How to Restart Windows Explorer on Windows 11 and What Happens When You Do It

Windows Explorer is the gateway to the Graphical User Interface (GUI) with which we navigate the Windows operating system. It is the user shell that lets one explore the desktop, the File Manager, the Start Menu and the taskbar, and a host of other things linked to it. In certain situations, you may be required to restart it, such as when one or more of its elements start to glitch or if your screen freezes.

With Windows 11, Microsoft has greatly propped up Windows Explorer and ‘centralized’ the whole experience. But the ways to restart it are still the same. Here we take a look at how to restart Windows Explorer and what happens when you do so.

What happens when you restart Windows explorer (and when should you do it)?

Restarting Windows Explorer is just like restarting any other application – it shuts down the user shell and starts it back up again. This means that all the processes that are dependent on it, such as the desktop, the taskbar, the Start Menu, and the File Explorer will all reload, thereby fixing any little issues that there might have been. If your system is freezing or lagging, restarting Windows Explorer is often enough to resolve the issue.

It is good to know how to go about doing so as this is one of the fastest ways of fixing a stuttering desktop experience or an unresponsive taskbar. Windows Explorer needs to restart whenever you make changes to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry as well, which is another reason to know how to do so.

You can also simply end Windows Explorer without restarting it. If you do so, you will be left with a blank desktop with no taskbar or the Start Menu. The file explorer won’t be available either. But starting it back up again is a cinch.

Restart File Explorer on Windows 11

Here are all the ways that you can restart Windows Explorer on Windows 11. Note that although the visual references shown in this guide are of Windows 11, these methods work for Windows 10 as well.

Method 1: Using Task Manager

1. First up, open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc simultaneously. Alternatively, you can also simply right-click the Start menu and select Task Manager.

2. Click on More details if the Task Manager opens in miniature form.

3. Scroll through the Processes and find Windows Explorer. Select it and then click on Restart towards the bottom right corner.

The visual elements on your screen will disappear momentarily and then return. This means that Windows Explorer was successfully closed and restarted.

Method 2: Using Command Prompt/Windows Terminal/PowerShell

Another way to restart Windows Explorer is through a Windows Terminal such as the Command Prompt or PowerShell. In our example, we’re going with the former but the commands are the same for both.

1. Press Start, type cmd (or powershell), and then click on Run as administrator.

2. Now type the following command: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

3. Then press Enter. As soon as you do that, you will see the desktop turn black and the Start menu and the taskbar disappear. This means that you have successfully closed Windows Explorer. To start it back up again, type the following command: start explorer.exe

4. Then press Enter. The visual elements will return promptly.

Method 3: Using a batch script

You can also create a batch script to restart Windows Explorer so that the next time you need to do so, you need only to double-click on it. Here’s how:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select New > Text document.

2. Create a new text file, then type the following:

   @echo off

   taskkill /f /im explorer.exe

   start explorer.exe

3. Save as a .bat (or save the file and rename it to "name.bat")

4. Your batch file to restart Windows Explorer is now created on the desktop. Whenever you need to restart Windows Explorer next, simply double-click on this .bat file.

Add Restart Explorer to the Context Menu

If the aforementioned methods seem too elaborate to you, you can add an option to restart Windows Explorer to the context menu (right click) for easier access. However, to do so, you’ll have to create a registry file specific to the task. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Download the attached file and unpack it.

2. Now double-click the registry file "Add_Restart_Explorer_Context_Menu.reg".

3. When prompted, click Yes.

4. You will now get a confirmation message that the keys and values in this file are successfully added to the registry. Click OK.

To see the new context menu option to Restart Windows Explorer, right-click on the desktop and select Show more options.

Remove Restart Explorer from the Context Menu

If you’d like to remove this option, download the attached file and double-click the registry file "Remove_Restart_Explorer_Context_Menu.reg"

Restart_Explorer_Context_Menu.zip