Instead of opening a Command Prompt window and typing the two commands in the previous section every time you want to restart the explorer.exe process, you can run these commands by double-clicking a single file. Quickly Restart the explorer.exe Process Using a Batch File Your desktop icons, Taskbar, and all the other desktop elements come back. To start the explorer.exe process again, type the following command at the prompt and press Enter. You’ll see a blank screen behind the Command Prompt window. Type the command below at the prompt and press Enter. Type: cmd.exe in the Open box and click OK. To open a Command Prompt window, press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box. If you like using the command line, you’ll be glad to know you can restart the explorer.exe process using a couple of simple commands. Manually Restart the explorer.exe Process Using the Command Line On the Create new task dialog box, type: explorer.exe in the Open box and click OK. There is currently no Taskbar to right-click on to access the Task Manager.

Press Shift + Ctrl + Esc to open the Task Manager. Your screen will be blank because you’ve ended the process that controls the desktop elements, like the Taskbar icons. Then, right-click on the Taskbar and release the Shift and Ctrl keys. Press and hold the Shift and Ctrl keys down at the same time. We’re going first to exit Explorer (end the explorer.exe process) and then rerun it in Task Manager. This method is a bit longer, but we include it for completeness. Exit Explorer from the Taskbar Context Menu and Start it Again from the Task Manager

You’ll see the desktop icons and the Taskbar disappear for a second or two and then come back. You can also right-click on the Windows Explorer process and select Restart. Otherwise, you can find the Windows Explorer process under Windows processes on the same tab.Ĭlick on Windows Explorer and then click Restart. If File Explorer is currently open, you’ll see Windows Explorer under Apps on the Processes tab. If the Task Manager looks like the following image, click More details at the bottom. You can also press Shift + Ctrl + Esc to open the Task Manager. Right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager. If Windows is still responsive, the easiest way to restart the explorer.exe process is through the Task Manager. Restart the explorer.exe Process using Task Manager Today, we’ll show you four ways to restart the explorer.exe process in Windows 10. This usually has no negative side effects on other running programs. So, if Windows 10 File Explorer is not responding for you or other parts of the Windows interface are not working as expected, you can refresh the explorer.exe process by restarting it.

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