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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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. Les Ferch 10,361 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-04-19T17:28:59+00:00

    I am having similar issues. I cannot rename my files half the time. But my biggest issue is that I cannot even move files. Even when I choose shift and pull the file to another folder (and it says "moving to folder"), it still just copies it. So I still have to delete the file in the original location (which gives me the popup that the file is open in Windows Explorer).

    So now I'm just duplicating files everywhere. This is ridiculous. I've tried many of the suggestions on here and recently updated Windows 11 last night. No fix. This is crazy that MS has not fixed this already! Do they not check these issues we post about?

    The thing is, these issues are not happening to everyone and, as you can see from all the responses, there are many different potential solutions. Think about processes that are running all the time that may affect performance, such as AV software (do you have anything other than Windows Defender?), encryption (are you using Bitlocker or similar?), third-party add-on visual or functional enhancements, etc. Also consider that large numbers of files, especially ones that have meta data, such as photos and videos, will potentially cause more delays. Splitting files into subfolders may help. Indexing is also a potential source of delays, whether its Explorer's built-in indexing or a third-party search tool. Try starting up in Safe Mode and see if that makes any difference. I wish there was a magic bullet for issues like these, but it typically takes a lot of trial and error to narrow down. Also keep in mind that the amount of available RAM can make a huge difference. Sometimes, adding more memory (RAM, not storage), can make all the difference. That's not always possible (i.e. a thin laptop may already be maxed out) but it's never a bad move when it can be done.

    A small helpful tip for now... to move files, try cut and paste instead of dragging.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-04-19T16:55:48+00:00

    I am having similar issues. I cannot rename my files half the time. But my biggest issue is that I cannot even move files. Even when I choose shift and pull the file to another folder (and it says "moving to folder"), it still just copies it. So I still have to delete the file in the original location (which gives me the popup that the file is open in Windows Explorer).

    So now I'm just duplicating files everywhere. This is ridiculous. I've tried many of the suggestions on here and recently updated Windows 11 last night. No fix. This is crazy that MS has not fixed this already! Do they not check these issues we post about?

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  3. Les Ferch 10,361 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-04-17T21:58:27+00:00

    In the end, a Windows reset was the only thing that solved the issue, but that is the “nuclear” option that required me to reinstall all of my apps and programmes.

    Did you try a Repair Install before doing a complete wipe and reinstall?

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-04-17T21:41:31+00:00

    For me, opening task manager and closing memory sucking processes like OneDrive worked. File explorer then opened immediately.

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