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General discussion

Explorer Cut & Paste Error

Nov 28, 2012 11:03AM PST

Hello,
I have all the latest upgrades on my XP system. It is a Quad Core 2.66 GHz processor with 3 Gb of RAM, 250 GB HD, (1/3 full) and Service Pack 3.
I did have a virus or trojan some time ago (2 - 3 months) which was successfully removed, and the computer has been working *almost* perfectly since.
Explorer, the one that moves files around, seems to be damaged somehow. If I try to Cut and Paste a small file, or drag it, it usually will be OK.
If I try to C&P (or drag) larger files or folders, it will start, then I get the usual message "Explorer has encountered a problem and must close." That's it, no error codes or anything else.

So I thought that I might be able to work around it by downloading another mfg of an Explorer look-a-like, which I tried two others that seemed to be well made and professional.

Strangely, I get the same problem with the look-a-like Explorers doing the same C&P operations. So to me, it's more of a "system" problem than Win Explorer itself, but I'm not sure, or what to do about it.

Thank you for your help.

Discussion is locked

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Some things to do
Nov 28, 2012 11:18AM PST

Get your antivirus program up to date and boot into Safe Mode. Note that some viruses can hide themselves from your antivirus program in normal mode, so you really need to scan in Safe Mode. To get into Safe Mode when you first power up, hit F8 about once a second until you get the menu and select Safe Mode. Then run a full system scan.
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Microsoft has suggestions and offerings at
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/how-do-I-remove-a-computer-virus
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Ms forum moderator Keith has some suggestions along this line at
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-performance/windows-explorer-has-stopped-working/6ab02526-5071-4dcc-895f-d90202bad8b3
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If that fixes it, fine. If not, use System Restore to go back to a date prior to the beginning of the problem. To run System Restore, click Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore. Click the box that says Show more restore points.
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You can check for corrupted system files. Open an administrator command prompt and run SFC if the above doesn't help. Click START, then type CMD in the search box, right-click CMD.EXE and click Run as administrator. Then from the command prompt type sfc /scannow.
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Finally if all else fails, you can check the rather cryptic system event log. To do that click Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Event Viewer. Once in Event Viewer click on the system log and scroll through the entries looking for those flagged "error" to see if you can find hints as to where the problem could be.
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When you get your system back in good working order, I urge you to back your system up to an external hard drive and make regular periodic updates to it.
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I hope this helps. Good luck.

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Explorer Cut & Paste Error
Nov 29, 2012 8:47AM PST

Thank you.