Solved File Explorer very slow - always "working on it"

RDG · Oct 16, 2024

With Win7, File Explorer was really fast. I searched this site to see if others had the problem mentioned in the title but it seems it is just me. When I open a folder with multiple files I get the message mentioned above. Same if I do a search. It takes forever!

Most of my files are on an external drive (Toshiba), the same drive I used with my old Win7 PC. I did a scan/repair of the drive but that didn't change anything. DiskManager says it is working right,

"Just in case" this is significant, when I was backing up files on my old PC to transfer to my new one, the newer files that were added to the folders, while visible as existing in the backup folder viewed on my old PC did not show up in that identical folder when viewed on my new PC. I was careful to employ "safely remove" process and simply dumbfounded by the experience. I ultimately used a flash drive for the newer files and added them that way. Of possible significance, this is the external hard drive giving me trouble now.

Browsers and apps are all super fast on this PC but File Explorer drives crazy.

TM21 · Oct 16, 2024

I see that a lot too! But that's better than seeing Nothing.
In my own case, it may be because I have four HD's alive and running on this PC, three of of them with OS's on them, or maybe because the PC itself is 12+ years old.
I don't even question it, , , I just wait. I don't work as fast as I used to either. A 12 year old PC is probably much like this 81 yr old operator.
We both get THERE, eventually! :wink:

In the Army we used to say, "Hurry up, and wait!"

Cheers Mate!
TM

MitchInHome · Oct 16, 2024

I've got he same problem, been going on for 1 year. Never figured out why or which update caused this.
I was hoping the 24H2 release would fix it but nope, same thing.

RDG · Oct 16, 2024

TechnoMage2021 said:
I see that a lot too! But that's better than seeing Nothing.
In my own case, it may be because I have four HD's alive and running on this PC, three of of them with OS's on them, or maybe because the PC itself is 12+ years old.
I don't even question it, , , I just wait. I don't work as fast as I used to either. A 12 year old PC is probably much like this 81 yr old operator.
We both get THERE, eventually!

In the Army we used to say, "Hurry up, and wait!"

Cheers Mate!
TM

On my old computer everything EXCEPT File Explorer was slow. It's the reverse with my new PC and Win11.

RDG · Oct 16, 2024

MitchInHome said:
I've got he same problem, been going on for 1 year. Never figured out why or which update caused this.
I was hoping the 24H2 release would fix it but nope, same thing.

Darn. It's truly puzzling. I considered taking a video to show just how horribly slow it is. If I go into properties and make a change in the details (working with audio files), it is like it is has a slow-motion setting.

dacrone · Oct 16, 2024

RDG said:
Darn. It's truly puzzling. I considered taking a video to show just how horribly slow it is. If I go into properties and make a change in the details (working with audio files), it is like it is has a slow-motion setting.

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RDG · Oct 16, 2024

dacrone said:
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You can try this reg mod

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Rollback_Jockey · Oct 17, 2024

If your drives aren't set to be indexed it may take a while to populate.

LesFerch · Oct 17, 2024

The explanation is that Windows 11 does its automatic folder type discovery much more often than Windows 10. In Windows 10, you can set a whole folder tree to a particular folder type using the Also apply this template to all subfolders option and then Explorer will just display those folders using the selected template and not keep scanning the contents to determine the view type.

The Also apply this template to all subfolders option was first broken in the Windows 11 KB5008353 update (build 22000.469) on January 25, 2022 and has remained broken. When Microsoft broke this feature, that's when they made automatic folder type discovery too aggressive, resulting in a significant performance impact. More people should be on Microsoft's case about this issue. I've yelled about it all I can.

As you've discovered, making all folders Generic/NotSpecified disables automatic folder type discovery (the WinSetView option Make all folders Generic does the same thing), but that workaround is not great for people that want to have different views for different folder types.

The other workaround is to switch back to the Windows 10 style Explorer (aka Explorer Ribbon UI). Users here who have done that will note that Also apply this template to all subfolders option works just fine using the old Explorer on Windows 11 and there is much less waiting on Explorer.

Note that you can switch to the Windows 10 style Explorer using any one of Brink's tutorial, WinSetView, SwitchExplorer, StartAllBack, ExplorerPatcher, or WindHawk. Winaero Tweaker also has this option, but it's missing the registry setting that makes the old Explorer remember its window position.

RDG · Oct 17, 2024

Rollback_Jockey said:
If your drives aren't set to be indexed it may take a while to populate.

They were indexed. @dacrone had the solution.

RDG · Oct 17, 2024

LesFerch said:
The explanation is that Windows 11 does its automatic folder type discovery much more often than Windows 10. In Windows 10, you can set a whole folder tree to a particular folder type using the Also apply this template to all subfolders option and then Explorer will just display those folders using the selected template and not keep scanning the contents to determine the view type.

