Windows Explorer Behaves Like Memory is Swamped


gremlinkurst

Well-known member
Local time
4:08 PM
Posts
27
OS
Windows 11 x64 Home
I usually don't see this until it's been ...oh, two days since a restart, but today I saw it happen almost immediately after a restart: Viewing the contents of a Windows Explorer tab, if I make changes to the directory such as pasting a copied or cut file in, deleting one or more, or making filename changes, those changes aren't displayed until I either (friggin' show more options; why the Hell did they have to make the most common and simple operations more complicated?) Refresh or switch to another directory and back. In the event someone doesn't see the practical problem here, let me make it more clear:
I have a directory full of images with what I feel to be inappropriate filenames, so I run a batch operation renaming all the files to my satisfaction. Now, even though the thumbnails of the image contents are displayed, when I attempt to open one of those images with my default image viewer [without refreshing or switching directories], I immediately get a fatal error message: Can't read file header, ETC, ETC...which is fixed once I refresh....
...Which I shouldn't have to do. The memory is not swamped, and I have more space free on my OS drive (Crucial NVMe M.2 2 TB SSD @2400 MB/s) than I have used, signifying page file's not choking, et cetera. So, what could possibly be going on that has Windows Explorer performing so damned sluggishly? I mean, I routinely might not perform a restart for over three days (although I do Sleep or Hibernate more than once in that time) and I run memory-intensive applications (more than one at the same time) without adversely impacting Windows Explorer's performance, but...what the bloody Hell, now that I am not running high-demand ops?
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11, 22H2 (OS build 22621.819)

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    Windows 11 x64 Home
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    custom OEM
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    i9-10900F
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    MSI Z490-A Pro (MS-7C75) w/Intel Z490 chipset
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    16 GB Crucial Ballistix UDIMM Gaming Memory, DDR4/3600 1.3V
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    WHAT? That's a NINETIES question! Integrated RealTekHD
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    ViewSonic 144 Hz Refresh Rate 2560x1440
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  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home x64 21H2
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    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP/Victus 16t-d000
    CPU
    i7-1100H @ 2.30 GHz (8-core, 16-thread)
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    32 GB
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    nVIDIA GeForce RTX-3060 Laptop
    Sound Card
    RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.25" LCD @ 1920 x 1080 (but screenshot size is 1563 x 879), refresh 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (but screenshot size is 1563 x 879), refresh 144 Hz
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    1 TB NVMe SSD
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    ?
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    Silver Mica
Are you able to get to task manager while this issue is ocurring? If so, is it showing anything out of the ordinary. The first thing I would try is a clean boot to eliminate some software causing the problem. If it doesn't happen in a clean boot, you have some software conflicting with Windows. Brink's procedure will help you weed out which one. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial
 

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    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
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    PC/Desktop
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    Dell Optiplex 7080
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    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
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    DELL 0J37VM
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    32 gb
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    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
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    Integrated Realtek
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    Benq 27
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    2560x1440
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    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
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    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
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    Firefox
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    Defender+MWB Premium
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    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
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    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
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    2560x1440
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    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
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    MT
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    Dell factory
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    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
Oh, Task Manager is friggin' useless, so I use Process Explorer; it's more detailed and specific for the things that I tend to look for. Okay, so it shows that 12.4 of 16 GB physical memory is being used, which makes no damned sense whatsoever (I'd just come back from a grocery run with two apps idling in process). CPU shows brief momentary spikes at 5%, system commit is 13.7 GB, and I/O shows no activity. There isn't any one process shown hogging memory.

...and checking on how to perform a clean boot on this platform (it's been forever since I needed to do on, so I had to check for changes), and the instructions don't make a lick of sense, saying to enable everything I'd disabled before...huh? First, the only thing I've disabled are those stupid widgets, and secondly, put a heavier demand on system resources? That seems pretty counterintuitive...but, those were the instructions that I dug up.

