors happening?
Running spyware scans and removing all instances of malware is one way of lessening the likelihood of errors occurring. Also, a clean and fully optimized registry will drastically reduce the chances of error messages appearing on screen.
Q. How do I go about cleaning the registry?
The Windows registry is a vital component of your computer and stores all data relating to everything connected or stored on your PC. This includes all user preferences and all information pertaining to the software and hardware installed.
To make changes to the entries held in the registry you need to go to Start - Run and type regedit.
This will bring up the registry editor, which allows you to delete or amend the data stored there. However, working in the registry is only recommended if you are absolutely certain you know what you are doing. This is because any changes you make could drastically affect the way your computer performs and mistakes could be costly. Changing or removing vital information could mean your PC is no longer able to work at all. It's much better to leave any work in this area up to a professional.
Fortunately, there is another way of cleaning the registry without having to hire an expensive technician and this involves using a registry cleaner. This is a software application that will scan your registry for any errors and make whatever changes are necessary. Over time, the registry becomes bloated with lots of obsolete data left behind when programs have been installed or uninstalled, hardware added or removed, or user preferences altered. Even when programs or hardware have been properly removed, there's a high chance not every piece of data relating to it has also been deleted. This causes your computer to slow down or report errors as it has so much data to search through in the registry before it finds what it needs.
A reputable registry cleaner will scan through this data, searching for entries that are no longer necessary, are corrupt or are duplicated. Once removed, your computer will be able to perform much faster and efficiently with less likelihood of any error messages being encountered.
