Fix Explorer.exe Error with Yellow Exclamation at Startup

Ramesh

9 years ago

When you log on to your user account in Windows 8 or 10, Explorer.exe error message with yellow exclamation may appear, containing no message text. This may occur mainly in the aftermath of removing malware from the system.

Fix: Explorer.exe Error with Yellow Exclamation

To fix the Explorer.exe error at startup, remove the reference to a non-existent file from one of the startup locations in the registry. Here is how to do so.

Press WinKey + R to bring up the Run dialog.
Type regedit.exe and click OK.
In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following registry location:
```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
```
Then, double-click the value named “Load” and clear the existing data (set it blank).
Important: If you get an error saying: “Cannot edit Load: Error writing the value’s new contents“, then re-run the Registry Editor under LocalSystem rights. Alternately, take ownership of the registry key and then clear the Load registry data.
Exit the Registry Editor.

Note: The above location is one of the many startup launch-points in Windows, and some viruses/malware add entries there. The value may be pointing to a malware file that is non-existent after malware cleanup. To manage startup programs easily, use the free Autoruns utility from Microsoft.