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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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
    2023-11-29T07:49:29+00:00

    So I am nothing but an old dude who knows how to delete ****. After this issue plagued me for weeks and I tried everything here I said time to hit the delete key. After deleting nearly everything on my computer app by app and retesting I found that Apple was the culprit once again! The issue for me which I have now confirmed by reproducing twice was iCloud for Windows. The file was Apple??DAV which apparently connects the browser ?? (my lingo as I think it was IE or Firefox but I don't recall) to iCloud. I killed this and instantly issue is gone. I rebooted and it put it back. I tried unclicking the browser choice in iCloud settings but this crashed the entire iCloud app. I reinstalled and it recurred. I uninstalled and my computer was like new. So, give this a try. I am not sure I need iAnything anymore including the iPhone, but for now, I have deleted iCloud for Windows and all is good. Please drop me a line if this works for you. I have never had APPLE fix anything so I did not waste my time telling them. I am sure they already know and don't care.

    PS don't ask me technical jargon questions as I will not know the answer- that is what the smart people here are for. I just turn stuff off till the other stuff works.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-11-29T15:23:22+00:00

    It's laughable that the one job Windows is supposed to do is display files in folders, and it can't even seem to do that reliably any more.

    Windows has existed since the mid-late 80's but with each passing version the developers seem to forget what it is. It's supposed to operate my system, not kill it with cancer.

    Imagine right-clicking on a file expecting the expansive menu full of all the options you're used to (and are actually looking for), but instead getting a Fisher Price My-First-Operating-System list of basic interactions for basic humans.

    Ugh. It seems there's only 1 logical answer to this question and that is choose a different OS.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-11-29T17:04:16+00:00

    Or we can try a different file explorer.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-01T23:29:09+00:00

    ...and THAT is why a monopoly is a bad thing! Granted, Microsoft does not actually have a monopoly, they have become SOOOOO big, that they act like it and completely ignore the individual user.

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