FIX: File Explorer crashes after right-click [Easy Guide]

by Ivan Jenic

Troubleshooting Expert

Last update:March 12, 2021

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Some users are facing a problem with their File Explorer. Apparently, their File Explorer crashes when they click on the right mouse click. This problem could be caused by a bad context menu handler.

In case you didn’t know, a context menu handler is a shell extension handler whose job is to add comments to an existing context menu, like for example: cut, paste, print, etc.

How do I fix File Explorer crashing on right-click?

1. Perform a Clean Boot
2. Use another third-party file manager
3. Run the SFC scan

1. Perform a Clean Boot

1. Open the Windows search box.
2. Type msconfig in the search box and press Enter.
3. On the Services tab of the System Configuration dialog box, select Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable All.
   
4. On the Startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, click open Task Manager.
5. On the Startup tab in Task Manager, for each startup item, select the item and then click Disable.
6. Close Task Manager.
7. On the Startup tab of the System Configuration dialog box, tap or click OK.
8. Then restart the computer.

Clean Boot could be a solution for many problems, and it may fix ours as well.

Clean Boot starts Windows with a minimal amount of drivers and software in order to determine if some software conflict with each other, or prevent them from working.

Before you perform a Clean Boot, you need to login to your computer as an administrator.

Be aware that your computer may lose some functionality after you perform a Clean Boot. But, right after you start your PC normally, the functionality will return, so there’s no need to worry about that.

Also, you should be very careful when you’re performing a Clean Boot, because if you make certain errors, your computer could become unusable.

Windows 10 File Explorer won’t refresh? This guid will help you out.

2. Use another third-party file manager

If a Clean Boot didn’t help, then your problem is definitely caused by a bad context menu handler. And below, you’ll find the best and fastest way to handle your files.

You’ll need to install one third-party software that can manage your files instead of windows explorer.

This tool can view and manage all of your installed software and files. Not only will this app help you would drastically, it is also really easy to use and doesn’t require any previous experience.

The interface is pretty self-explanatory and simplistic, giving you a minimalist look while still helping you find your files quickly. Finding relevant data has never been easier with this awesome app.

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3. Run the SFC scan

1. Launch Command Prompt from the Start menu, then type: sfc /scannow
2. Hit Enter for the scan to start
3. Wait for the scan to complete.
4. Try to open File Explorer again to see if this solved the problem.

If the issue persists after following these two solutions, you can also run SFC. This is a built-in tool that scans your system files and fixes corrupted or missing ones.

So there you have it, each one of these solutions should resolve your File Explorer issue when clicking right with the mouse. Do let us know which one was it in the comments section below.

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