An Attempt Was Made to Reference a Token That Does Not Exist [Tutorial] 


Commands Shown: for /f %s in ('dir /b *.dll') do regsvr32 /s %s 


sfc /scannow 


If your Windows File Explorer has stopped working and you see an error while trying to open it – An attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist, then this post may be able to help you. Initially, this issue was reported after the April Update and Microsoft resolved it after correcting the build. However, users are reporting it till very recent. This issue has been reported with utilities like the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), Visual Studio, Printer, Task Manager, Recycle Bin, etc. too. 


An attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist The most probable cause of this issue a troublesome Windows Update. It could also be caused by corrupted system file. 


Some users have been reporting that they are unable to open Explorer.exe after upgrading to Windows 10 or after installing a Windows update (most likely the April’s Creators Update). The error message that is displayed is: “An attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist”. 


Issues addressed in this tutorial: 

an attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist, 

an attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist windows 10 

an attempt was made to reference a token that does not exist windows 7 

an attempt was made to reference a token that does 

an attempt was made to reference a token that doesn't exist explorer.exe 


This tutorial will apply for computers, laptops, desktops,and tablets running the Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7 operating systems.Works for all major computer manufactures (Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung).