How to fix problems with File Explorer in Windows 10?

“Identify your problems but give your power and energy to solutions.”

Tony Robbins

There are a lot of problems that can occur with File Explorer in Windows 10,  and in this article, I am going to talk about the causes of the issues and how to fix them. Most people start experiencing these problems  when they upgraded from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10. Users find these issues  very annoying because File Explorer is often used to access computer folders and documents, and it limits the access to their documents.

SECTION A

Here are some of the problems we are going to talk about and try to solve in this article:

1. File Explorer is not responding, working or loading – this is a common problem that occurs with File Explorer in Windows 10. We are going to talk about how to fix all this problem.
2. File Explorer with Windows 10 hangs – this problem has been reported by many users. It can occur due to many reasons, and we will also talk about the solution
3. File Explorer with Windows 10 does not open and keeps closing
4. File explorer freezes Win 10.
5. Windows 10 File Explorer crashes.
6. File Explorer with Windows 10 freezes.

If you experience any of the problems listed above, pay close attention and follow all the steps we are going to talk about in the next section.

SECTION B

This section will provide you  with the solutions to the problems listed above.

Solution 1

The first thing to do when File Explorer crashes or stops responding is to restart your computer. If restarting does not help , then try the next solutions.

Solution 2

Use Event Viewer to find the cause of the problem.

1. Open Start Menu, type event in the search box and click Event Viewer or press Windows Key + R to open Run, then type eventvwr and press enter to open Event Viewer.
2. Double-click on Windows Logs, then select System.
3. Look for Error in the middle window pane with a red exclamation mark and click on it.
4. This will give you  the details of the App or process causing Windows Explorer to crash.
5. Uninstall the App from Control Panel or close the process from Task Manager.

Solution 3

Run netsh and winshock reset

1. Open the Start Menu, type cmd in the search box and right-click on Command Prompt, then select Run as administrator. You can also do this by pressing Windows key + X and choosing Windows Powershell (Admin) from the menu.
2. In Command Prompt or Windows Powershell, type netsh and hit Enter.
3. Next type winshock reset and hit Enter.
4. When the process is completed, restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Solution 4

Uninstall IDT Audio!

This software has also been reported as one of the causes of File Explorer problems. So, uninstalling the IDT Audio software can help you fix your issue. After uninstalling the software , make sure you delete all the files and registry entries associated with it.

This method will find the root cause of the Explorer crashing problem.

1. Open the Start Menu, type Reliability into the Search box, then click View reliability history.
2. It will take some time to generate  a report, in which you will find  the File Explorer problem.
3. The most common cause of this problem is  the incompatibility of IDTNC64.cpl with Windows 10.
4. Open the Start Menu and type cmd in the search box.
5. Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
6. Type ren IDTNC64.CPL IDTNC64.CPL.old in Command Prompt and press Enter.
7. Restart you PC when the process is finished.
8. If the above procedure fails, then you need to uninstall IDT Audio Manager from Control Panel.
9. In some cases, the Control Panel will fail to open. You need to disable Windows Error Reporting Service.
10. Press Window Key + R to open Run,  then type services.msc and press Enter.
11. Right-click on Windows Error Reporting Service and select Properties.
12. Set Startup type to Disable and make sure that Service status isStopped,  then click OK.
13. Press Window Key + Q,  then select Control Panel.
14. You can now uninstall IDT Audio to fix the File Explorer crashing problem
15. Restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Solution 5

You may be experiencing the File Explorer crashing problems because files which are supposed to be hidden by default are now revealed. You can fix this issue by reverting the settings so that the files stay hidden. Follow these steps to revert the settings:

1. Open the Start Menu and type File Explorer Options.
2. Now click File Explorer Options. This will open the File Explorer Options window.
3. Go to the View tab and select Don’t show hidden files, folders or drives.
4. Click Apply, then select OK to save the changes.

This method has solved the File Explorer issue for many users. Make sure to try it out.

Solution 6

This solution is aimed at launching Folder Windows In A Separate Process.

1. Open the Start Menu and type File Explorer Options.
2. Now click File Explorer Options. This will open the File Explorer Options window.
3. Now go to the View tab and check Launch Folder Windows In A Separate Process.
4. Click Apply and OK to save the changes.

Solution 7

Changing the size of text, Apps and other items has been reported to solve the File Explorer crashing issue. This occurs when the size of text, Apps and other items  is set at 175%. Follow these steps to change the size of text:

1. Press Windows Key + I to quickly open Settings,  then click on System.
2. Click Display on the left-hand menu
3. Now change the size of texts, Apps and other items to 150% or 100%.
4. Reboot your computer for the changes to take effect.

Solution 8

Disabling Quick Access and File Preview features has solved the problem for many users , so I suggest you try this method.

1. Open File Explorer Options as mentioned above.
2. Set Open File Explorer to This PC in the General Tab. Uncheck Show recently used files in Quick access and show frequently used folder in Quick access options.
3. On the View tab , uncheck Show preview handlers in preview pane.
4. Click on Apply and OK to save the changes.

Solution 9

Clear File Explorer history

1. Open Start Menu and type Control Panel.
2. Search for File Explorer and click File Explorer option.
3. Go to the General tab and click Clear next to Clear File History.
4. Reboot your computer to save the changes.

Solution 10

Perform a clean boot of your computer.

Some startup applications can interfere with the performance of you PC, causing File Explorer problems. To find the App causing these problems,  you need to perform a clean boot.

1. Press Windows Key + R to open Run. Type msconfig and press Enter
2. Go to the Service tab, check Hide all Microsoft services,  then click on the Disable all button.
3. On the Startup tab,  click on Open Task Manager.
4. This will display the list of startup applications. Right-click on the first entry on the list and select Disable. Do this for all the entries on the list.
5. Now go back to the System Configuration window, click on Apply and OK to save the changes made.
6. Choose the option to restart now when prompted to restart your PC.
7. If this solves the File Explorer problem, you need to know the particular App causing this problem. Repeat the above steps and enable all the Apps and services one by one to find the problematic App or service. When you find the App or service , uninstall or disable it.

Solution 11

Resetting the File associations can solve the Problem of File Explorer freezing. To do this using the following steps:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing Windows Key + I.
2. On the Settings app, select the Apps section.
3. Select Default Apps from the menu on the left.
4. Go down to the Reset to the Microsoft recommended defaults and click on the Reset button in the right pane.
5. This should resolve the problem with  the unresponsive File Explorer.

Solution 12

Auslogics Anti-Malware software will help you prevent the File Explorer problems by scanning your PC and removing all unwanted files and stopping all unwanted processes. This software also increases your computer performance. Follow this link to download it  https://www.auslogics.com/go/blog_fileinspect_fromarticle/en/software/anti-malware/

I hope this article has solved your issues with File Explorer. Make sure to share this article with other users that face the same issues  with their File Explorer.

Do you have any ideas or questions regarding this issue?

We are looking forward to your comments!