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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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
    2024-10-07T05:41:31+00:00

    Windows 11 24H2

    In my case, the Explorer only loaded some folders much more slowly. I tried all the tips in this thread up to this point, without success. Ultimately, I was able to narrow down the effect to my current profile.

    With a new user profile, the problem disappeared.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-07-29T13:09:23+00:00

    This is because Windows always release half-backed products. They don't care about the impact on people's computer systems, not like Apple. Even though Apple is so expensive they never release half-backed software. That's why people are so reluctant to install new windows updates once they are released, unlike IOS updates.

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  3. Les Ferch 10,361 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-03-13T22:07:10+00:00

    There is no new information there and that's just one of many things that can contribute to slow downs in Explorer. It's not a panacea.

    It's also important to understand that deleting the BagMRU/Bags keys will reset all of your folder views to Windows defaults.

    I covered all of this in my reply way back on page 5 here on April 13, 2023. As I stated there, it makes more sense to use my WinSetView tool to reset the views (and optionally set all folders to Generic). At least then, you will be resetting your folder views to your preferences instead of Microsoft's.

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-12-29T11:12:31+00:00

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

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