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DashielQuinn's avatar
DashielQuinn
Iron Contributor
May 23, 2025

File Explorer green bar issue - but only on one USB stick

My File Explorer is normally fine, with no issues I can see. But when I plug in a USB stick that I've been using to play music from in my car (in order to add some more albums), I get the slow green bar and it freezes at the end, so I can't display what's on it. Or do anything else with it.

My other USB sticks all work fine, so it seems it's just this one stick which I guess is somehow corrupted? But it works fine in my car... Is there anything I can do to correct whatever has happened here? I'm loathe to re-format it and start again as there's so much music on it - plus, unless I know what causes it, it could just put me back to the same issue

Thanks.
USB stick that's causing the issue has a blue tab, so it's USB 3 - and so are the others that work fine.
Windows 10 - Version 22H2 - OS Build 19045.5608.

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1 Reply

  • harsh2hell's avatar
    harsh2hell
    Copper Contributor
    Jun 20, 2025

    Hi DashielQuinn​ , it sounds like your USB stick might have some minor file system or metadata issues that are causing Windows File Explorer to freeze. This can happen especially with USB drives used in car stereos, as they may create hidden files or metadata that Windows struggles to read.

     

    Even if your music plays fine in the car, Windows might hang when trying to read metadata, generate thumbnails, or index files. That’s often what causes the green progress bar to get stuck.

     

    Here are a few things that might help:

     

    1. Disable thumbnails: Open File Explorer, go to View > Options > View tab, and check "Always show icons, never thumbnails".
    2. Run a disk check: Open Command Prompt as Administrator and type chkdsk E: /f (replace E: with your USB’s drive letter). This checks for and fixes file system errors without deleting files.
    3. Turn off indexing: Right-click the USB drive in File Explorer, go to Properties, and uncheck "Allow files on this drive to have contents indexed".
    4. Try Safe Mode or use an alternative file manager like FreeCommander if Explorer continues to hang.

     

    If you’re able to access the files, it’s a good idea to back them up right away. You don’t need to reformat unless none of these solutions work. If you do, FAT32 or exFAT is best for compatibility with both Windows and car systems.

     

    Hope this helps.