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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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
    2023-06-07T13:36:14+00:00

    I noticed everyone was reporting that the slowness is happening because of Explorer trying to load the Home area. I noticed the same issue on my side and haven't tried the clearing of recently used files fix yet. I did find that if I set Explorer to default to "This PC" that it doesn't slow down when I initially open it. As you may have guessed, it is because explorer loads the Home section only when its selected and not on startup. I know its not a true fix for those that want to use the Home area but its something to check out. Here is a screenshot of where the setting is in Folder Options

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-05-29T19:02:39+00:00

    This has helped me. Thanks so much!!

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-05-26T20:17:10+00:00

    Tried this, it has worked so far - maybe 10 days, longer than anything else but this has happened before and then W11 has reverted. Agree with lots of postings, Microsoft's attitude seems to be, "Naughty schoolchildren, do as you are told, we can't possibly be wrong"! Something about pride and a fall maybe?

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-04-22T17:43:16+00:00

    From my testing, your best bet for improving Windows 11 File Explorer speed, is to enable the option to make all folders Generic (which causes File Explorer to disable its automatic folder type discovery)

    Disabling 'Automatic folder type discovery' did the trick for me : now File Explorer seems to not toggle to another view automatically when encountering audio and videos files, which makes the content to load instantaneously.

    Thank you !

    p.s.: I disabled 'Automatic folder type discovery' by using the script 'Specify_all_folders_use_General_Items_template_for_current_user.bat' provided here Change Template of Drive, Folder, or Library in Windows 11 File Explorer

    [update] the .bat was in fact not conclusive; I have finally disabled 'Automatic folder type discovery' completely with WinSetView; more info here

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