explorer.exe crashes after AV Security Suite removal

Question

Hai!

Just removed the AV Security Suite using the guide provided on Wikipedia. Now, explorer.exe crashes at random all the time. Wat do?

Answer 1

Boot your windows CD and select "Repair".

Answer 2

If all that is happening is that Explorer crashes as opposed to more serious issues like a BSOD, then what is likely happening is that a residual shell-extension (or it’s registry entry) is causing trouble.

You can weed it out by:

1. Run Autoruns
2. Select both Options->Hide* options
3. Press F5
4. Click the Explorer tab

No look through the list and see if the Image Path column for any are flagged as File not found. You can click the check-box next to it to disable it and optionally delete it.

If you are not sure about any questionable entries, you can look it up (Ctrl+M) or ask.

You can also use ShellExView to examine the installed shell-extensions, but it does not flag missing files, so you’ll have to check them manually. Make sure to select the options in the Options menu to help reduce the clutter.