Forum Discussion
How can I make thumbnail images load faster in File Explorer?
When I open a folder of images and choose the Large Icons view, the thumbs load very slowly. Example: A folder with 77 jpeg images (most smaller than 300K) takes three minutes to load all the thumbnails. After they load, they're stored (I assume) in the thumbs.db file within that folder; so, the next time, they pop right up.
Before Win 11, I was using Win 7 Pro. A folder this size would load all the thumbnail images in two or three seconds at most. So I'm assuming the slow loading is an issue with Windows 11.
I tried WinThumbsPreloader, but that evidently doesn't work for files that are stored on an external hard drive (as mine are). Even if did work, that wouldn't be a good solution, because I do commercial Photoshop work and have scores of client folders holding nearly 10,000 images. So it would be a great help if I could get thumbnails to load in W11 as quickly as they used to load in W7.
Any ideas?
Windows limits the size of the thumbnail cache by default, which could be one reason why thumbnails are not being generated quickly enough. You can try to disable the thumbnail preview cache as follows:
- Open File Explorer.
- Click on the View tab, then select Options > Change folder and search options.
- In the Folder Options window, go to the View tab.
- Scroll down and uncheck Always show icons, never thumbnails.
If your external drive is connected through a lower bandwidth interface (like USB 2.0), try using a USB 3.0 port or connecting it directly to the motherboard if it’s an internal drive.
