You may want to try running the internet explorer repair.
I know you said this was an explorer problem…
You may also want to see that active desktop is turned off and see if that helps.
(right click on the desktop – not on any icons – see that show web content on desktop is unchecked)
I’ll check back here in a few mins and if your on we can discuss in a messenger service to look and see if there are any recognizable bad things in your startup before you reboot….
Rick
Universal4