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

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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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-07-10T03:37:18+00:00

    I don't know what the business scheme is here with these MVP's but these suggestions are always the first 5 google results and they are super entry level. I want real accountability and real specific support from a microsoft employee. Windows 11 explorer is garbage. The settings are garbage. All is garbage. It's windows 7 with layers and layers of obnoxious skins on top. There ar usually 4 levels of settings for stuff as simple as microphone levels. I hate windows and I hate apple too.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-06-01T06:43:05+00:00

    WINDOWS 11 IS SO BAD MY COMPUTER IS BRAND NEW AND ITS ALWAYS GOING SLOW I REGRET BUYING WINDOWS

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-04-17T18:05:52+00:00

    These are the steps I did to fix the slow file explorer for myself. Not sure if it will work for everyone, but its near instant for me now.

    1. Open File Explorer.
    2. Click on the three dots menu.
    3. Click on options.
    4. click on the view tab.
    5. Enable 'Launch folder windows in a separate process".
    6. Click apply.
    7. Done!

    Hope this works!

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-03-29T14:32:20+00:00

    Thank you for providing a working answer (and not a bulleted list of a Google search). This was it for me. Loading went from several seconds to near instantaneous.

    Amazing how helpful the "non" professionals are!

    Windows Explorer was slow to load on a brand new, fast gaming PC. I finally tracked it down to a checked box next to "Show files from Office.com". After unchecking that box, Explorer loads instantaneously.Image

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