Fixed: Explorer.exe Not Starting on Windows Startup

Explorer.exe Not Starting on Windows Startup

If the explorer.exe program is not starting on Windows startup, you will encounter a black screen with a cursor, being unable to access your taskbar, desktop, and files. This problem is often caused by incorrect Windows configurations, corrupted system files, virus infection, and so on.

Before performing the troubleshooting steps, you need to get rid of the black screen by running the explorer.exe manually. Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc key combination to bring up the Task Manager window. Next, click File > Run new task. After that, type explorer.exe in the pop-up window and press Enter.

Once the computer is freed from the black screen, you can proceed with the following solutions to deal with the “explorer.exe not running on startup” problem.

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Fix 1. Disable Fast Startup

The Fast Startup feature lets your computer start up faster after shutting down. With this feature turned on, when you turn off your computer, it goes into hibernation instead of shutting down completely. This may be the reason why explorer.exe cannot start on startup. To rule out this cause, you can disable Fast Startup.

Step 1. Open the Control Panel by using the Windows search box.

Step 2. In the Control Panel, click System and Security > Power Options > Select the Choose what the power button does.

Step 3. In the new window, click the Change settings that are currently unavailable option.

Step 4. Next, uncheck the Turn on fast startup (recommended) option, then click the Save changes button.

Now, you can restart your computer and check if the explorer.exe program is running on startup.

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Fix 2. Disable the App Readiness Service

App Readiness is a Windows service that is used to get apps ready for use the first time you sign in to your PC and when adding new apps. It may interfere with explorer.exe and prevent explorer.exe from running. So, you can disable the App Readiness service.

Step 1. In the Windows search box, type services and click it to open it.

Step 2. Next, find and double-click App Readiness. In the pop-up window, select the Disabled option from the Startup type drop-down menu.

Step 3. Click Apply > OK.

Fix 3. Change the Registry

Besides, you can also manually set explorer.exe to start when Windows starts. You can accomplish this by editing the registry.

Step 1. Press the Windows + R key combination to bring up the run window. After that, type regedit in the text box and click OK.

Step 2. If a User Account Control window appears, select the Yes option.

Step 3. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

Step 4. Right-click Winlogon and select New > String Value.

Step 5. Name the newly created string value to Shell. After that, double-click Shell and set up the value data to C:\Windows\explorer.exe.

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Fix 4. Uninstall Recent Windows Updates

If explorer.exe not starting on Windows startup after Windows update, you may consider uninstalling the recent Windows updates and then verify whether the issue has been resolved.

Step 1. Press the Windows + I key combination to launch Settings. Then click Update & Security > Windows Update > View update history.

Step 2. Next, click Uninstall updates. In the new window, right-click the target Windows update and click Uninstall.

Fix 5. Perform System File Checker Scan

As mentioned before, corrupted or missing system files may trigger explorer.exe not to start on Windows startup. To repair damaged system files, you are required to run a SFC scan.

Just open Command Prompt as administrator. Then type sfc /scannow in the command line window and press Enter.

Fix 6. Check for Virus

If your computer is attacked by viruses, you may encounter the “explorer.exe not starting on Windows startup” issue as well. Windows built-in antivirus software, Windows Defender, is available for scanning and removing computer viruses. You can run it to protect your PC from virus infection.

Further Reading:

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Conclusion

This post shows you how to deal with explorer.exe not starting on Windows startup with a back screen. You can try the solutions mentioned above one by one.

Should you need any help while using MiniTool software, feel free to send an email to [email protected].