File attachment in Gmail causes all browsers to crash

A customer brought their laptop in today as they weren’t able to send attachments in Gmail. Everytime they tried to select a file it would result in the browser crashing and having to use Task Manager to end the application.

I experienced the same problem in Chrome, Edge and Firefox so I knew it wasn’t a browser issue but something within Windows.

I tried the following but none of them worked but they are worth trying yourself to see if they solve the problem:

• Run Malwarebytes
• Disabled Norton firewall and Norton anti-virus protection
• Changed File Explorer view from Quick Access to This PC
• Uninstalled McAfee Personal Security program

I solved the problem by creating a new user account and when I logged into Gmail and tried attaching documents it worked perfectly everytime. Now it was just a matter of copying the customer’s personal files from his old user profile to the new one.