How to restart explorer.exe in 2025?

[Michael Phillips]

I’m running Windows 11 (latest updates installed as of 2025), and occasionally the taskbar or file explorer becomes unresponsive. In older versions, I used to restart explorer.exe through Task Manager or Command Prompt. Just want to confirm if the process is still the same in 2025, or if Microsoft changed anything.

 

[Jyoti]

How to restart explorer.exe:​

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Find Windows Explorer, right-click it, and choose Restart.

Or:

1. End Windows Explorer in Task Manager.
2. Click File > Run new task, type explorer.exe, and hit Enter.

Done!

 

[royjasika]

To restart explorer.exe in 2025 on Windows, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Locate Windows Explorer under the Processes tab, right-click, and select Restart. Alternatively, end the task, then go to File > Run new task, type explorer.exe, and press Enter to relaunch Windows Explorer.