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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 ...
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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.