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


Smithee

Member
Local time
5:06 PM
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 My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 HomeAMD Ryzen 7-5700G16 GB DDR4-3200Nvidia RTX3060
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 My Computer

At a glance

Win 10 / Win 11 dual bootI5 11400F2x16Gb DDR4@3200GTX 970
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

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