Win11 File Explorer Address Bar Drop-Down Menu Freezes

Hi!

I’m really glad to help — and don’t worry, this issue is more common than it looks.

Since I work with Windows internals a lot, I’ll give you both the simple and advanced steps.

1) Reset the File Explorer UI package

Run PowerShell as admin:

Get-AppxPackage *windows.fileexplorer* | Reset-AppxPackage

2) Disable history in the address bar

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Open File Explorer Options

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Uncheck “Show recently used files”

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Uncheck “Show frequently used folders”

3) Clear the MRU (Most Recently Used) registry keys

Open Run → type:

regedit

Navigate to:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TypedPaths

Delete all entries except (Default).

4) Check for OneDrive sync delays

If OneDrive is indexing a large folder, the dropdown may freeze.

Pause sync for 2 minutes and test.

If the issue continues, I can help you check the Explorer crash logs in Event Viewer to pinpoint the exact module causing the freeze.