...Tell ya what I'll do: I'll review the instructions that you referenced, and see what happens. I'll keep readers posted.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 x64 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    custom OEM
    CPU
    i9-10900F
    Motherboard
    MSI Z490-A Pro (MS-7C75) w/Intel Z490 chipset
    Memory
    16 GB Crucial Ballistix UDIMM Gaming Memory, DDR4/3600 1.3V
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVIDIA (Gigabyte) GeForce GTX-1660 Super Windforce / 6 GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    WHAT? That's a NINETIES question! Integrated RealTekHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic 144 Hz Refresh Rate 2560x1440
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    OS Drive: Crucial NVMe M.2 2 TB SSD (2400 MB/s)
    (the data drives are immaterial)
    PSU
    750 W EVGA 80+ Gold
    Case
    Corsair
    Cooling
    Liquid
    Keyboard
    Razer Cynosa
    Mouse
    Adder
    Internet Speed
    400 Gbps
    Browser
    Chrome, Edge, IE (I fired Firefox)
    Antivirus
    Webroot SecureAnywhere 5-device license
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home x64 21H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP/Victus 16t-d000
    CPU
    i7-1100H @ 2.30 GHz (8-core, 16-thread)
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    nVIDIA GeForce RTX-3060 Laptop
    Sound Card
    RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.25" LCD @ 1920 x 1080 (but screenshot size is 1563 x 879), refresh 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (but screenshot size is 1563 x 879), refresh 144 Hz
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVMe SSD
    PSU
    ?
    Case
    Silver Mica
Oh, Task Manager is friggin' useless, so I use Process Explorer; it's more detailed and specific for the things that I tend to look for. Okay, so it shows that 12.4 of 16 GB physical memory is being used, which makes no damned sense whatsoever (I'd just come back from a grocery run with two apps idling in process). CPU shows brief momentary spikes at 5%, system commit is 13.7 GB, and I/O shows no activity. There isn't any one process shown hogging memory.

...and checking on how to perform a clean boot on this platform (it's been forever since I needed to do on, so I had to check for changes), and the instructions don't make a lick of sense, saying to enable everything I'd disabled before...huh? First, the only thing I've disabled are those stupid widgets, and secondly, put a heavier demand on system resources? That seems pretty counterintuitive...but, those were the instructions that I dug up.

...Tell ya what I'll do: I'll review the instructions that you referenced, and see what happens. I'll keep readers posted.

Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 Explorers could encounter severe memory leaks if poorly behaving apps didn't release the memory they no longer needed. I've had that problem with some Adobe products and other apps too. The system would just slow down until it became unusable.

I just had to use some trial and error to find the apps that were resulting in memory leaks. And then I just found alternative apps for those.
 

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System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
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    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Ryzen 7
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG STRIX B-450
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti SC
    Hard Drives
    C: SSD, 500 GB
    D: HDD, 1 TB
    J: HDD, 1 TB
    Antivirus
    Norton
Another related thread: Windows 11 not refreshing

There appears to be no consistent fix.

It appears to have nothing to do with memory leaks.

Maybe Microsoft would call it a feature, not a bug. It has been around for a long time.
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Amd Threadripper 7970X
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte TRX50 Aero D
    Memory
    128GB (4 X 32) Kingston DDR5 5200 (RDIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 4090 OC
    Sound Card
    none (USB to speakers), Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Philips 27E1N8900 OLED
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Crucial T700 2TB M.2 NVME SSD
    WD 4TB Blue SATA SSD
    Seagate 18TB IronWolf Pro
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1600 GT
    Case
    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo XL
    Cooling
    Alphacool Eisbaer Pro Aurora 360, with 3 Phanteks T30 fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Internet Speed
    1200 Mbps
  • Operating System
    windows 11 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    homebuilt
    CPU
    Intel I9-13900K
    Motherboard
    Asus RoG Strix Z690-E
    Memory
    64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte RTX 3090 ti
    Sound Card
    built in Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus PA329C
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160 @60Hz
    Hard Drives
    WDC SN850 1TB
    8 TB Seagate Ironwolf
    4TB Seagate Ironwolf
    PSU
    eVGA SuperNOVA 1300 GT
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    Lian Li 011 Dynamic Evo
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    Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX Liquid CPU Cooler
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    Logitech M500s (wired)
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120 (wired)
Maybe Microsoft would call it a feature, not a bug.
If MS calls them a feature long enough, people will eventually believe it. Gas Lighting does work on some people. :cool:
 

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System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec B746
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-10700K
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4/ax
    Memory
    16GB (8GB PC4-19200 DDR4 SDRAM x2)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SAM0A87 Samsung SAM0D32
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    NVMe WDC WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 1TB
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB
    PSU
    750 Watts (62.5A)
    Case
    PowerSpec/Lian Li ATX 205
    Keyboard
    Logitech K270
    Mouse
    Logitech M185
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge and Firefox
    Antivirus
    ESET Internet Security
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Canary Channel
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PowerSpec G156
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz
    Motherboard
    AsusTeK Prime B360M-S
    Memory
    16 MB DDR 4-2666
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Speptre HDMI 75Hz
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    1920x1080
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    Samsung 970 EVO 500GB NVMe
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    Logitek M185
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    Logitek K270
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    Firefox, Edge and Edge Canary
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

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