I can't open iExplorer 3 in Windows. I get a splash screen and then it closes.

This article is for iExplorer 3 only. If you are experiencing this in iExplorer 4, please refer to iExplorer 4 for Windows is crashing on launch & will not stay open. 

If a Macroplant Crash Reporter window is not coming up, and you just see the splash screen come up (an iExplorer icon with a water splash) and then iExplorer closes entirely, first make sure that iTunes is open and working. If iTunes is open and running fine, then make sure that you are fully up-to-date for your iTunes and Windows updates. In iTunes, just click on Help menu Check for Updates. For Windows, just go into Control Panel System and Security Windows Update. 

If you are sure that iTunes and Windows are fully up to date, try uninstalling iExplorer 3 in Control Panel Uninstall a program and then reinstall iExplorer from the link below. During the install dialogs, choose to not install CBFS (Callback File System by Eldos) which is only needed for mounting your device into Windows Explorer. Just leave the box for CBFS unchecked and click Next. 

https://macroplant.com/iexplorer/download-ie3-pc

Once reinstalled without CBFS, try launching iExplorer 3 again. 

If you still can't get iExplorer 3 to stay open after reinstalling without CBFS,it might be due to another app blocking iExplorer 3 from opening, and I would recommend looking in your System Tray in the lower right corner for any antivirus or other PC security apps that are running and might be preventing iExplorer 3 from staying open. Sometimes those programs can be a little overzealous and falsely flag iExplorer as a threat when it certainly is not. If you do find one running, please try completely closing it and reopen iExplorer. If that works, and if you want to use iExplorer 3 without disabling your security app(s), you’ll need to find a way to make an exception within that app for iExplorer to stay open and not be blocked, and in some cases, it requires releasing iExplorer 3 from “quarantine”. You may need to contact the maker of the security app to find out the best way to do this and how it works.

If the issue still happens while your PC security apps are disabled, try reinstalling iTunes from the link below. You won't lose any of your iTunes media or device backups during this process:

https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win64

If reinstalling iTunes doesn't help, you could also try running a Windows system scan. To do this, open the Run app and run this command:

"sfc /scannow"

Just search Windows for the Run app and once opened, enter the command above and press enter. Then, try opening iExplorer again after the scan is complete. 

If you still can't get iExplorer 3 to stay open after everything above, to help isolate what might be causing this, you should try creating a new Windows user to make sure it’s not an issue caused by your particular Windows user account configuration. You can go into Control Panel and choose Add or Remove User Accounts Create New Account. Then, log into that user, open iTunes, agree to any of Apple’s terms, and then try using iExplorer. This will help show whether it’s an issue specific to that user account and will help isolate what’s causing the issue.