MATLAB: Do I receive ‘Warning: Unable to create com.mathwo​rks.mde.ex​plorer.Exp​lorer’ at MATLAB start up

corruptinstallationlayoutMATLABpreferencesstartup

When starting MATLAB, I see in my Command Window the following error message:
 
Warning: Unable to create com.mathworks.mde.explorer.Explorer, for details see
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Temp\MATLABDesktopCreateError.log
The log file shows the following:
java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
at com.mathworks.sourcecontrol.SCAdapterConnectionManager.<init>(SCAdapterConnectionManager.java:71)
at com.mathworks.sourcecontrol.SCAdapterConnectionManager.<init>(SCAdapterConnectionManager.java:38)
at com.mathworks.sourcecontrol.SCAdapterConnectionManager$SCAdapterConnectionManagerHolder.<clinit>(SCAdapterConnectionManager.java:79)
    …
I have tried recreating my preferences directory as well as set full permissions yet the issue persists. How can I fix the issue? 

Best Answer

The issue may be due to a corrupt installation of MATLAB. In one case, MATLAB would crash when trying to set the Layout to 'Default' or more specifically, when trying to enable the Current Folder display. 
I would attempt a clean reinstallation before proceeding. To do this, please remove the following files/folders:
  1. MathWorks Folder, typically located in your Downloads directory
  2. temp_matlab_R20XXx<arch>, also located in your Downloads directory
  3. MATLAB Installer, also located in your Downloads directory
Afterwards, uninstall MATLAB and go through the installation process once more. 
 
Related Question