File Explorer requires refreshing to view changes


Cadmus

New member
Local time
10:59 AM
Posts
4
OS
Windows 11
I am having this weird issue on W11 where if I make a change in file explorer, I have to refresh in order to see the changes. For example, deleting or creating a new folder, the change won't appear until I right click and hit refresh. It doesn't always happen though but it's really annoying. It doesn't happen on my other W11 machine. This is a clean install, and no other registry changes.

I am using ExplorerPatcher on both machines, with just the context menu changed, but I've even tried removing it and still happens on this PC. Just to reiteriate, without ExplorerPatcher and no other changes, the issue occurs. I am not sure when it started happening (before or after ExplorerPatcher).

Hopefully somebody has some insight into this issue.
 
Windows Build/Version
11

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
I am experiencing the same behavior, but I have no clue as to why it no longer refreshes. It occurs if I save a new file, download a file, or drag and drop a file to another folder.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11 64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    i9
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3415W
    Screen Resolution
    3440 x 1440
    Internet Speed
    1 GB
I am having this weird issue on W11 where if I make a change in file explorer, I have to refresh in order to see the changes. For example, deleting or creating a new folder, the change won't appear until I right click and hit refresh. It doesn't always happen though but it's really annoying. It doesn't happen on my other W11 machine. This is a clean install, and no other registry changes.

I am using ExplorerPatcher on both machines, with just the context menu changed, but I've even tried removing it and still happens on this PC. Just to reiteriate, without ExplorerPatcher and no other changes, the issue occurs. I am not sure when it started happening (before or after ExplorerPatcher).

Hopefully somebody has some insight into this issue.
What ver of win 11 are you on? Im running the latest dev build completely stock, All new folders, deleting, creating etc work perfectly for me, Unusual you are both having the same issue, What builds are you both on?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    10700k@5.2
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Gaming X Z490
    Memory
    Viper Steelseries 32gb@ 3600mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte 2070 Super 8GB, +200 core + 600 memory
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 4k HDR, Two 1080p Benq and Samsung
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160/2560x1440/1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Adata XPG SX8200 PRO 1tb
    Samsung EVO 870 500GB
    PSU
    Corsair RX 650
    Case
    NZXT h510
    Cooling
    CM HYPER 212 RGB
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata Chroma
    Mouse
    Steelseries Rival 710
This has been a problem for as long as I can remember, going right back to Windows 7. Just google "windows explorer does not refresh" and you'll see what I mean.

My W11 system is OK after a clean install, but occasionally I have to hit F5 to refresh. Was worse earlier. Do not know what MS have to do to fix it.

If you do nothing and just wait it does eventually refresh after 10-15 seconds.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 24H2 RP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel I3-10100
    Motherboard
    MSI H410M-PRO
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GT 1030
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung EVO 970 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Samsung QVO 870 SATA SSD 2 Tb
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Microsoft Office 2021 Plus
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-build
    CPU
    Intel i3-8100
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z370 D3
    Memory
    16 Gb
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GT 720
    Sound Card
    Motherboard default
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 960 NVMe SSD 256 Gb
    Seagate 2 Tb HDD
    PSU
    ATX 450W
    Mouse
    Logitech Wireless
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    930 Mb down / 120 Mb up
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
I use ExplorerPatcher and do not have this problem. I think it has been a problem on and off for years
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware M18 R1
    CPU
    13th Gen Core i9 13900HX
    Memory
    32GB DDR5 @4800MHz 2x16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Geforce RTX 4090HX 16GB
    Sound Card
    Nvidia HD / Realtek ALC3254
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18" QHD+
    Screen Resolution
    25660 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    C: KIOXIA (Toshiba) 2TB KXG80ZNV2T04 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
    D: KIOXIA (Toshiba) 2TB KXG80ZNV2T04 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
    Case
    Dark Metallic Moon
    Keyboard
    Alienware M Series per-key AlienFX RGB
    Mouse
    Alienware AW610M
    Browser
    Chrome and Firefox
    Antivirus
    Norton
    Other Info
    Killer E3000 Ethernet Controller
    Killer Killer AX1690 Wi-Fi Network Adaptor Wi-Fi 6E
    Bluetooth 5.2
    Alienware Z01G Graphic Amplifier
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Alienware Area 51m R2
    CPU
    10th Gen i-9 10900 K
    Memory
    32Gb Dual Channel DDR4 @ 8843MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia RTX 2080 Super
    Sound Card
    Nvidia
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Hard Drive C: Samsung 2TB SSD PM981a NVMe
    Hard Drive D:Samsung 2TB SSD 970 EVO Plus
    Mouse
    Alienware 610M
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Norton
What ver of win 11 are you on? Im running the latest dev build completely stock, All new folders, deleting, creating etc work perfectly for me, Unusual you are both having the same issue, What builds are you both on?
sorry, I was away for a few days. Thanks for the reply. This is a fresh install. I even wiped again and it still appeared - it seems to be an issue with pinned folders in the quick access - and it seems I have 2 that I can't remove (even after disconnecting the shared drives. But I can't say for sure if they are related for me until I remove all "Pinned" items under quick access. 2 items are stuck, can't right-click on these 2 items. cleared defaults in explorer options also.

