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Explorer.exe crashing

Hello!
I have a user who has Windows 7 64bit Pro. Now he was getting an explorer.exe crash once in a while. It was not at any specific time or with a specific program. It was occasional and random which is annoying. After trying SFC /scannow, chkdsk, system restore, and then I even used a complete system recovery as an excuse to upgrade him to a new SSD hard drive which of course means I even installed a new hard drive and loaded up fresh. That worked for a few weeks, but today, he had another explorer.exe crash. I am attaching the event log entry. Can anyone give me a clue what I can do at this point? Thanks in advance!

Faulting application name: Explorer.EXE, version: 6.1.7601.23537, time stamp: 0x57c44efe
Faulting module name: MSVCR90.dll, version: 9.0.30729.6161, time stamp: 0x4dace4e7
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000000000001e1ac
Faulting process id: 0x560
Faulting application start time: 0x01d2839de47ac1d8
Faulting application path: C:\Windows\Explorer.EXE
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft.vc90.crt_1fc8b3b9a1e18e3b_9.0.30729.6161_none_08e61857a83bc251\MSVCR90.dll
Report Id: b7c747a1-efb3-11e6-a48f-534e57000000
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CES

You could do an in-place upgrade to the same version of windows:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2255099/how-to-perform-an-in-place-upgrade-on-windows-vista,-windows-7,-windows-server-2008-windows-server-2008-r2

This rewrites a lot of system files and has saved me from having to reformat many times.
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but is this something I should do even though I installed fresh on a totally new hard drive? And if it is still worth trying, does this alter any of my installed applications or saved files?
okay I don't think I understood that you've already reformatted.  That to me then means that there's either another hardware issue (run diagnostics) or more likely, some sort of software is causing the problem.  Is the user absolutely certain that there is no pattern?
After the SSD swap and windows reloading did you migrate any data back to the computer. Have you check virus/malware? Is brand computer Dell/HP. Try update the firmware and bios.  Are all the patches up to date after reloading?

JL
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Certain there's no pattern yes. Should I update all device drives, Office updates, etc just in case? And if hardware diagnostic, being a new SSD hardware, what should I be testing for errors?
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Yes, SEP runs weekly on the  machine. It is an HP Elitebook 8460P. All Windows Updates applied. Is there any HP utility I can use that will scan for outdated drivers, firmware, etc?
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Shaun Vermaak
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Will do Shaun, should I uninstall the existing first?
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gotcha Shaun, I will uninstall that, reinstall, and get bac kto you
Hi mrosier, does it blue screen or just explorer.exe crashing? It is possible it might over heat. HP might have utility tools preinstalled with the with the laptop. Have you check the all programs to see if the utility is in there?

If not virus/malware detected, uninstall SEP to see if it still crashing explorer.exe for a couple days.
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Hi Jli,
No blue screens, just the crashing .exe. No heat issues from what I can feel either. But for now let me see if the C++ reinstall changes anything before I go deeper. Thanks!
since you did a fresh install on a new drive, the only possible causes i see from hardware sid e are ram, PS  and motherboard
you could run a memory diag - if it happens quite frequently - i use the UBCD for that, see below
look also at your power supply - calculate how much power you need : http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp      

Hardware diagnostic CD    UBCD
---------------------------------------------------
go to the download page, scroll down to the mirror section, and  click on a mirror to start the download
Download the UBCD and make the cd   <<==on a WORKING PC, and boot the problem PC from it
Here 2 links, one to the general site, and a direct link to the download

since the downloaded file is an ISO file, eg ubcd527.iso - so you need to use an ISO burning tool
if you don't have that software, install cdburnerXP : http://cdburnerxp.se/

If you want also the Ram tested - run memtest86+ at least 1 full pass,  - you should have NO errors!
 
For disk Diagnostics run the disk diag for your disk brand (eg seagate diag for seagate drive)  from the HDD section -  long or advanced diag !  (runs at least for30 minutes)

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/      

**  you can make a bootable cd - or bootable usb stick
*** note *** for SSD drives  use the tool from the manufacturer, like intel 's toolbox :
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/18455/Intel-Solid-State-Drive-Toolbox

for completeness -here's how i handle disk problems : https://www.experts-exchange.com/Storage/Hard_Drives/A_3000-The-bad-hard-disk-problem.html

==>>****in order to be able to  boot from CD or usb - you may have to disable secure boot in the bios
Try to Disable GoogleSync and see if it helps.
Also try to Check your system for Virus.
  Boot with a USB or CD from any Antivirus and then check.
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hi folks, no crashes yet after resintalling the C++ components, but I want to give it a few more days before calling this closed since the issue is (hopefully was) intermittent
Any feedback?
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My apologies, Shaun, I forgot to come back after that time to report. No more crashes, so I think that C++ bit was the problem! Odd that it was an issue even still after a fresh hard drive and install. But nothing since then! Thanks!