Forum Discussion
File Explorer Opens but Folders Take a Long Time to Open
When I open File Explorer (Windows 10), it opens quickly. However, if I try to open a document or right-click it, or if my cursor happens to hover over a different document, it hangs up but will eventually open after several minutes pass. I've run disk cleanup/defragment, restarted, but no change. Everything else on the computer works fine, and there is plenty of memory (1.69 TB). I'm running Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2019. Would appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!
4 Replies
Occasionally, malware can cause slowdowns. Make sure you run a full system scan using Windows Defender or another antivirus program to check for any malware issues.
Go to Settings (Win + I) > Apps (Windows settings menu) > Apps & Features (Settings menu) > Optional features > Add a feature > Check for available optional features > Type "Windows Search" in the search bar > Click "Install" (Settings menu) > Restart your computer. Alternatively, you can try disabling Windows Search and then re-enabling it to see if it resolves the issue.
Shell extensions are programs that integrate with File Explorer and add extra functionality (like cloud storage integration, antivirus scanning, etc.). These can often be the culprit.
Did you find a solution? Seems like every time Microsoft updates they break something. When I removed Norton (or tried to) and installed Bitdefender my system was running fast. Then Microsoft pushed an update and if I click any file in Windows explorer it takes forever to open. It actually says that Windows Explorer has stopped working in the Task Manager.
