0

On my Windows 10 Pro PC, the Windows File Explorer periodically (ca. once or twice in a minute) refreshes itself.

By that, I mean that the file list disappears (for only a fraction of a second), then, I find myself on the top of the list. It also cancels any ongoing rename operations and discards selection.

To fix the issue, I searched on the Internet: apparently, lots of people have the same issue, but none of the recommended solutions worked for me.

I've tried:

  • Performing a clean boot: issue persisted in clean-mode as well
  • Running sfc /scannow: says "No problems found"
  • Running chkdsk C: /r /f: says "No problems found"
  • Setting a static background image: I have a static background image (I've had it before as well)
  • Disabling "Adjust theme color": I have the "Adjust theme color" setting disabled (I've had it disabled before as well)

So, what could cause the issue, and how could it be fixed?

Improve this question

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
0

Mine did exactly the same - mostly just after boot - Create a new admin user, login and the explorer refresh will stop. I then transferred documents etc over to the new profile. No software needs re-installing, you just need to manually sort out fonts, wallpapers etc. Also make sure you have backed up your favorites and tested the backup too.

Improve this answer
2
  • This might work for me (the newly created account didn't have the problem) but I have multiple users on my computer that are affected. I'll wait for other answers, maybe there's a solution without migrating the entire computer to itself...
    – FZs
    Commented Apr 15, 2020 at 6:56
  • Multiple profiles is a pain - would go for full system refresh with keeping files
    – JohnnyVegas
    Commented Apr 15, 2020 at 15:25
0

This is usually related to the slideshow feature because of the accent color synchronization. You can test this yourself by changing the accent color and seeing if that is when the explorer refresh happens. Some have mentioned that this is expected behavior as per the Windows Explorer team but obviously if you have your wallpaper refresh set to something like 1 min and you are matching accent colors.....this is a painful thing to live with.

Improve this answer
4
  • I know that this is a common cause of this issue, but as I wrote it in my question (last bullet), I've disabled this feature, and the problem persisted... Thank you for writing an answer though.
    – FZs
    Commented Oct 22, 2020 at 19:41
  • I edited my answer after doing some more fiddling around and then looking online again. If you disable "automatically select an accent color from my background" this should stop the Explorer refresh. You can optionally disable the two checkboxes under "Show accent color on the following surfaces" as well. The key to my original answer (but it was unclear) was the color sync that is often selected with the desktop slideshow. If you have a very fast slideshow change, this can be really annoying as it refreshes every minute. To check, select a color yourself and see if explorer refreshes.
    – user1233155
    Commented Oct 22, 2020 at 20:05
  • For example, I had a user that had background changes every 1 min, accent color selected automatically from background, and both color checkboxes checked under "Show accent color....". If I manually chose a new color, explorer would refresh and jump to the top of the list of files immediately after. I was able to leave the background on a 1 min refresh and explorer stays put but the key was to uncheck the 3 accent color options.
    – user1233155
    Commented Oct 22, 2020 at 20:10
  • Just one final comment for clarification - there is at least one accent color in File Explorer (there can be more depending what boxes you check in color settings) and I can see why Explorer would need to refresh to match that color(s) to the changing system accent color. So long as you manually choose an accent color and stick with it, File Explorer should behave as expected regardless of other color settings you enable. File Explorer should not need to refresh so long as the system accent color doesn't change.
    – user1233155
    Commented Oct 22, 2020 at 20:50

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .