File Explorer becomes unresponsive to mouse clicks (but keeps running)


Smithee

Member
Local time
4:46 AM
Posts
16
OS
Windows 11 Home
Occasionally, I find that File Explorer becomes unresponsive to mouse clicks, and doesn't highlight files and folders as I mouse over them. When this happens, I can't even click and drag the File Explorer window around the desktop. Other apps continue running normally. I never get any warnings or indications from Windows that the app is "Not Responding," as you often get when a program freezes. Task Manager does not show any excessive CPU load or memory use. If I close File Explorer and relaunch it, from that point it will usually work normally. The problem is intermittent and I don't know how to reproduce it.

There are a few other things I've noticed about this condition, but these are perceptions and not verified through any real testing:

* Problem seems to onset shortly after launching File Explorer for the first time after a recent PC restart or cold startup. I have not noticed it occurring if File Explorer has been running for an extended period of time.

* When this problem occurs, I'm usually running the online version of Office 365 (office.com). (But then again, I'm almost always running Office, so this is not proof of anything. And closing Office does not "free up" or restore normal operation to File Explorer.)

Any ideas? This is on a Lenovo prebuilt desktop, running a Ryzen 5700G CPU, Samsung SSD, and a traditional hard drive. I'm on Windows 11 Home v. 22000.493, but this issue was present for me even with older builds. However, it's happened to me two days in a row now, where it used to be a once-a-week kind of thing.
 
Windows Build/Version
22000.493

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Legion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7-5700G
    Motherboard
    Lenovo OEM
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia RTX3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek onboard
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD, WD Blue HD
    PSU
    650W Gold
    Case
    Lenovo Legion T5
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    Nothing is overclocked
No idea, have had this now few times in this week (monday to wednesday). Updated today to newest version and yet havent seen the issue again. (22000.493 seems ok now just got some updates that required boot and installation time of 4 minutes). Ill follow this up.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 / Win 11 dual boot
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    I5 11400F
    Motherboard
    590x something :D
    Memory
    2x16Gb DDR4@3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    GTX 970
    Sound Card
    built-in + asus strix 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    40" samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3820x1920
    Hard Drives
    Many many
    PSU
    Cant remember
    Case
    No idea
    Cooling
    Basic rollators rofl
    Keyboard
    Corsair K65
    Mouse
    Logitech G520
    Internet Speed
    enough
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    None, MS does it fine

Latest Support Threads

Back
Top Bottom