Open File Explorer and go to the View tab.It is worth it though since it can speed up File Explorer. Resetting folder options can help speed up File Explorer but it will also reset the folder layouts you’ve set up. Make sure Thumbnails is selected and click OK.On the General tab, click Disk Cleanup.Right-click the C drive, or your Windows drive, and select Properties from the context menu.If File Explorer has slowed down, or the files in a folder are taking a long time to load, it is possible that the thumbnail cache has errors in it.

Thumbnails may seem like a small thing but it isn’t easy generating thumbnails for lots of files. Possible fixes for File Explorer slow: 1. Since there are so many different things that can slow down in File Explorer, you will find a variety of different fixes. Generally, when you open File Explorer it tends to take a few seconds to show files, the thumbnails may not generate right away, the location bar that fills with a green progress bar may take exceptionally long to fill, the folder view may take a few seconds to load, navigating between folders might be slow, and more. There are quite a few different symptoms of File Explorer running slow. In some cases, the File Explorer does slow down and it can slow down to a point where you have to wait quite a few seconds before you can interact with files in a folder. The folder view will be presented however you’ve set it. A folder will open within seconds and you will be able to see thumbnail previews for supported file types. Why is File Explorer so slow?įile Explorer can generally handle large folders really well, even those with lots of heavy images in them. You might see recommendations for a few alternate file managers for Windows but the major portion of users stick with File Explorer.

It’s been a part of the OS for years and Windows’ users generally like it.

File Explorer is one of the best apps that Microsoft has developed.

Windows explorer locking up