File Explorer keeps going to Desktop

I'm having this same issue. However, I'm rarely browsing photos or the Photos folder, and it still happens to me. I'm a developer, and it often happens in the background while I'm working in a number of other applications. All File Explorer tabs will suddenly show "Desktop", and like @hipswich, I can indeed navigate with the back button to where I was before. However as you can imagine I have to have many Explorer windows/tabs open, so this causes great productivity slowdowns.

I have no idea what triggers this.

Followed instructions here: Using System File Checker in Windows

Log -----------------------------------------------------------------------PS > DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /RestorehealthDeployment Image Servicing and Management toolVersion: 10.0.22621.2792Image Version: 10.0.22631.3447[==========================100.0%==========================] The restore operation completed successfully.The operation completed successfully.PS > sfc /scannowBeginning system scan.  This process will take some time.Beginning verification phase of system scan.Verification 100% complete.Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Your description is exactly what I encounter. I am also a developer, not a photographer. I usually have over a dozen applications open on three monitors, and multiple windows of File Explorer. I noticed File Explorer was often showing Desktop and scratched my head for a while before I realized that I could use the back button to restore the original folders. It was happening in the background and I had no clue. I used photo folders as an example because I happened to notice one day that File Explorer went to Desktop while I was browsing photos.

Thanks for your reply. Being in dev, I guess it pains you just as much as me to not know how this is being triggered. It's valuable to have more input, as that can help hone down on the why.

One notable exception to the pattern happened yesterday. I came back to my File Explorer to find all the tabs but one navigated to Desktop: the one I had a .zip file open in. That tab was showing the contents of the archived file, and didn't navigate away to Desktop. Strange.

Just as a curiosity, do you use git? I've had a sinking feeling that when I do a commit, checkout or other changes that dynamically alter the file system, that's when the bug is triggered. Can't prove this yet.

Also, is this the best channel to notify MS of a bug? I've been searching out this issue for days and hadn't seen any mention of it until your post.

Yes, it is frustrating though it is manageable. It is a bearable major nuisance for me at this point.

Yes, I do use Git in both Visual Studio and Android Studio. As one of my previous comments reported, I disabled all non-Microsoft services and startup apps and still reproduced this issue.

A reply from the moderator suggests using Feedback Hub to report this. I have not done it. I am glad you shared your experience here. Otherwise, I might report misinformation by suggesting this is limited only to photo browsing.

If you do report it on their Feedback Hub, can you post a link to it here?