Resolved: Explorer crash on Vista
I have Windows Vista on my dev box for quite some time and I felt just fine with it.
The Problem
I' had a real fun with Vista, until the day my explorer started to crash every time I tried to open the Control Panel or Network and Sharing Center . I tried to remember the things I've installed or changed recently, but without success. Then I tried to find solution by googling - failure again. I've found that sometimes explorer crash may be experienced due to enabled-by-default DEP in Vista. I've disabled it, following these instruction, but no luck. I've tried to update my drivers, disable some services and so on.
The Solution
It took me few days to realize the real reason: I've installed Firebird 1.5 few days ago. After removing it , everything was just fine.
My further investigation revealed that the problem is caused by the .cpl applet installed by the Firebird Installer.
Fortunately, there was a option to omit the Firebird .cpl. installation.
The Conclusion
Are you experiencing strange explorer crashes? Are you having crashes, while trying to open Control Panel or Network and Sharing Center?
Try to remember, what you've installed recently. Check if these apps install Control Panel Applets (*.cpl) You may search for *.cpl in Windows\System32. You may uninstall apps by launching Windows Explorer(assuming it does not crash) and navigating to MyComputer/Control Panel/Programs and Features. Do not click over Control Panel - just click over the arrow next to the Control Panel text to expand it in the folder view.
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