Forum Discussion
Windows 11 File Explorer frequently freezes
When opening folders containing a large number of media files, the address bar and taskbar often become unresponsive, causing File Explorer to restart automatically.
3 Replies
Hello,
Suggest you to run System File Checker scan:
- Search for 'command prompt' using Windows Search.
- From results, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
- Type sfc /scannow command and press Enter key.
- Let the command complete and then reboot the machine.
If issue still persists, perform clean boot:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-in/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows
Let us know if this helps!
If the above steps didn't solve the problem, the issue is most likely a buggy third-party shell extension. These are add-ons installed by other software (like cloud storage clients, compression tools, or media players) that run inside File Explorer. When they try to read your media files, they can crash Explorer itself.
Disable half of them, restart Explorer (see below), and test. If the crash stops, the buggy one is in the batch you just disabled. Enable them one by one until you find the specific one causing the crash.
