Windows Explorer Sooooo Slooooow

Hi

Opening folders on my PC is extremely slow. Can take 10 seconds for a folder to open after I double click. Its even slow when saving attachments from emails through Outlook 365. I trawled the internet and this forum in particular and see others with similar issues. I have tried a lot of the fixes people suggest, too many to remember, and none sort the issue. of which was doing a Clean Boot but it did nothing. I have a number of drives attached to my machine and thought that might be the cause so I removed them all and to no avail. I even changed SSD as I though there may have been a fault but the issue persists.

I am currently using OneCommander which is great and lightning fast but I would prefer to get Explorer sorted once and for all.

Any advice appreciated as I am at the stage where I am thinking of doing a clean install.

Thanks
Will

Welcome to the forum. Since clean boot did not resolve the problem, see if any of these suggestions are some you haven't already tried.

Check for corrupt system files. Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow
Pay attention to the scan results to see if SFC found anything it could not repair. If it found corruption it could not fix followup with this command (note the spaces)
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Restart computer
(Note-you can follow up with another sfc /scannow command to make sure that dism repaired the files)

Update your bios to latest and update graphics driver from the manufacturer,

Run disk cleanup. In search box search for "disk", In search results RIGHT click on Disk Cleanup & select 'run as administrator'
Along with what will already be checked, also put a check by Previous Windows Installations and Temporary Files

You have HDDs, Defrag them. search 'defrag'. In search results select "Defragment and Optimize" drives. The app will tell you which drives are fragmented and need to be optimized
You do NOT defrag SSDs

Check for Malware using Malwarebytes Free. Free Antivirus 2023 | Download Free Antivirus & Virus Scan | 100% Free & Easy Install

This one should fix it if nothing else does. Repair Install Windows 11 Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

ReTwoWill,
You never finished out your Forum Profile, with your Location.
But I've got a feeling that you are too far away, for me to make a service call.
It's what I've done for 40+ years.
My greatest line of expertise is in Computer Efficiency. Windows, all by itself is a dog. The Core runs great and is pretty efficient, in using ram and an SSD to get the job done fast, on most PC's. But then comes all the Bloat that Microsoft adds onto the basic OS, to try to make it more shiny and friendly. Every Byte they add, just slows down the OS, one tiny little bit.
Just like any system can get bogged down with junk, like Temporary Internet Files. And that just gets worse with time.

You can follow all the suggestions, (I've read them all) and jump through all the hoops, and you will still have a Bloated and slow Windows. The BIG FIX is actually pretty easy, it's a "Clean RE-Install". And if you really want a FAST and efficient PC, Don't get that new version of Windows from Microsoft. There are other options.

Cheers Mate!

TM

The fix for almost every Windows problem is a clean install. But that should be the LAST option, not the first.

True, but, If a resolution is more important than putting on a good performance, then there comes a time to know when to "Fish or cut bait".

So if Using your computer is actually more important to you than fixing the dang thing, Then sometimes it's just a matter of saving the data and reloading the OS.
In my own case, my Hobby is trying out new versions of Windows. In fact, I'm on one of those NOW. And, since my data files are never on my C: drive, changing versions of Windows, is never much of a chore. I simply insert one of my OS Flash Drives, into a USB port and turn on the power. Just a few minutes later, whether I'm sitting here or not, there will be a new desktop looking back at me. No fuss, no strain and no stupid questions to answer. It's the fastest and cleanest Install I've ever had, since DOS.

And, best of all, if there were any unresolved problems in the old OS, they are long Gone.

I'll never understand, why more people don't take the simple way around a problem instead of chewing on it like an old Bull Dog.

Cheers Mates!
TM
Currenly Running: Windows 11 Optimum, Pro, V3 22163.3155.

glasskuter said:

Welcome to the forum. Since clean boot did not resolve the problem, see if any of these suggestions are some you haven't already tried.

Check for corrupt system files. Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow
Pay attention to the scan results to see if SFC found anything it could not repair. If it found corruption it could not fix followup with this command (note the spaces)
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Restart computer
(Note-you can follow up with another sfc /scannow command to make sure that dism repaired the files)

Update your bios to latest and update graphics driver from the manufacturer,

Run disk cleanup. In search box search for "disk", In search results RIGHT click on Disk Cleanup & select 'run as administrator'
Along with what will already be checked, also put a check by Previous Windows Installations and Temporary Files

You have HDDs, Defrag them. search 'defrag'. In search results select "Defragment and Optimize" drives. The app will tell you which drives are fragmented and need to be optimized
You do NOT defrag SSDs

Check for Malware using Malwarebytes Free. Free Antivirus 2023 | Download Free Antivirus & Virus Scan | 100% Free & Easy Install

This one should fix it if nothing else does. Repair Install Windows 11 Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try these steps. My issues started immediately after upgrading from windows 10

TechnoMage2021 said:

ReTwoWill,
You never finished out your Forum Profile, with your Location.
But I've got a feeling that you are too far away, for me to make a service call.
It's what I've done for 40+ years.
My greatest line of expertise is in Computer Efficiency. Windows, all by itself is a dog. The Core runs great and is pretty efficient, in using ram and an SSD to get the job done fast, on most PC's. But then comes all the Bloat that Microsoft adds onto the basic OS, to try to make it more shiny and friendly. Every Byte they add, just slows down the OS, one tiny little bit.
Just like any system can get bogged down with junk, like Temporary Internet Files. And that just gets worse with time.

You can follow all the suggestions, (I've read them all) and jump through all the hoops, and you will still have a Bloated and slow Windows. The BIG FIX is actually pretty easy, it's a "Clean RE-Install". And if you really want a FAST and efficient PC, Don't get that new version of Windows from Microsoft. There are other options.

Cheers Mate!

TM

Click to expand...

If you want to fly to Ireland! :)

RetwoWill said:

My issues started immediately after upgrading from windows 10

Click to expand...

That sheds a slightly different light on the situation and could point to a user account issue other than an OS issue. That be the case, SFC or a repair install will not help you.
You can quickly prove that your user account is the problem by either creating another account to test with (make it a LOCAL account and its type as administrator) OR enabling the hidden administrator account and test with it.

If using another account fixes your problem, that points to YOUR user account being corrupted. I would still run the SFC command listed above to see if it finds and fixes anything.
Report back you findings .

glasskuter said:

That sheds a slightly different light on the situation and could point to a user account issue other than an OS issue. That be the case, SFC or a repair install will not help you.
You can quickly prove that your user account is the problem by either creating another account to test with (make it a LOCAL account and its type as administrator) OR enabling the hidden administrator account and test with it.

If using another account fixes your problem, that points to YOUR user account being corrupted. I would still run the SFC command listed above to see if it finds and fixes anything.
Report back you findings .

Click to expand...

I did everything you mentioned in your initial reply bar the defrag as I have an SSD and I can see a significant difference already! For some reason when I restarted after the BIOS update the machine ran very very slow. Had to wait a half an hour for everything to start. I immediately restarted and things were working fine then. Thanks for your help!!