Error Message When You Start Windows Explorer: Explorer.exe Has Generated Errors and Will Be Closed by Windows

Article ID: 319124 - View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q319124
Notice
This article applies to Windows 2000. Support for Windows 2000 ends on July 13, 2010. The Windows 2000 End-of-Support Solution Center
(http://support.microsoft.com/win2000)
is a starting point for planning your migration strategy from Windows 2000. For more information see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy
(http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/)
.
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SYMPTOMS

When you start Windows Explorer, or when you use the Search feature to search for files or folders and then start Windows Explorer, you may receive the following error message:
Explorer.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows.
You will need to restart the program.

An error log is being created.
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CAUSE

This behavior can occur if you install Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and there is a program or a service installed on your computer that is incompatible with Internet Explorer 6.
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RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, remove Internet Explorer 6 and restore the earlier version of Internet Explorer. To do this, follow these steps.

NOTE: You must be logged on as Administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to remove Internet Explorer 6 on a Windows 2000-based computer. After you remove Internet Explorer 6, you cannot remove the earlier version of Internet Explorer that remains on the computer.
  1. Quit all running programs.
  2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  3. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  4. In the Currently installed programs list, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, and then click Change/Remove.
  5. Click Restore the earlier Windows configuration, and then click OK.
  6. Click Yes when you are prompted to remove Internet Explorer.
  7. Click Restart Windows to restart the computer.
  8. Start Windows Explorer to verify that you no longer receive the error message described in the "Symptoms" section of this article.
  9. Start Internet Explorer, and then browse to the following Microsoft Web site to download any security updates that are needed for the version of Internet Explorer that remains installed on your computer:
    http://update.microsoft.com
    (http://update.microsoft.com/)
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MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about issues related to removing Internet Explorer 6 from a Windows 2000-based computer, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
296822
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/296822/EN-US/ )
Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 Does Not Appear in Add/Remove Programs List
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Properties

Article ID: 319124 - Last Review: February 3, 2011 - Revision: 3.5
APPLIES TO
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
Keywords: 
kberrmsg kbprb ocsso KB319124
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