OS Build: 21H2 - v22000.434
edit...
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
This has been a problem for as long as I can remember, going right back to Windows 7. Just google "windows explorer does not refresh" and you'll see what I mean.

My W11 system is OK after a clean install, but occasionally I have to hit F5 to refresh. Was worse earlier. Do not know what MS have to do to fix it.

If you do nothing and just wait it does eventually refresh after 10-15 seconds.
well, I did search for the issue - and it doesn't seem common (at least not before W11). Of course there are cases on different forums etc. but I think we can say this is a rare bug.

edit---
you were right. I guess I didn't search hard enough. When I searched again, this appeared: Folders not refreshing automatically in Windows 10

and so far its fine (its only been 20 mins) but let's see. I'll slowly add pinned items. thanks for making me look harder! I knew you guys would come through!

edit-2
2 days all good
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
FWIW, I've been experiencing this on my Win 10 laptop for years. I put it down to the fact that I always have a good number of explorer sessions open (10+), and I'm using OneDrive to sync folders, and generally I have a ton of stuff open on my laptop. It's most noticeable when I create a new file and open it (eg, right click, 'new', 'text document'; Type in a new name; then hit 'enter' to open the just created/renamed file. Hitting 'enter' on the new file results in (something like) "file 'new text document' does not exist" - because it's trying to open 'New Text Document' while the file name is now something different. This tells me it's not just a visual thing; windows itself is not keeping track of its own actions!

I've just got my first win 11 system, and have installed EP, and have yet to see this behavior.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LG Gram 17 17Z95P-K.AAE8U1
    CPU
    i7-1195G7
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR4X 4266MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe (Integrated)
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1600
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung NP940X5J
    Memory
    8 Gig
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD; 2 TB SSD (SATA)
Just in case someone is searching for a solution, this worked for me. I've completely gone back to the Win 10 File Explorer in Windows 11 which completely solved this extremely annoying issue. Reddit - Dive into anything
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Puget Systems
I've been using Windows for 25 years and never had that problem. Did you try to repair your system files using DISM and SFC /Scannow?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (WinMac v0.4.2)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Probook G8 450
    CPU
    i5-1135G7
    Memory
    32 GB (DDR4, 3200 MHz)
    Other Info
    I loved modding and customizing operating systems since very young age, gaining experience from all important systems, including Windows, Ubuntu, MacOS and Android, which led to creation of Windows 11 mod called WinMac. Seamlessly blending the elegance of macOS with the versatility of Windows, my customized interface elevates user experience through meticulously crafted modifications and UI enhancements.

    With WinMac, every interaction with Windows 11 environment is imbued with a touch of sophistication, where the boundaries between the Windows and Mac universes blur, offering a sublime computing experience that transcends conventional limitations of Windows 11.
  • Operating System
    macOS Sonoma 14.5
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple MacBook Pro
    CPU
    Apple M3 Pro
    Memory
    18 GB

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