You can later assign it on a key or shortcut to relaunch explorer.exe using a keyboard. Restart Explorer.exe in Windows 11 using a scriptįinally, you can create a script to relaunch Windows Explorer on demand.

Next, launch Windows Explorer using the start explorer.exe command.The console should report terminating the process. Type taskkill /f /im explorer.exe and press Enter.

Open Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal.

To restart Explorer using Command Prompt, do the following. Keep in mind that elevated privileges are not required to restart Windows Explorer using Command Prompt. Restart Explorer using Command PromptĪlthough it is not the most convenient method, you can also restart explorer.exe in Windows 11 using Command Prompt, Windows PowerShell, or Windows Terminal. The Desktop and taskbar will briefly flash, and then appear as normal.

Wait for a second or two for Windows to restart its shell.

As an option, you can right-click Windows Explorer and select Restart.

Click on Windows Explorer, then click the Restart button in the bottom-right corner of Task Manager.

If File Explorer is not running, locate the Background processes section and scroll down to the bottom to find Windows Explorer.

If you have one or a few windows of File Explorers open, the needed process will be at the top of the list next to other programs in the Apps section.

On the Processes tab, find Windows Explorer.

Click on More details it it in simplified mode.

Open Task Manager in Windows 11 (Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc).

Restart File Explorer in Windows 11 Task Manager

Closing File Explorer and reopening it is not how you restart explorer.exe in Windows 11. Even when the program is not open, Windows keeps running explorer.exe in the background, as it displays the desktop, taskbar, Start menu, and other parts of the user interface. Keep in mind that you cannot simply close all File Explorer windows. Add Restart Explorer Context Menu Restart File Explorer in Windows 11

Restarting windows explorer