Windows 11 file explorer is slow, lagging, hangs!

Anonymous
2022-11-06T07:07:24+00:00

Hi,

I have a very strong PC with Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe, Intel i7-9700K, 32GB Memory and ASUS ROG Strix Z390-H Gaming.
When my PC was on Windows 10 there was no problem with File Explorer but after upgrading to Windows 11 I am facing a problem with file explorer slow, lagging, hangs even when just renaming a file.
Only full PC restart is solving the problem for a short time.

How to solve this problem on windows 11 please?

Thanks,
AG

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2022-11-28T14:17:19+00:00

I also experienced Lags with the Explorer:

  1. On Windows 10, i could solve them by removing external file-drives (SMB) from Quick-Access. I created a folder with Links to the drives instead and explorer was fast again. Probably the explorer tried to connect to these drives and for some reason failed, even though the connection was up and working.
  2. On Windows 11 on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active:
    Image The problems came with the "Home"-Button, which was added at some point. Also the "Please sign in" only shows when selecting the "Home"-Button.

This might also be related to an account i am unable to remove:
Image
Clicking on 'Manage' opens the login-page for the first account and i can not find the old account in the first account to remove it.

Can your problem also be associated with one of the issues above?

Does anyone know how to solve the second issue by e.g. disabling the "Home" button, changing the account in the explorer or removing a no longer existing old account?

Updated Info / what i use:

  1. Don't use mapped Drives oder External Folders in Quick-Access. Keep all pinned-directories pointing to local files / folders. Instead, save them as files / links:

Image

  1. Disable OneDrive.exe in StartUp-Apps. If this still does not help, completely disable or remove onedrive: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/turn-off-disable-or-uninstall-onedrive-f32a17ce-3336-40fe-9c38-6efb09f944b0 
  2. 'Home' as startup-folder seems to also be slow, change it: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/how-set-start-location-file-explorer-windows-10/
    Image

Was this answer helpful?

80+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

276 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-01-08T17:25:39+00:00

    I've done some testing and OneDrive / SharePoint locations in Windows Explorer are increasingly laggy as your amount of synced items increases. See link below. This was not an issue on Windows 10!

    Was this answer helpful?

    9 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-08-01T19:13:11+00:00

    You are a total star!!!

    Just by following just the below process it sorted my slow Explorer issue.

    Clear File Explorer Cache:

    Open RUN box

    In the text field of the dialogue box, type the command mentioned below and hit Enter.

    C:\Users%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

    Once you are in the AutomaticDestinations folder, delete all its contents

    Was this answer helpful?

    8 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2023-01-03T14:19:44+00:00

    Didn't work for me. The only thing that works consistently is to restart Windows 11. What a step backwards Microsoft took with Windows 11.

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2022-11-14T21:07:11+00:00

    Hi man,

    My money is on the SSD. I have almost the exact setup you're listing there. I got the I5 9400F and the MSI version of the Z390 but the rest is the same. 32Gigs of RAM, and the 970 Evo.

    My money's on the NVMe. I mean, I've been having these slowdowns since a few months. This morning I couldn't stand them anymore. I disabled the drive compression on my D: drive. Thought that had an effect. Nope.

    I'm backed up...updated...I even updated the BIOS. Nada.

    Then I thought...maybe it's the NVMe! I mean...it's fast...but defects happen....I had a Corsair M250 NVMe in the past. It followed a similar pattern. Started out looking really good and then, about a year later boom! slowdowns everywhere...

    I might not make any sense here and I could be wrong, but think about that NVMe...I'm gonna swap it out and try something else to see if it has an effect.

    I'll back with news!

    Cheers!

    Was this answer helpful?

    7 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments