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balbul's avatar
balbul
Brass Contributor
Sep 17, 2021

Windows 11 File Explorer freezes when renaming files

Hi, my file explorer lags (or freezes for few seconds) every time i rename files and happened in any folder or files in any drive. Specifically, it happens after i'm finished renaming a file or folde...
balbul's avatar
balbul
Brass Contributor
Oct 16, 2021
Hi, thank you all for sharing the issue. I just want to give an update on my issue. Since the last win 11 update (around last friday), it got better. Now when i press tab after rename it does not freeze. So, instead of pressing enter or clicking anywhere to finish renaming files, i press tab then esc.
MNJONES1907's avatar
MNJONES1907
Copper Contributor
Oct 17, 2021
My issue is a little different, I suppose. While I am renaming a file, regardless of the extension type, file explorer will freeze and then close the rename box, reverting back to original file name. I haven't gotten to the point of tabbing to next file to rename yet. It ALWAYS takes 2-3 attempts to rename ONE file. By the way these files are local and not in the network file server, yet. I have spun up a Win 10 VM and the same files can be renamed without issue.
  • SteveRaut's avatar
    SteveRaut
    Copper Contributor
    Dec 15, 2021

    MNJONES1907 

    I had a similar issue with renaming folders: it says that a file in that folder is used by another program, which is NOT the case. But I found out the bug: I saved an image form a mail in outlook in that folder. I cannot rename that folder until I CLOSE COMPLETLY Outlook, which was NOT the case in W 10. This is definitely a bug that needs fixing.
    Same issue if you opened a PDF from that folder: even if you close the file, you have to close Acrobat all together to rename your folder. Not efficient at all, especially if at work you have several PDF's open that you want to keep open.

    • MNJONES1907's avatar
      MNJONES1907
      Copper Contributor
      Dec 15, 2021

      SteveRaut

      That is interesting, indeed.  I, too, had that issue crop up frequently and would just get frustrated and reboot, thinking it was just another "undocumented feature" of an operating system that is not ready for prime time. I had rolled back to Win 10 for a while. After I noted that several updates had been released from the Microsoft Wizards, I thought I'd try it again. Nope. The same issues are still there. Windows Explorer frequently crawls to a stop and task manager doesn't respond, often eliciting a hard reboot. Windows Explorer closes and resets while renaming files. Windows Explorer no longer has "Move to folder" and "Copy to folder," however, there is a registry hack, but it has to be reapplied after any Windows update.  DX12 is so unstable, it is like trying to game on Windows Vista (remember that abomination?).  There are several other major inconveniences that I am not willing to live with, as well. So, I rolled back to Windows 10  and turned off the reminder to upgrade to Windows 11.  I haven't dropped out of the Windows Insider program yet because I read user comments and experiences to monitor for real fixes.  

  • perrycheng's avatar
    perrycheng
    Copper Contributor
    Oct 24, 2021

    I have the same problem with Win 11.  Explorer is extremely sluggish when renaming files or folders.  Why??  I have the latest built, Windows 11 Insider Preview 10.0.22483.1011 (rs_prerelease).  This has been going on for months.  The same thing as with Office Apps, they are very sluggish at times.