Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close

Hello, this is my first post. I needed some help with my Windows PC as this problem has been bugging me for months already. The problem goes like this: error messages like "WINDOWS EXPLORER HAS ENCOUNTERED A PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO CLOSE" randomly appears regardless of what action I was doing with the computer at that moment.

I've got Avira Premium Security Suite installed with firewall enabled and also have A-Squared Anti-malware installed. Both have not detected any viruses, worms, trojans, etc.. What exactly is the problem causing this error message to appear again and again? I have also ran CCleaner and fixed all issues, still the problem persists.

I shall show you all the HijackThis log file below:

Logfile of Trend Micro HijackThis v2.0.2
Scan saved at 2:21:48 PM, on 10/1/2008
Platform: Windows XP SP3 (WinNT 5.01.2600)
MSIE: Internet Explorer v7.00 (7.00.6000.16705)
Boot mode: Normal

Running processes:
C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\csrss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\sched.exe
C:\Program Files\Nitro PDF\Professional\NitroPDFPrinterMonitor.exe
C:\PROGRAM FILES\A-SQUARED ANTI-MALWARE\a2guard.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avgnt.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Lee Tai Meng\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe
C:\Program Files\Nikon\PictureProject\NkbMonitor.exe
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WTablet\TabUserW.exe
C:\PROGRA~1\Yahoo!\MESSEN~1\ymsgr_tray.exe
C:\Program Files\a-squared Anti-Malware\a2service.exe
C:\Program Files\ActiveFax\Server\ActSrvNT.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avfwsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avguard.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avesvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7DEBUG\MDM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\system32\PSIService.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\CCPD-LC\symlcsvc.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\Tablet.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avmailc.exe
C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\AVWEBGRD.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\alg.exe
C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe
C:\Program Files\Trend Micro\HijackThis\HijackThis.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\wbem\wmiprvse.exe

