Windows Explorer Shuts down

My problem is with Windows Explorer. I have a Gateway 500S Plus. Pentium 4 2.4 MHz. 512 MB Ram, WinXP Home.
When I open Windows Explorer and click on a folder, then click on file or edit I get the hour glass and explorer shuts down and my icons dissapear and then reappear. I have reinstalled windows, ran Avast anti virus ( always kept updated), Spy Bot, Ad-aware 6, bazooka, and Norton utilities. I also have ZoneAlarm version 5.0.590.043 protecting my system. Nothing fixed my problem. I searched Google and found nothing. I have done no recent installs or upgrades.