Windows Explorer not responding on your operating system? Need to fix it yourself? I have tested and run through the following solution hacks for you to experience better browsing.
Browsing through your hard drive just got easier and with new features with the new version of Windows Explorer but lags and little bugs are a remain. So if your Windows Explorer on your new Windows 10 or 7 is not responding, the following steps will surely help you gain a pace over your operating system glitches.
What is Windows Explorer?
Windows Explorer was first incorporated in Windows 95. It was later renamed to File Explorer. File Explorer is just the graphical file management utility of Microsoft Windows.
Every time you access a disk on your hard drive or open a folder, you are using File Explorer. This system utility tool lets you to conveniently access files and directories located on your local disk or in any attach removable disk drives. When you select a file using the tool, you can perform a variety of tasks. Tasks like renaming, moving or copying, publishing, deleting and printing of files and data. You can access, move, cut, copy and paste entire folders. You can move or copy and delete large folder at one go between different disk drives of your hard disk.
Like every software and tool, File Explorer or Windows Explorer also has its set of bugs and glitches. You can go through the guide below and resolve the usual problems.
Check this: Steam Clint Bootstrapper not responding
Reasons
When your Windows Explorer is not responding on your Windows 10, it probably because of the following reasons;
- System Files may be mismatching
- Your system may be infected by virus or malware
- Applications running (can even be running in the background) can cause problems.
- Video driver crashes.
Solutions
Video Card Driver
An outdated driver can cause problems. If your video card driver is not up to date it can produce crashes and problems with seamless functionality.
Try to update the driver. To check for pending updates you can use the Windows Update tool. This toolkit comes preloaded on your operating system present. The Windows Update tool can check for and install the relevant updates at the same time. You can also choose to visit your OS developer’s support website to download the drivers required manually.
Scan for Virus or Malware
Virus and Malware affect your PC and hinder its performance. Your system can get affected by malware and virus from the internet. Use your installed antivirus to scan your system for virus infections. If you do not have an anti-virus installed you can choose to buy one or download the Microsoft develop free antivirus Windows Essentials.
Safe Mode
You can choose to reboot your system if Windows Explorer Stops working. Click on Start button and Restart your computer. When your system is booting choose the Safe Mode option and startup your system. Try performing not functions like browsing the hard disk, copy or paste files. If the problems are gone, good you just resolved the problem. If the problem persists use the Clean Boot option.
Clean Boot Environment
The clean boot feature deals with finding problems regarding application related to startup issues. There are files and applications that your system initiates automatically when you boot your computer. These files can get corrupted or outdated. If you do not know how to Clean Boot your system you can always google “how to Start Clean Boot environment in windows”.
System File Checker
Use the System file checker tool to look for corrupt or missing files. Just follow these steps:
- Click Start.
- Type in ‘cmd’ in the search box available.
- From the listed results, Right-click on cmd and choose Run as Administrator. Enter the password of the administrator account, if any and click continue
- In the command prompt enter the command ‘SFC/scannow and press Enter
Wait a few minutes for the scan to end. This tool scans through the local data on your hard drive for corrupt files and fixes them on its own.
Test the Ram
Hardware can too be the issue. A faulty RAM can also limit the functionality of your computer. To check whether your Ram is working properly, you can use the Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool. This is how you can do it :
- Click on Start
- Type in Memory Diagnostics and select the toolkit from the listed results.
- The Memory Diagnostics tool will open, choose the available option Restart now and check for updates.
Corrupted Files
Corrupted image files are more than often a common issue with this error message. Accessing corrupted image files or pictures can crash your Windows Explorer or even your system. There may be one or multiple files or even whole folder containing images, which are corrupt. To check for corrupted files, follow these simple steps :
- Click Start
- Open My Computer/ Computer/ This PC depending on what operating system you are using.
- Choose Organize
- Select Folder and search options
- Click on Folder Options.
- Click the check by the option Always show Icons, never thumbnail
- Remove the check for the option to Display file icon on thumbnails.
- Click on OK
Navigate to any folders that have videos or pictures and check if you can reproduce the error. If Windows Explorer crashes, this folder possibly contains one or more pictures files that are corrupt or contain a corrupted thumbnail.
System Restore
If none of the above solutions is producing positive results, you can perform a System Restore and restore your computer back to a time without the issue. You can perform this step only if you have a system restore point already created. If you do not have a restore point created it is recommended to create one. If you do not know how to set a Restore Point you can always refer to your OS developer’s website support section.
In-Place Upgrade
Your issue is probably solved by know but it can be a recurring problem on your computer. For such case, it can be better to try the In-place Upgrade feature. This feature is quite new in tech terms and can do things differently. In In-Place upgrade, you don’t need to worry about losing your data or installed programs. You don’t need to make any backup before using this feature. To learn more about how to Perform In-Place Upgrade, just search the web.
Conclusion
Windows Explorer or File Explorer is your graphical interface for file management of Windows operating systems. Since incorporated in Windows 95, has been present on every other Windows OS. Try to keep drivers and software updated and scan for viruses and corrupted files from time to time. Keep an active and up to date antivirus and stay away from 3rd party downloads.
Leave a Reply