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I recently got a new computer running Windows 10 and I've found that I cannot use the Windows File Explorer. Essentially the issue I'm seeing this:

Things that work okay:

  • I can navigate through folders in the file explorer just fine.
  • Right clicking on a folder brings up the context menu just fine.
  • Right clicking anywhere within the window that isn't a file/folder item brings up the context menu just fine.
  • Single clicking on a file to highlight works just fine.
  • Clicked on a highlighted file to edit the name works just fine.

Things that don't work:

  • Right clicking on a file causes the file explorer to hang and the context menu only appears after 30 sec to more than a minute.
  • Double clicking on a file to open it causes file explorer to hang and takes a few minutes to open the file, even something as simple as a text document. However, if I open the main program and open the file from there, it opens right away (e.g., opening notepad and selecting the file after using ctrl-o).
  • Opening zipped files or even right clicking on them while they're on the desktop.

I'm unsure what could be causing file explorer to hang on interactions with files specifically and I cannot find anything online where someone else has experienced this specific issue.

In the process of setting things up, I did remove the onedrive folder from the explorer via the steps outlined in this procedure (namely editing the registry), but I made sure to copy/paste the addresses to get them right and I changed everything back to no avail.

If this is not the correct forum for this type of question, please let me know!

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2 Answers 2

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Sounds like it could be a broken/malfunctioning shell extension.

Try using ShellExView to disable all shell extensions, then if the slowness disappears you can re-enable them one-by-one until the problem returns.

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  • That's what I was thinking and tried using that tool. I disabled all non-Windows shell extensions and restarted windows explorer but the same problems persist.
    – zephyr
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 14:57
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    @zepher dang.. 9/10 times that's a winner. Have you tried using WhatIsHang?
    – motosubatsu
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 15:14
  • WhatIsHang actually seems useful. It indicates "A reference to a remote network file in the call stack. If this network file cannot be accessed, it might cause the hang problem" and then references me to a particular .exe with an odd path. I'll do some digging and report back, but this looks like a good lead.
    – zephyr
    Commented Sep 14, 2018 at 17:00
  • @zepher if the reference is to something over a network that it can't reach that would definitely cause the symptoms your seeing while it times out.
    – motosubatsu
    Commented Sep 15, 2018 at 6:46
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I managed to solve my problem, albeit with not the best solution.

I took a look at things with ShellExView, disabled all non-Windows related shell extensions, and restarted Windows Explorer. That did not solve any issues.

I then used WhatIsHang. Whenever Windows Explorer hung, I checked the output from this program, but ultimately this led nowhere.

Finally I logged onto the computer as another user which showed that this issue was not system wide and seemed only attached to my account.

To solve the issue, I made a backup of my C:/Users/<username> folder and deleted my user profile. Then I logged on again as a new user and restored all my documents and files. Somehow this solved the problem, but didn't really reveal the root cause of the issue.

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  • Glad you got it sorted!
    – motosubatsu
    Commented Sep 17, 2018 at 8:41

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