Weird error box while working in docs folder

January 28, 2007 10:56 PM

Here's a weird error that I only get when I'm in My Documents or Windows Explorer (so it seems)...

I'm stumped. Is it my processor getting screwey? It keeps popping up once I start working in the folder, but nowhere elso on my system. (I did google this and only came up with one site in Russion and one in Spanish). And I am reminded of the IT Crowd: "Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again." Didn't solve it.

Thanks in advance as always.

posted by moonbird to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

That's odd, i've never, ever seen an application error window like that before.

A general comment, Windows Explorer does a lot of things that might not be obvious at first glance. When you are browsing a file folder, it will invoke various shell extensions (authored by both Microsoft and 3rd parties), to generate thumbnail images. When you left click on a file it may try to generate a preview to show in the left hand panel. When you right click a file it'll invoke still more extensions to fill out the context menu.

Sometimes these things don't work right. I've had AVI files that crash explorer if I single click on them. I've had old image thumbnailing extensions bring the computer to a grinding halt for no good reason.

My guess is that you have some sort of file type or shell extension that is triggering the problem. That non-standard error might be a hint, but I sure don't recognize it.
posted by Good Brain at 12:07 AM on January 29, 2007

Best answer: If you have NeroVision Express 3 installed, try this (via here, via here, via here).
posted by flabdablet at 1:00 AM on January 29, 2007

Response by poster: Tried the patch, and I'll report back. The only video type thing I've been doing is using iTunes to convert vids for my iPod. Hmmmm.
posted by moonbird at 5:10 AM on January 29, 2007

As others have mentioned, that really doesn't look like a Windows generated error message. Something else has it's hooked into Explorer. When you scroll down the error message window is there any more information that would be useful for identifying the specific software (registry keys, paths, even hex error codes)?

What happens when you submit a report?
posted by purephase at 5:21 AM on January 29, 2007

Response by poster: Can't submit the report. A little box pops up and says something like "cannot submit," followed by an empty box with only a 1 or 2 in it and an okay button. I've been backing up and am getting ready to reboot after installing the patch. Oddly, the message is less likely to occur if I'm using details view over thumbnail view.
posted by moonbird at 5:30 AM on January 29, 2007

Check for spyware. I haven't seen anything like it before.
posted by cellphone at 5:49 AM on January 29, 2007

check the processes running via TaskManager and look for anything suspicious - could be a virus or spyware.

if you aren't that familiar with what processes should be running you could post a screenshot of that; many people on MeFi will be able to spot unusual processes quickly.
posted by jjsonp at 6:25 AM on January 29, 2007

Also, perhaps try ProcessExplorer- it's from Sysinternals and can be downloaded from Microsoft. It can tell you exactly what process Explorer is calling right then- and you can filter your results down to the relevant items.
posted by wzcx at 11:47 AM on January 29, 2007

Best answer: The thumbnails view vs. details view thing is a clue. Windows has to invoke a filetype-specific decoder to generate a thumbnail view. NeroVision Express is a multimedia viewer, and is probably the registered handler for certain kinds of file. If it's buggy, it may well do what you're seeing even if you're not cranking it up explicitly.
posted by flabdablet at 3:19 PM on January 29, 2007

Some viruses/malware overwrite Exlorer.exe, which might then behave quite oddly. It's always useful to run spybot, adaware and your antivirus program. There are free antivirus programs, like Panda, and one from AOL, and others, thta have good reputations.
posted by theora55 at 3:44 PM on January 29, 2007

Response by poster: After a cold reboot, the patch seems to have worked. While I never use NeroVision, I'm wondering if thw video conversions I'd been doing in iTunes for my pod could've somehow, y'know, provoked NeroVision. Whatever the culprit, this seems to be the best fix. Thanks!
posted by moonbird at 8:14 PM on January 29, 2007