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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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: Oldest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-05T17:42:42+00:00

    This issue is sooooooooooo old now and super frustrating! This thread is almost a year old and has been going on for far too long. Microsoft has NO clear cut answer to this issue and by now I would think this would have been solved. The ultimate answer can not be loading W10 on your PC, which from exhaustive surfing to find the answer, is the only thing that I've seen that is a permanent solution. Why don't we have an answer by now????

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-10-05T17:58:43+00:00

    He Microsoft, why not listen??? Windows 11 was supposed to be better than 10, but it is not. File access is slow, cannot download pictures from phones organized by date taken, many other bugs!!!! Please clean it up.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-05T20:56:39+00:00

    The only solution that works, albeit temporarily, is to click on the three dots nest to the "view" tab, then click on "view" and then click on "reset folders". Once you do this, File Explorer is fast and responsive again - for about a week or so, then you have to do it again.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-10-06T00:23:14+00:00

    From following this thread for a while it seems there are at least two, maybe three, different slowness issues people are experiencing.

    (1) Sounds like a memory leak where file explorer gets slower with more use until the process is restarted or computer restarted.

    (2) The second sounds similar but may be related to processing the file history / quick access.

    (3) The third (which I have) is related to the number of OneDrive accounts and synced. There is no quick solution to this problem: full screen F11, clearing history, restarting pc/processes, etc - nothing fixes it. It is always super slow, with 3+ second delay navigating upon folder double click.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments