Share via

File explorer extremely slow (Windows 10 and Windows 11)

IT Comunica 65 Reputation points
2023-02-14T10:22:50.0833333+00:00

Hello:

I work for my company as IT and I am constantly facing this issue since I started here.
At some point, all the laptops in the company start facing an issue where their File Explorer starts working really slow.
I can see it when trying to download a file and saving it to the local disk, creating new folders, copying and moving files/folders, etc.
Another thing I can notice is that the folder I am in, doesn't seem to refresh automatically (when I create a new folder, move a file, Cut and Paste, etc.). I always have to press F5 to see the changes take effect into File Explorer.

All laptops are up to date according to Windows Update and we work with Windows 10 and Windows 11 laptops.

I have tried many ways to fix the issue:

  • Additional troubleshooters inside Windows Settings (Search and indexing).
  • Get rid of all the locations in: indexing options.
  • Rebuilding the index.
  • Setting folders to specific file types (folder optimization).
  • Disable Quick Access.
  • Changing the location that starts with File Explorer (when we open a new file explorer window).
  • Clear File Explorer history.
  • sfc/scannow
  • Disabling startup APPS that I don't use.

And many things and can't even remember.
What's funny avbout the situation is that I talk with other IT colleagues (outside the company), and it doesn't seem to be happening to them. What makes me think that is somthing related to our company. Maybe an APP that we use, but we don't all have any common APPs that we use (or at least not the same version).

Hope you can help me find a solution for this, because it is driving me crazy. At least try to see what could be causing the issue and then try to solve it somehow.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Windows 10
Windows 10
A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.
10,866 questions
Windows 11
Windows 11
A Microsoft operating system designed for productivity, creativity, and ease of use.
8,497 questions

3 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Mib-5503 15 Reputation points
    2023-08-25T09:13:25.98+00:00

    I think I found the reason in my case: Some network drives were not correctly connected (the reason for this is currently unknown, maybe domain problems or dns problems or network problems) when I am in the local company LAN.
    My workaround now is to additionally connect to the VPN (should not be necessary since I already am in the company network and can ping all the servers, etc.). Once all the drives are (and stay) correctly connected, there is no slow file explorer anymore.

    Now I need to find the reason for the unconnected drives...

    I managed to verify the situation by the command

    net use

    in the terminal.

    In the internet you can also find people who have problems with unconnected and invisible network drives (created by a "system" user), which looks very hard to fix.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
  2. S.Sengupta 16,156 Reputation points MVP
    2023-07-16T00:59:41.0533333+00:00

    Check for resource-intensive background processes that might be consuming system resources. Open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and review the processes. If you find any unnecessary or high-resource processes, you can end them to free up system resources.

    Some third-party software can interfere with the file explorer's normal operation. Try running the computer in a clean boot state to see if the issue persists. If the problem is resolved, you can gradually re-enable startup programs and services to identify the culprit.

    Faulty or incompatible extensions can cause performance problems.

    Perform a full system scan using a reputable antivirus software. Malware and viruses can significantly slow down a computer and may also affect the file explorer's performance.

  3. mathieuprevot 1 Reputation point
    2023-11-20T23:26:51.95+00:00

    Indeed, network locations and drives which are not responsive invoke a blocking timeout of about 30s, the files and folder changes are not updated immediately and need a F5. This UI being freezed is a bad design in explorer.
    There another possible cause: a pssession not being closed, with a remote computer being disconnected. In this case, the F5/refresh won't work at all.
    Eventually some energy plans can make network interfaces go to sleep.

    Possible mitigations:

    1. reducing the timeout (https://superuser.com/questions/453741/how-do-i-set-the-windows-network-timeout-for-physically-disconnected-mapped-driv)
    2. using a powershell script to disconnect bad locations or reconnect them
    3. exit/kill pssessions (sign out, sign in is equivalent to a quick reboot, it can be a workaround)
    4. correct the energy plan
    0 comments