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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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
    2024-03-12T18:51:40+00:00

    Personally, it's slow because it seems to index every time I open it. It wait to connect and index a distant server (a folder on my mac laptop) to start showing my stuff. Without this distant folder, it would be ok I guess. I think they made effort to speed it up in the past year (?!?)

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-03-12T19:36:05+00:00

    I have 2 Windows 11 systems (Desktop and Laptop). The Desktop has 3 external drives because of the limited SSD space. On Windows 10 the access to SSD and external USB drives was faster than the cloud. With Windows 11 the speed switched, local access (both USB drive and SSD) is slower than the cloud. This appears like a design choice by Microsoft.

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-03-12T20:32:10+00:00

    Oh my goodness this fixed my problem. I will be replacing Microsoft's File Explorer with this on every machine I use.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-03-13T21:43:05+00:00

    That is an excellent video. Thank you! I have tested it to ensure that it does work.

    Yet, it does overkill. Also, the problem that many of us are having was due to memory leaks caused by components in Microsoft's free Open Source PowerToys (Preview) that, starting around the same time as the 23H2 release (which is why 23H2 and File Explorer got blamed for this issue), retained resources in the in-memory block of Windows Explorer while File Explorer was running with External Drives. The PowerToys Update a few days ago all but eliminated it. I am present trying to track down EXACTLY what is still forcing a very slow trickle-leak while external drives are being browsed over extended periods.

    Having said that, Daniels Paul's YT vid is informative, regardless that he drank too many energy drinks before making it. Just look at those eyes 👀!

    All we really need to do is remove the Bag and BagMRU registry entries from the Hive.

    To do so, add the following 4 lines to a file named KillBags.reg (the blank line following 'Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00' is required):
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell\Bags]
    [-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell\BagsMRU]

    Launch this file from Explorer by double-clicking it, then reboot the system afterward when it is convenient. Actually, this might not be needed, but it is good to reboot periodically, anyway, especially with all the recent solar activity (God help us if we have another solar event like the Carrington event in 1854 -- everything electronic that uses unhardened microchips -- microwaves, cell phones, tv's, cars, smart appliances, etc., would be rendered inoperable).

    Paul's video next shows how to re-add \Bags\AllFolders\Shell, but that is not necessary because the Windows Restart will re-add this registry path anyway. However, he does tell us to add the text "NotSpecified" to a new String Value "FolderType" there, but we should only do this if we do not want File Explorer to remember layout customizations for folder pages, such as Video, Picture, etc., instead remaining the default of General, which will keep Explorer running at its fastest.

    If we do not want folders to remember customized settings, but to always remain Type GENERAL, add the following 4 lines to a BagsNotSpecified.reg file and launch it.
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell]
    "FolderType"="NotSpecified"

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