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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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
    2022-12-29T11:12:31+00:00

    This seems to have fixed my slow/laggy explorer issues! Thank you!

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-12-25T01:24:16+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.

    Thank you SO much, Sam! Explorer would open quickly for me, but whenever I navigated to my Documents, Downloads, One Drive, or other folders, there would be a very long delay in recent weeks. It was driving me nuts. Turns out, I had two inaccessible shared folders on another computer (the computer has been turned off) in my Quick Access list. As soon as I removed those links from Quick Access, the problem was gone. YOU ROCK!

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    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2022-12-18T10:16:37+00:00

    I have sent an email to Mr Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO) and I got a reply from Dimitar P. (Executive Customer Relations - Customer Service & Support (CSS) ) with the following solution, so I gave Windows 11 a second chance and reload it back to my PC from my Backup image.

    So far after applying all the steps sent to my by Mr Dimitar P. File explorer on my PC is working without any issues.

    Here are the steps:

    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

    Disable and Enable Search Indexing:

    Launch Command Prompt as an administrator

    Execute the following command to disable Search Indexing.

    sc stop “wsearch” && sc config “wsearch” start=disabled

    Execute the following command to enable Search Indexing

    sc config “wsearch” start=delayed-auto && sc start “wsearch”

    Rebuild Search index:

    Search out “Indexing Options” from the Start Menu.

    Click Advanced.

    Now, click Rebuild. You will be asked to confirm your action, so, click Ok.

    Run the commands:

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

    DISM /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup /resetbase

    DISM /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup

    Chkdsk c: /f /r /x

    Be aware that all the steps mention here will erase all your Pinned folders/files and all your folders view settings.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-12-15T22:43:17+00:00

    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.

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