Windows 11 file explorer is slow and lag

was having this problem. some combination of the following fixes suggested by others seems to have solved problem. File Explorer loads quickly now.

1. ran sfc/scannow at dos prompt (run as administrator): C:\WINDOWS\system32>sfc /scannow. file checker found some corrupt files and replaced them. did not see any change in file explorer loading speed after a reboot.
2. Next day after slow load of file explorer, did Windows explorer restart using task manager.
3. with explorer open, cleared file explorer history under .... menu>options>Clear>ok

I use it because it ensures that my files are always available, on any device, wherever I go.

I also use it because it allows real time collaboration with my family, friends and co-workers (in separate onedrive accounts of course) where we can share a common file store and with today's collaboration capabilities in Microsoft Office (which I believe are associated with OneDrive) I can be working alongside 5 of my work colleagues on the same document in real time.

In short, it's awesome. The fact remains, it was working fine in Windows 10, so they need to fix this.

The only thing that's stopping me from downgrading to Windows 10 right now is that I just read that a new tabbed Explorer experience is in the DEV channel now and will be released soon. I don't know the truth of it, but I suspect that the reason they've left us all with this issue for so long is that they were building out this signficant new user experience for file explorer and the performance fix is tied to that release.

There's also a post on the Microsoft Feedback Hub - everyone should go there, upvote and post.

I don't know why anyone wants to use online syncing that's tied into an application let alone OS and expect it to be fast anyway. Anytime its alerted to a change it has to wait for syncing to happen and that will be subject to various slowdowns.

I uninstall OneDrive even with Windows 11 and everything is fast. Not seeing any issues presented here on the latest updates.

Mostly its Microsoft's fault for pushing OneDrive the way they are. Its taking over the OS more and more. Should be called OneDrive OS soon to whoever keeps it installed and uses it.

One thing I have done that seems to have helped is to unsync many of the sync folders I had set up. I work on many projects. Each project has its own folder in a site dedicated to the companies I consult with. By unsyncing many of those folders, I seem to only have a short delay. I was experiencing 10-20 seconds to navigate into a folder. Now, I only wait a couple of seconds. Also, I found that navigating into folders from the left pane of Explorer is nearly instantaneous, while double clicking on a folder in the right pane takes painfully long. I'm not sure why one pane can navigate quickly, but the other cannot.

Good Luck!

This issue continues to haunt me. I too am on the verge of going back to Windows 10. I spent 8+hrs every day at my PC working and I'm probably losing 30 minutes a day waiting for file explorer. navigation is incredibly slow, and OneDrive synching has become terrible. It takes several minutes for a single word document to sync. I'm running a solid rig with no performance issues on the hardest of tasks so it's not the PC. Was working perfectly with W10, and W11 generally runs very quickly... But Explorer... how did they break it so badly and then do nothing to fix it for so long...