{"id":1385,"date":"2015-12-25T09:51:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-25T04:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=1385"},"modified":"2022-09-03T11:07:47","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T05:37:47","slug":"exit-explorer-restart-windows-10-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/exit-explorer-restart-windows-10-8\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Restart Explorer.exe Cleanly in Windows 10 or 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Earlier, we learned how to exit and restart the explorer shell<\/a> safely in earlier versions of Windows. Task Manager has the Restart Explorer<\/strong> option in Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11 that lets you gracefully restart the explorer shell.<\/p>\n

But, if you want to terminate the Explorer shell (and want to restart it later, manually), it’s much simpler. On Windows 8 and Windows 10, the hidden “Exit Explorer” option exists in the Taskbar context menu (instead of the Start menu in earlier Windows versions). However, Windows 11 (up until build 21H2), doesn’t have the “Exit Explorer” option.<\/span><\/p>\n

A clean restart or graceful restart of the Explorer shell means that the settings, such as desktop icon layout, Taskbar preferences, etc., will be saved when Explorer exits. Whereas forcibly terminating explorer.exe processes<\/a> using Task Manager (End Process), Taskkill.exe or Tskill.exe abruptly kills the Explorer shell without letting it complete its work.<\/em><\/p>\n

When you restart the explorer.exe shell process, Taskbar and Start menu are completely refreshed, and pending registry modifications, if any, take effect after restarting the shell.<\/em><\/p>\n

The two methods to gracefully exit and restart explorer are covered in this article.<\/p>\n

Restart Explorer.exe Cleanly in Windows 10\/11<\/h2>\n

Follow one of these methods to restart the shell cleanly:<\/p>\n

Method 1: Exit Explorer and Start a new Explorer.exe<\/h3>\n

This method involves exiting the Explorer shell using the hidden Exit Explorer<\/strong> command in the right-click menu on Windows 10. In Step 2, initiate a new explorer.exe process using Task Manager.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> Windows 11 does not<\/strong> have the “Exit Explorer” hidden context menu option, as the Taskbar doesn’t have a context menu. That said, this method applies only to<\/strong> Windows 10. Hopefully, Microsoft will add the handy “Exit Explorer’ option in future Windows 11 builds.<\/em><\/p>\n

Step 1: Exit Explorer via Taskbar Right-click Menu<\/h4>\n

Press and hold the Ctrl<\/kbd> and Shift<\/kbd> keys, and right-click an empty area in the Taskbar.<\/p>\n

Click the Exit Explorer<\/b> extended menu option that appears.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This closes the Explorer shell cleanly. At this stage, your Taskbar and Start menu will disappear. They reappear only after you start a new Explorer.exe (shell) process.<\/p>\n

Step 2: Start a new Explorer.exe (Shell) process using Task Manager<\/h4>\n

To start the Explorer shell again:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Start Task Manager (Ctrl<\/kbd> + Shift<\/kbd> + Esc<\/kbd>)<\/li>\n
  2. Click the File menu, click Run new task<\/b><\/li>\n
  3. Type explorer<\/b> and press ENTER<\/kbd>
    \n<\/li>\n
  4. Close Task Manager.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Method 2: Restart Explorer using Task Manager<\/h3>\n

    Now here is an even better option. Task Manager can gracefully terminate and restart the Explorer shell at once. This method works on Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Open Task Manager and scroll down to Windows processes<\/b> category.<\/li>\n
    2. Right-click Windows Explorer in the list, and click Restart
      \n
      \n<\/b><\/li>\n
    3. Close Task Manager<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      This closes the Windows Explorer shell safely and restarts it automatically!<\/p>\n

      RELATED: <\/em><\/strong>Restart Explorer Gracefully Using a Shortcut, Command-line or via Right-click menu<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

      Editor’s Note: <\/b>The Task Manager option restarts the shell immediately. Whereas using the first method, you decide when to restart the shell after exiting it. Choose whichever option suits you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Earlier, we learned how to exit and restart the explorer shell safely in earlier versions of Windows. Task Manager has the Restart Explorer option in Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11 that lets you gracefully restart the explorer shell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,869,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","category-windows-8"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4931,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/restart-explorer-gracefully-shortcut-command\/","url_meta":{"origin":1385,"position":0},"title":"How to Restart Explorer Cleanly Using Shortcut or Command-line","author":"Ramesh","date":"December 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When you make changes to the Windows registry using the Registry Editor, script or any other automation tool, you may have to logoff and login back for the changes to take effect. That's especially true if you're altering the UI element metrics or changing the shell namespace folder icons etc.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"restart explorer gracefully","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/restart-explorer-gracefully.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/restart-explorer-gracefully.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/restart-explorer-gracefully.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":227,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/how-to-terminate-and-restart-explorerexe-process-cleanly-in-windows-7-and-vista\/","url_meta":{"origin":1385,"position":1},"title":"Exit and Restart Explorer.exe Cleanly in Windows 7 and Vista","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"To restart Explorer to test a registry setting without a reboot, we usually terminate the Explorer shell (explorer.exe) using Task Manager. The Task Manager method is like forcibly killing the process instead of terminating it cleanly. Jeff, a Software Design Engineer at Microsoft, posted a great tip on how to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 7"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 7","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-7\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/exitexplorer.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":984,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/fix-desktop-icons-layout-not-saved-restart\/","url_meta":{"origin":1385,"position":2},"title":"Fix for Desktop Icons Layout Not Getting Saved Upon Restarting Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows saves the desktop icon layout when the user logs off, and the setting is read during logon. Recently I came across a case where the desktop icons rearrange to their default positions after a restart or logoff\/login cycle. This turned out to be a Permissions issue with a registry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"exit explorer windows 10","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/exit-expl-w10.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9397,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/desktop-or-folders-not-refreshing-automatically-in-windows\/","url_meta":{"origin":1385,"position":3},"title":"Folders not refreshing automatically in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"May 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In File Explorer or on the desktop, when you create, delete, rename, or move a file or folder, the folder view does not refresh automatically to reflect the action. 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