R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://www.dell.com
R0 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = about:blank
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Page_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Default_Search_URL = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R1 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Search Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=54896
R0 - HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Start Page = http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=69157
O1 - Hosts: 127.0.0.0 traffstats.biz
O1 - Hosts: 127.0.0.0 ybbwxlxytz.biz
O1 - Hosts: 126.0.0.0 traffstats.biz
O1 - Hosts: 126.0.0.0 ybbwxlxytz.biz
O1 - Hosts: 127.0.0.0 tongji123.com
O1 - Hosts: 126.0.0.0 tongji123.com
O2 - BHO: (no name) - {0000AC13-3487-1583-C4BE-BE6A839DB000} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: SnagIt Toolbar Loader - {00C6482D-C502-44C8-8409-FCE54AD9C208} - C:\Program Files\TechSmith\SnagIt 8\SnagItBHO.dll
O2 - BHO: Adobe PDF Reader Link Helper - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Acrobat\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.dll
O2 - BHO: IeCatch5 Class - {2F364306-AA45-47B5-9F9D-39A8B94E7EF7} - C:\PROGRA~1\FlashGet\jccatch.dll
O2 - BHO: DriveLetterAccess - {5CA3D70E-1895-11CF-8E15-001234567890} - C:\WINDOWS\system32\dla\tfswshx.dll
O2 - BHO: NCO 2.0 IE BHO - {602ADB0E-4AFF-4217-8AA1-95DAC4DFA408} - (no file)
O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_03\bin\ssv.dll
O3 - Toolbar: FlashGet Bar - {E0E899AB-F487-11D5-8D29-0050BA6940E3} - C:\PROGRA~1\FlashGet\fgiebar.dll
O3 - Toolbar: SnagIt - {8FF5E183-ABDE-46EB-B09E-D2AAB95CABE3} - C:\Program Files\TechSmith\SnagIt 8\SnagItIEAddin.dll
O3 - Toolbar: (no name) - {7FEBEFE3-6B19-4349-98D2-FFB09D4B49CA} - (no file)
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [Nitro PDF Printer Monitor] "C:\Program Files\Nitro PDF\Professional\NitroPDFPrinterMonitor.exe"
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [a-squared] "C:\PROGRAM FILES\A-SQUARED ANTI-MALWARE\a2guard.exe" /d=60
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [avgnt] "C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avgnt.exe" /min
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [KernelFaultCheck] %systemroot%\system32\dumprep 0 -k
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [ctfmon.exe] C:\WINDOWS\system32\ctfmon.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Yahoo! Pager] "C:\PROGRA~1\Yahoo!\MESSEN~1\YAHOOM~1.EXE" -quiet
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Google Update] "C:\Documents and Settings\Lee Tai Meng\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe" /c
O4 - Global Startup: NkbMonitor.exe.lnk = C:\Program Files\Nikon\PictureProject\NkbMonitor.exe
O4 - Global Startup: TabUserW.exe.lnk = C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WTablet\TabUserW.exe
O8 - Extra context menu item: &eBay Search - res://C:\Program Files\eBay\eBay Toolbar2\eBayTb.dll/RCSearch.html
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download All by FlashGet - C:\Program Files\FlashGet\jc_all.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: Download using FlashGet - C:\Program Files\FlashGet\jc_link.htm
O8 - Extra context menu item: E&xport to Microsoft Excel - res://C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\EXCEL.EXE/3000
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_03\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_03\bin\ssv.dll
O9 - Extra button: Research - {92780B25-18CC-41C8-B9BE-3C9C571A8263} - C:\PROGRA~1\MICROS~3\OFFICE11\REFIEBAR.DLL
O9 - Extra button: FlashGet - {D6E814A0-E0C5-11d4-8D29-0050BA6940E3} - C:\PROGRA~1\FlashGet\flashget.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: &FlashGet - {D6E814A0-E0C5-11d4-8D29-0050BA6940E3} - C:\PROGRA~1\FlashGet\flashget.exe
O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: @xpsp3res.dll,-20001 - {e2e2dd38-d088-4134-82b7-f2ba38496583} - C:\WINDOWS\Network Diagnostic\xpnetdiag.exe
O9 - Extra button: Yahoo! Messenger - {E5D12C4E-7B4F-11D3-B5C9-0050045C3C96} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\YahooMessenger.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Yahoo! Messenger - {E5D12C4E-7B4F-11D3-B5C9-0050045C3C96} - C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\YahooMessenger.exe
O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe
O16 - DPF: {26CBF141-7D0F-46E1-AA06-718958B6E4D2} - http://download.ebay.com/turbo_lister/US/install.cab
O16 - DPF: {34F12AFD-E9B5-492A-85D2-40FA4535BE83} (AxProdInfoCtl Class) - http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/activedata/nprdtinf.cab
O16 - DPF: {56762DEC-6B0D-4AB4-A8AD-989993B5D08B} (OnlineScanner Control) - http://www.eset.eu/buxus/docs/OnlineScanner.cab
O16 - DPF: {6A344D34-5231-452A-8A57-D064AC9B7862} (Symantec Download Manager) - https://webdl.symantec.com/activex/symdlmgr.cab
O16 - DPF: {B020B534-4AA2-4B99-BD6D-5F6EE286DF5C} - https://a248.e.akamai.net/f/248/5462/2h/www.symantecstore.com/v2.0-img/operations/symbizpr/xcontrol/SymDlBrg.cab
O17 - HKLM\System\CCS\Services\Tcpip\..\{B8D3EE64-20C0-4B6B-9354-80A68666B73F}: NameServer = 202.188.0.133 202.188.1.5
O23 - Service: a-squared Anti-Malware Service (a2AntiMalware) - Emsi Software GmbH - C:\Program Files\a-squared Anti-Malware\a2service.exe
O23 - Service: ActiveFax-Server-Service (ActiveFaxServiceNT) - ActFax Communication - C:\Program Files\ActiveFax\Server\ActSrvNT.exe
O23 - Service: Adobe LM Service - Adobe Systems - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe Systems Shared\Service\Adobelmsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Avira Premium Security Suite Firewall (AntiVirFirewallService) - Avira GmbH - C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avfwsvc.exe
O23 - Service: Avira Premium Security Suite MailGuard (AntiVirMailService) - Avira GmbH - C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avmailc.exe
O23 - Service: Avira Premium Security Suite Scheduler (AntiVirScheduler) - Avira GmbH - C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\sched.exe
O23 - Service: Avira Premium Security Suite Guard (AntiVirService) - Avira GmbH - C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avguard.exe
O23 - Service: Avira Premium Security Suite WebGuard (antivirwebservice) - Avira GmbH - C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\AVWEBGRD.EXE
O23 - Service: Avira Premium Security Suite MailGuard helper service (AVEService) - Avira GmbH - C:\Program Files\Avira\Avira Premium Security Suite\avesvc.exe
O23 - Service: BCL easyPDF SDK 5 Loader (bepldr) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\BCL Technologies\easyPDF 5\bepldr.exe
O23 - Service: FileZilla Server FTP server (FileZilla Server) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\FileZilla Server\FileZilla Server.exe (file missing)
O23 - Service: InstallDriver Table Manager (IDriverT) - Macrovision Corporation - C:\Program Files\Common Files\InstallShield\Driver\1050\Intel 32\IDriverT.exe
O23 - Service: Intel NCS NetService (NetSvc) - Intel(R) Corporation - C:\Program Files\Intel\NCS\Sync\NetSvc.exe
O23 - Service: ProtexisLicensing - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\PSIService.exe
O23 - Service: ReaConverter scheduler service (rcp_service) - ReaSoft - C:\Program Files\ReaConverter 5.0 Pro\rcp_scheduler.exe
O23 - Service: Remote Packet Capture Protocol v.0 (experimental) (rpcapd) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\WinPcap\rpcapd.exe
O23 - Service: Symantec Core LC - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared\CCPD-LC\symlcsvc.exe
O23 - Service: TabletService - Wacom Technology, Corp. - C:\WINDOWS\System32\Tablet.exe
O23 - Service: wampmysqld - Unknown owner - c:\wamp\mysql\bin\mysqld-nt.exe (file missing)

--
End of file - 9829 bytes

Does the above logfile help in any way? Do you need me to supply any other information about my PC?
Oh, by the way, I should let you all view the screenshot of the windows explorer error message, though it doesn't signify anything in my opinion.





I am not a computer expert, so please help me in every single step you can. Thanks in advance to this forum and all the members.

 

Hi artistlee

I'm not going to be very specific, but there are many problems which can cause explorer to crash.

Here are some solutions you can try:

1. Reduce your context menu size. This page might help: http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6142_102-0.html?forumID=5&threadID=42625&messageID=539000 , and it doesn't necessarily only apply to right-clicking.

2. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...+HAS+ENCOUNTERED+A+PROBLEM+AND+NEEDS+TO+CLOSE

Best Regards