Opening Microsoft Edge Causes Explorer.exe to Hang then Crash

Using Windows version 21H1 (OS Build 19043.1288)

So a few days ago I discovered that when ever I open up Microsoft Edge I would quickly loses the ability to alt-tab or use the windows key though control+alt+delete still works, then my computer would seem to completely crash if I clicked anything outside of a Microsoft Edge window like the task bar (forcing me to reboot) or in the best case seem to freeze for a long period of time (at times over 10 minutes). At first I was able to use task manager to restart explorer.exe, and while it would take a minute or two to reboot it would seem to fix the issue. Later, when trying to launch task manger would not work as it would never appear.

After more digging around and talking with a friend more knowledgeable in computers than me and I tried:

• SFC /Scannow command

• Windows Memory Test through advance trouble shooting in options

• Tried using CPUID HWMonitor to check the CPU temputre to see if it was over heating

• Tried disabling my two adblocker extensions (while turning off one seemed to work for about a day the issue came back)

• Tried disabling both my adblocker extensions

• Googling "Why does launching Microsoft Edge crash (or make) explorer.exe hang (pretty much only got results about Microsoft Edge crashing, the one thing not crashing in my case as far as I can tell)

• Tried clearing the explorer.exe cache/quick access cache thing

• Tired clearing Microsoft Edge's cache

Yet none of that has solved the issue for more than a day, and afterward when I opened Microsoft Edge up the next day and the issue arose again it seems that a solution that had previously worked now no longer works at all.

When I went into event viewer saw the following (though this error did not seem to appear for every instance of the error I experienced):

"The program explorer.exe version 10.0.19041.1266 stopped interacting with Windows and was closed. To see if more information about the problem is available, check the problem history in the Security and Maintenance **control panel.
Process ID: 3858
Start Time: 01d7cba48be397f9
Termination Time: 0
Application Path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe
Report Id: c6db2dbc-b1d9-401e-9e5b-a08744b4d42f
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:
Hang type: Unknown"


In all cases the issue only appears when opening Microsoft Edge which itself would continue to operate fine minus the ability to use alt-tab, and occasionally being unable to switch Edge windows. Also launching Microsoft Edge InPrivate mode would not result in any issues, but the minute I went back to normal mode the issue arose.

(Also yes I know I could just switch browsers but then I would need to go get the bookmark and sessions files and see if they are compatible with other browsers)


I am completely out of ideas and googling solutions seems to lead me in circles of people suggesting the same things, or more often not finding anything related to the crashing/hanging of Explorer.exe after opening Microsoft Edge.

dalchina said:

There are some options to reset Edge:
How to Reset Settings to Default in Microsoft Edge Chromium
How to Completely Reset Microsoft Edge Chromium to Default in Windows

Will this clear collections and such, because I have a lot of tabs set aside I'd rather not lose?

Fabler2 said:

I'm not on Windows 10 but should be similar. Go to settings - apps - installed apps and scroll down to Microsoft Edge. Click on the three dots and select 'modify'. You should get this pop up which states that it will preserve your browser data and settings.

So I tried reseting Edge as dalchina suggest and that seemed to work for about a day untl today when I turned on my pc and opened Edge and had the same issue again.

Also going into settings and reparing Edge didn't do anything as when it opened Edge the issue was still there

dalchina said:

Thank you for your reply.

Obviously I don't know precisely how you got into this situation, so can only suggest general repairs. It is not one I've seen before.

Two test cases:

a. Create a new user for test purposes. Log in as that user. Do you see the same thing?
b. Boot to Safe Mode. Do you see the same thing?

So I had the same issue in Safe Mode. I did not have the issue on a separate account, but I don't know how helpful that is because I have a lot more tabs open on my main account.

helios12 said:

So I had the same issue in Safe Mode. I did not have the issue on a separate account, but I don't know how helpful that is because I have a lot more tabs open on my main account.

Test with the same number of tabs open then.

Manage Virtual Memory Pagefile in Windows 10 I would also test with paging file set to system managed if it's currently not that way now.

steve108 said:

Test with the same number of tabs open then.

Manage Virtual Memory Pagefile in Windows 10 I would also test with paging file set to system managed if it's currently not that way now.

I assume the Virtual Memory Pagefile would only matter for the main C: drive and not the D; drive I use for file storage?

Also is their an easy way to get the computer to tell you how many tabs you have open total and/or will they need to be on a actual page like youtube for testing, or can I just spam cntr + t?