Win11 Closing a window via the X button sometimes restarts File Explorer

Closing a File Explorer window should not restart Explorer or close every open folder, so this is a crash rather than normal X-button behavior. Install Windows updates and restart first. Reproduce it with a local folder; if it affects only particular locations, note whether they are network, OneDrive, archive, or removable-drive folders. Disable non-Microsoft shell extensions and context-menu add-ins, because they load inside Explorer and can crash the process when windows close. In an elevated Command Prompt, run DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth, then sfc /scannow, and restart. Clear File Explorer history from File Explorer Options and test with “Launch folder windows in a separate process” enabled. Reliability Monitor should show the faulting module for each explorer.exe failure; include that module name, Windows build, and timestamp if you report it. If a clean boot or new profile stops it, re-enable extensions or startup items gradually to identify the component.