This may be a question better left on a Dell website. I have a maxed out Precision 650 workstation which has a bad habit of freezing up or crashing Windows Explore. This happens both spontaneously or when I open a folder or file. The problem continued through the installation of three different main hard drives, two SCSI and one IDE. The OS for all three installs has been XP pro. Most programs run well but PhotoShop which will freeze requiring its forced shutdown with Task Manager. Last month my tech guy put the Precision’s hardware through a stress test and found nothing wrong. He updated all the drivers. Did not seem to help. He thought it might be a problem with the existing SCSI drive so I replaced it with a brand new 80 gig Seagate IDE re-installing XP. Same old, same old. When well behaved this old monster keeps up with most modern Windows boxes. Any Thoughts? mboruch

Hi mboruch, ·What is the service pack installed on the computer?·Do you receive any error message when windows explorer crash? 1. Check if any error codes and error message is listed in event viewer: How to view and manage event logs in Event Viewer in Windows XP:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308427 2. Check the behavior by booting the computer in clean boot state. You may refer the below link on how to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353If the issue does not persist you may continue with step 2 from the above link.Make sure you reset the computer to normal mode after the troubleshooting completes. Refer the section “Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state” Regards:Samhrutha G S - Microsoft Support.Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

I would look at your Explorer extensions.If it is Windows Explorer that is reporting the error or otherwise misbehaving, suspect a non Microsoft Explorer Shell Extension.Shell Extensions help make up the Right Click menu for files you see in Explorer.You can download ShellExView from here to see which ones you have loaded:http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.htmlShellExView doesn't install anything on your computer, it just runs and displays.When you launch it, the non Microsoft extensions will be in light pink, but on some systems that is a hard color to see, so click View, Choose Columns and move the Microsoft column closer to the top so you can see it on your screen without having to scroll left and right.Next, click the column header for Microsoft to sort the display (by clicking the Microsoft column) so all the "No"s are at the top and easy to see.The "No"s would be things you have added (non Microsoft) and are what you need to be suspecting.I am not a trial and error advocate, but I can't think of another way to do this...Right click and disable the non Microsoft extensions one at a time keeping a list so you can enable them again later if desired. The result of the change is immediate and no reboot is required. Test your failure condition.If you recognize any extensions that may have been added or downloaded recently, start with those.Disabling an extension does not uninstall the extension - it is just disabled.You can also disable all the non Microsoft extensions, reboot and enable them one at a time until you find the one that generates the condition.The hope is that you will find the one Extension that causes the error and then you can figure out what to do about it - usually get an update from the maker of the extension from their WWW page.I don't have your issue but I can when you disable/enable the extensions, the Extension is immediately disabled, so disabling one does not seem to require a reboot but if you find the problem, I would reboot and retest anyway to really be sure.If you post up a list of your non Microsoft extensions, maybe someone will recognize it as a potential problem.If you find the extension that is the problem, please let us know what it is so I can add it to my list.Do, or do not. There is no try.I decided to save up points for a new puppy instead of a pony!