How to Restart Windows Explorer in Windows 11

Sometimes the UI for your Windows 11 system just needs a fresh start. You might have changed a setting in the registry that affects the UI -- extending the Windows context menu, for example -- and you need to restart Windows Explorer to see the change.

Or maybe something has gone haywire in your system and the taskbar has disappeared and you need it back. Again, restarting Windows Explorer is the way to solve the problem with the only other alternative being a complete reboot.

Below, we'll show you two ways to restart Windows Explorer, one that works if Explorer is already running and another for if is has already crashed.

How to restart Windows Explorer

1. Open the Task Manager. You can get there by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Task Manager.

2. Locate Windows Explorer under processes.

3. Right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.

You'll see the task bar disappear and reappear as the Windows Explorer process restarts.

How to start Windows Explorer if it has crashed

If the Windows Explorer process has terminated for some reason, your taskbars will be missing. Here's how you get it started again.

1. Hit CTRL + ALT + Delete. A full-screen menu will appear.

2. Select Task Manager.

3. Click Run new task.

4. Enter explorer.exe in the Open field and click Ok.

Now the taskbar should reappear and the Windows Explorer process will be running.