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

After you upgrade to Windows 2000 from an earlier Windows operating system, you may receive the following error message after you first log on: When this error message occurs, no desktop is displayed or the desktop is blank. You can press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to start Task Manager. If you do so, you may notice that Explorer.exe is consuming close to 100 percent of the available resources.

This behavior can occur if Norton CleanSweep was installed in the previous operating system.

To resolve this issue, use any one of the following methods:

Method 1

1. After booting the system and receiving the error message, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
2. Click Task Manager.
3. In Task Manager, click New Task (Run) on the File menu.
4. Type control, and then press ENTER. This opens Control Panel.
5. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
6. In the list of currently installed programs, click CleanSweep, and then click Change/Remove.
7. Uninstall CleanSweep.
8. Reboot the computer.

Method 2

1. Reboot the computer. When you see the Boot menu, press F8 for Safe-mode options.
2. Select the Safe Mode Command Prompt option.
3. After you log on, type appwiz.cpl, and then press ENTER. This starts the Add/Remove Programs Wizard.
4. In the list of currently installed programs, click CleanSweep, and then click Change/Remove.
5. Uninstall CleanSweep.
6. Reboot the computer.

Method 3

1. Reboot the computer. When you see the Boot menu, press F8 for Safe-mode options.
2. Select the Safe Mode Command Prompt option.
3. Change to the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. Typically, this is the c:\Winnt\System32 or C:\Windows\System32 folder.
4. Rename the Apitrap.dll file to Apitrap.old.
5. Reboot the computer.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.