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on a new computer i have again troubles with the explorer, this time i think it is due to a wrong/old account which is no longer active: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
    2025-05-08T20:44:45+00:00

    Hi

    I have just been through the same issue and had to call Microsoft to assist.

    Try these

    Update your Office Apps - Open any Office Apps> Click File> Account> Update Options> Update Now

    Disabled other Apps on Startup that you do not need

    Open Disk Cleanup> Check all boxes then click on OK

    Adjust the devices performance to the best - Search for Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows

    Select Adjust for best performance> Apply> OK

    Perform Quick Repair - Open Control Panel> Programs> Programs and Features> Look for M365 en-us> Right click then repair

    Disable Add-ins on Office Apps - Open any Office Apps> File> Options> Add-ins> Click on COM Add-ins GO> Disable the Add-ins that you do not need

    Restart the File Explorer - Open File Explorer> Open Task Manager> Go to Processes Tab> Look for Windows Explorer then right click on it and restart

    Restart the computer once done

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  2. Anonymous
    2025-05-07T04:14:00+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

    Dear Microsoft:

    I have encountered this problem as well and the only remedy was to rollback to Windows 10. Have you resolved the issue with file explorer in Windows 11? I would like to update to Windows 11 before support for 10 ends but I cannot do so until the glitch has been fixed. Please advise. Thank you.

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  3. Anonymous
    2025-03-31T08:02:51+00:00

    For me I could resolve it by changing step 5. Automatically manage is a poor solution.

    I allways set the minimum with the same amount of internal memory x 1024 and the maximum with that amount * 1,5.

    So if you got 8 GB RAM you set the minimum to 8192 and the maximum 12288.

    Offcourse make sure you have enough harddrive space.

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  4. Anonymous
    2025-03-23T19:31:39+00:00

    It's 2025-03-23, when will this be fixed? It should take < 1 seconds to list the contents of a folder and sort by time in the file explorer app.

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