Many support calls can be avoided through simple solutions such as restarting your computer. Other problems are... no so easy! Check back to this page from time to time to see new tips and recommendations on how to maintain your desktop or laptop computer.

Q: My computer was recently downgraded to Windows XP and I keep getting an explorer.exe error. What is going on?

A: This message usually only appears when you first log in, but it could continue to reappear if you don't fix it right away. The error probably says something like "Explorer.exe has generated errors and will be closed by Windows."

This error can be caused by a number of things, but in this cause it sounds like it's caused by a Norton CleanSweep program that may have been installed on your computer in the previous operating system. There are a few methods you can use to resolve this issue and they are explained below.

Method One

After you receive the error message, immediately press Ctrl + Alt + Del to open the Task Manager. Once in there, click on the New Task button, type "control" in the box and press Enter on your keyboard. This will then open the Control Panel. Click on the Add/Remove Programs link and a list of all your currently installed programs will appear. Find the one that says CleanSweep and then click on the Change/Remove button. Then just remove the CleanSweep program and restart your computer.

Method Two

When you see the error message, restart your computer and when you see the boot menu, press F8 on your keyboard. This will bring up the options to start your computer in safe mode. Next, choose the Safe Mode Command Prompt option. Log in to your computer and then type "appwiz.cpl" in the available box and press Enter on your keyboard. This will then open the Add/Remove Programs Wizard. You will see a list of the programs you have already installed on your computer. Click on CleanSweep and then on the Change/Remove button. Remove CleanSweep from your computer and then restart.

Method Three

Once the error message comes up on your screen, restart your computer and when you see the boot menu, press F8 on your keyboard to go into safe mode. Select the Safe Mode Command Prompt option. Next, find the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder. This is also typically called the C:\WINNT\System32 folder. Open that folder and find the file that is titled Apitrap.dll. Right click on that file and choose Rename. Then type in Apitrap.old as its new name. Then just restart your computer.

Choose whatever method is best for you to solve the explorer.exe problem. The first method is probably the easiest, so you may want to try that one before you do anything else.