After upgrading to Windows 8.1, I was enjoying the new features provided by this iteration of Windows. Also there are lots of improvement in this iteration as compared to native brother; Windows 8. But then I came around a seriously irritating thing on one of my computer running Windows 8.1, this issue was not experienced with Windows 8.
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explorer.exe – Application Error At Shutdown In Windows 8.1
It was the “explorer.exe – Application Error” dialog which I started to get each time I was trying to shut down the system. Few months back; we posted about a similar kind of issue for getting “Explorer.EXE” dialog at the start up of Windows 8. But that was a different thing and this time at the shut down we’re again facing the analogous but strange yet unknown issue. Here is the screenshot of the error:
Explorer.exe – Application Error
The instruction at 0xe8c71764 referenced memory at 0xd4661398. The memory could not be read.
Click on OK to terminate the program.
After doing some research with this issue, the crash report of this error told me the solution itself to solve it. Here is how the crash report looks like:
Faulting module name: dlnashext.dll, version: 12.0.9431.0, time stamp: 0x51bcfb3d
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000000000000d56c
Faulting process id: 0x180c
Faulting application start time: 0x01ce730758420ce9
Faulting application path: C:\WINDOWS\explorer.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\System32\dlnashext.dll
Report Id: a1195f3d-defd-11e2-bea5-f4b7e2e6b5f6
The green and bold part in the above showed crash report on analysis says that DLNA Shell Extensions in system root drive are the root cause of happening this issue. So far, you can disable these extensions using the following registry modification, progressively solving the issue:
FIX : Getting explorer.exe – Application Error While Shutting Down Windows 8.1
Registry Disclaimer: The further steps will involve registry manipulation. Making mistakes while manipulating registry could affect your system adversely. So be careful while editing registry entries and create a System Restore point first.
1. Press 
+ R and put regedit in Run dialog box to open Registry Editor (if you’re not familiar with Registry Editor, then click here). Click OK.
2. Navigate here:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions
3. In the left pane of this location, right click on the Shell Extensions key and select New -> Key. Name the newly created subkey as Blocked. Now came to the right pane of this subkey Blocked, and create a new string using right click in blank space -> New -> String Value. Refer to the screenshot above; name the newly created string to {289AF617-1CC3-42A6-926C-E6A863F0E3BA}. Keep the Value data of string blank.
Finally! Close the Registry Editor and restart the Explorer, your issue should be fixed now.
That’s it!
20 Comments
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This is it man! It did the great job and fixed it the issue like charm. Thanks a lot..”.
mine its nit working..pls help
this trick doesnt work for me.. help..
^^ Make sure you have followed the procedure exactly.
Hi, im glad actually that others also have this problem. Dont get me wrong, but this means that there is nothing wrong with my new lapotp, the problem is with the windows software.
I followed every step and still this did not work for me. I copied and paste the string above (289AF617-1CC3-42A6-926C-E6A863F0E3BA) to the blocked folder which was already created when i went in the shell extensions.
Is the string you gave for all issues? Or is that just an example string? if so, where do i find which string to add.
Can you help us more on how to detect which extension causes the error during shut down/restart?
Many thanks
^^ The string I’ve mentioned is for faulting DLNA Shell Extensions. You can refer to the crash reports under the hood of Administrative Events in the Event Viewer to observer what is causing the issue on your system.
Hi, do forgive me, I am not really tech savvy. Where do I find these adminitrative events in the event viewer?
And is it possible that when I check out event viewer that I may find it empty/without problems? Cause I ran sfc /scannow before and it says the pc is working fine.
Sorry if Im too paranoid at this
Hi,im not sure, but i think i found the string, the details says on the pop up
–
–
26
0
4
0
0
0x8000000000000000
8266
System
Popeng
–
explorer.exe – Application Error
The instruction at 0x229d3cd9 referenced memory at 0x00000000. The memory could not be read. Click on OK to terminate the program
So i think its the {47BFA2B7-BD54-4FAC-B70B-29021084CA8F} string that causes the pop up, im not sure, i could send you the event log if needed.Any idea what that string is?
Thanks
^^ The string is for corrupted mfc110u.dll on your system. I suggest you to try the third DISM command mentioned here:
https://www.kapilarya.com/fix-do-inbox-corruption-repair-using-dism-in-windows-8
Hi, sorry if this is so frustrating, but i tried the above repair using dism, and it says computer is clean saying “FALSE-HEALTHY-FALSE”
Latest update:
I reformatted my laptop, started fresh, did not add anything but do a windows update, upgraded to windows 8.1, then the application pop up error came back.
Help :(
I had the explorer.exe application errors with memory not being read and it turned out to be a failing hard drive. Tested it with WinDFT and Seagate Tools for Windows. Save some time and test your drive first!
Hi Kapil, thank you very much for your instruction, I have had this same issue for months, I have had Microsoft look at the issue several times only to be told that I should perform a clean install of Win. 8.1. It is early days as I have put your fix in place just 24 hours ago, but it appears to have fixed my shutdown error….Many thanks
^^ Thanks for feedback, glad we could help :)
Well, when I start my Windows 8.1 I get this error with additional ETDCtrl.exe error. I have tried. safe boot but same error persists and task manager and run fail to work. System restore was a fail as was system refresh. Please help!!
^^ You need to uninstall all third-party tools and check if problem persits, as I suspect any software installed on your system is causing this. Run SFC /SCANNOW command at administrative Command Prompt then.
Hey have a similar problem though mine is on dell latitude D610 Win 7, it is able to boot without problems but after the welcome screen it brings in the explorer exe – application error, code is (0xc0000005) then the screen goes dark with cursor which is able to move when I touch the mouse pad. Any help to solve this problem pliz.
^^ Please let me know the error message your recieved with this code, so that I can help you further.
Hai, i cant find the shell extensions…where is it???
^^ It should be next to CurrentVersion key :)
I Upgraded My Computer To Win 8.1 PRO Yesterday Then Checked And Installed Windows Updates. After That Instaled A Few Applications Like Abode Flash Player And Adobe Shockwave. Tried Installing Unity Web Player 3D But It Shows Like Installation Aborted/Interrupted Due To Error. After That Restart And Login And What I See Is That The Desktop Refreshes Every 3-4 Secs Like When It Restarts Windows Explorer. This Is A Continous Process. When I Click Sign Out From Start , This Error Box Pops Up. If I Click OK Or Close It, The Whole Thing Starts Again. So I Keep The Error Box And Do What I Want To Do. Any Ideas On What To Do?
MS_WebcheckMMonitor: explorer.exe-Aplication Error
The instruction at 0x 10001039 referenced memory at 0x00000000. The memory could not be found.
Click on OK to terminate the program.
OK