The Also apply this template to all subfolders option was first broken in the Windows 11 KB5008353 update (build 22000.469) on January 25, 2022 and has remained broken. When Microsoft broke this feature, that's when they made automatic folder type discovery too aggressive, resulting in a significant performance impact. More people should be on Microsoft's case about this issue. I've yelled about it all I can.

As you've discovered, making all folders Generic/NotSpecified disables automatic folder type discovery (the WinSetView option Make all folders Generic does the same thing), but that workaround is not great for people that want to have different views for different folder types.

The other workaround is to switch back to the Windows 10 style Explorer (aka Explorer Ribbon UI). Users here who have done that will note that Also apply this template to all subfolders option works just fine using the old Explorer on Windows 11 and there is much less waiting on Explorer.

Note that you can switch to the Windows 10 style Explorer using any one of Brink's tutorial, WinSetView, SwitchExplorer, StartAllBack, ExplorerPatcher, or WindHawk. Winaero Tweaker also has this option, but it's missing the registry setting that makes the old Explorer remember its window position.

I must say that I wish I had known about this site from the very beginning as I struggled to make Win11 more functional and less intrusive. The guidance I've received here has made all the difference. I'm dismayed that Microsoft doesn't reach out to this group for feedback.

dacrone · Oct 17, 2024

RDG said:
I must say that I wish I had known about this site from the very beginning as I struggled to make Win11 more functional and less intrusive. The guidance I've received here has made all the difference. I'm dismayed that Microsoft doesn't reach out to this group for feedback.

lol.. that's because they don't care... or windows would've been much better a loooooong time ago (since at least win 8's epic failure)

RDG · Oct 17, 2024

dacrone said:
lol.. that's because they don't care... or windows would've been much better a loooooong time ago (since at least win 8's epic failure)

I missed Win8, thankfully, but Win10 was no joy. Win11, despite all the frustrations I've encountered, makes all my software happy (well, there is a major problem with borrowing books from the library now because Adobe DE does not work in Win11 and no one knows how to fix that so I'm having to use the Kindle app plus the added annoyance of having to go to Amazon's site to download the book I've borrowed).

As I encountered things which formerly had a better design or functionality in Win7 it was clear to me that the new designers had not really evaluated what needed improvement. Nor did they consider the needs of people with subpar vision ... not at the level that accessibility options are needed. The faint outlines of the icons could at least have been a tiny bit beefier, even if pale (unnecessarily so, in my opinion).

dacrone · Oct 17, 2024

RDG said:
there is a major problem with borrowing books from the library now because Adobe DE does not work in Win11 and no one knows how to fix that

ADE for Windows 11 | Community

Hi, ADE 4.5.11 doesn't work on my Win 11 Surface. What can I do? Thanks

community.adobe.com

apparently you can try renaming the My Digital Editions folder. seems to have worked for some... but i have no clue. never used it

Stigg · Nov 24, 2024

Did you ever get to the bottom of this?
I have a similar problem that has developed recently.

If I open a few files in quick succession, the third or fourth file normally has a very long lag before it opens. It doesn't matter what type of file or how big or small it is. It could be a .jpg, .png or even a .txt.

I have three drives in this computer. An SSD system driver, plus two mechanical hard drives, and the same thing happens on all drives.
The SSD is on a different controller from the mechanical hard drives. No controller drivers are available or have been updated for over a year, so it's not a controller driver issue.

I think it must be a Windows issue.

RDG · Nov 24, 2024

Stigg said:
Did you ever get to the bottom of this?

@dacrone had the answer and provided this link How to Speed up File Explorer in Win11. I don't recall which of the two "tricks" I used. Good luck

warrenL · Feb 24, 2025

RDG said:
They were indexed. @dacrone had the solution.

100% agree.

krism · Feb 24, 2025

If you are using file explorer to search, don't.
I use Agent Ransack. Free. Lightning fast. there are others.

HighBidder · May 16, 2025

Win 11 file explorer was lagging all the time - Clicking into a directory was a 15 second affair - really unusable. Just about decided to stick with Win10.

Turned out to be a simple solution. When a file in explorer is right clicked there is a menu item toward the bottom called "Send to". Some of the destinations of the "send to" operation are stored in a folder at this location:
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

This folder can be opened quickly by using the run dialog and typing "shell:sendto" without the quotes.

The reason my system was slow is because in that folder there were shortcuts pointing to network locations which no longer existed. Clear out the obsolete shortcuts and problem solved.

Done, let your hair grow back in.

krism · May 16, 2025

HighBidder said:
Done, let your hair grow back in.

Yeah but being bald is so much easier to care for and often looks much better. Congrats on good catch!

Solved File Explorer very slow - always "working on it"

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