Speed Of Windows File Explorer Opening

[hlewton]

Recently there has been a definite slowdown in the speed of opening Windows File Explorer. I have read that this is happening to many, even in Windows 10. I have not found a solution that works for me. I have tried running sfc /scannow, DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth, chkdsk /r, my disks are solid state and they have been retrimmed, which I believe is the term for optimization for them. Nothing improves how fast File Explorer opens. Any suggestions on how I can get File Explorer to open quickly again, as it used to?

Thanks

[stuck]

If you've read that this is happening to others than I doubt there is anything you can do to fix the problem. You will just have to wait until Microsoft release an update that fixes whatever it was they broke and that caused the slowdown.

Ken

[hlewton]

If you've read that this is happening to others than I doubt there is anything you can do to fix the problem. You will just have to wait until Microsoft release an update that fixes whatever it was they broke and that caused the slowdown.

Ken

The problem doesn't seem to be new, as far as I can yell, since it has affected Win 10 some time ago. It doesn't appear to me that MS is going to do anything about it. If that were the case, I think it would already have happened.

I have also read that I should look for processes that are using a lot of the resources. So I am going to attach a screenshot that shows the one with the highest amount of resources with the exception of Malawarebytes. It is Edge and I don't use Edge, as far as I know. So would it be safe to disable it or is Edge used somewhere I am not aware of?

Edge.jpg

[hlewton]

Let me add this to my above question about Edge,

Open Microsoft Edge and navigate to the ellipses (…) to open Settings and more. Select Settings > Systems and performance. Scroll to Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed to toggle it off. Now, when the browser is closed, it won't be running in the background.

Should I do this or can I just somehow disable Edge all together without uninstalling i?

[HansV]

I would not recommend uninstalling Microsoft Edge - it's not easy to do that, and chances are it would be reinstalled with the next Windows update.
You can try the following:
Start Task Manager.
Activate the Startup "tab".
Is Microsoft Edge listed? If so, right-click it and select Disable from the popup menu.

[hlewton]

I would not recommend uninstalling Microsoft Edge - it's not easy to do that, and chances are it would be reinstalled with the next Windows update.
You can try the following:
Start Task Manager.
Activate the Startup "tab".
Is Microsoft Edge listed? If so, right-click it and select Disable from the popup menu.

It was there and I disabled it. Thank you.

[JoeP]

In September 2023 with Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft released a "new" File Explorer to update its look and feel. Microsoft called it "modernizing" File Explorer. Since then many have complained about the speed of File Explorer from loading to enumerating folder content and other functions. We can only hope that Microsoft will improve FE over time.

[hlewton]

Thank you Joe for that information.

[ChrisGreaves]

Recently there has been a definite slowdown in the speed of opening Windows File Explorer.

I have had slowdowns in operation rather than in the application opening, since at least Win7, but found that VoidTools's Everything is some 50 to 100 times faster and 10 times more versatile than Explorer. "Everything"'s content searching can't be beaten.

I think that most of the slowdown in operation that I endure in Explorer is due to my slack habit of maintaining SUBSTituted drives.
That I continue to maintain SUBSTituted drives tells you that they don't slow down Everything at all.

Cheers, Chris

[Mico]

In September 2023 with Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft released a "new" File Explorer to update its look and feel. Microsoft called it "modernizing" File Explorer. Since then many have complained about the speed of File Explorer from loading to enumerating folder content and other functions. We can only hope that Microsoft will improve FE over time.

Yeah! They really should!