SOLVED Explorer.exe (File Browser) Not Responding Constantly

[NathanielWhitlock]

Okay, so I had recently fixed an issue by reinstalling Windows, and I've been running Windows fine for about a couple of weeks. I come home to a blank screen, yesterday. I had originally figured that it was on sleep mode, but I had been pressing buttons and shaking the mouse for a few minutes, checking the connection on the monitor, and just assumed that it had just died on me, or even restarted forcefully. (I have defer upgrades on with notify to schedule updates, since I'm not always ready for windows to update and I have a bunch of projects open throughout the day.) When I turned it on, it was updating, so I just left it be, but apparently it had trouble installing them? It started up, nonetheless, and everything was kind of a mess. Apps said they were not compatable with my installation of Windows, even though they ran just fine in my last session, and I just reinstalled those apps and they just work, now. The only problem I have now, at this point, is my File Browser not responding any time I do an action.

I noticed the side bar, where it lists my libraries (Music, Documents, Local Disc C, whenever it's just about to scroll down and display my C: drive, it hangs for about five minutes. Other then that, the same 5-minute hang happens whenever I open a new File Browser Window, go to a new folder, click on even a couple of icons without opening them, and basically anything that has to do with interacting with them. I can probably open one folder before it just hangs, again. This applies to explorer.exe and any app that opens the browser. sfc /scannow and chkdsk /f don't fix anything, in fact, they don't return an issue at all. I'm just stuck with a not responding explorer.exe. Any help is appreciated, although, as always, reinstalling is a last resort. Especially because of the fact I had just reinstalled Windows a couple of weeks ago, and this seems more of an Update caused issue if anything.

Here's another note. I have had a couple times where I can explore my libraries with no issue. The problem comes up again when I scroll the sidebar to Local Disc C: level. Apparently it hangs whenever I explore system files, and only 50% of the time I explore my personal files.

 

[Trouble]

Try clean booting the system and see if that produces any relief. Run it like that for a day or two and check Windows Update manually in the interim to make sure everything is up to date.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929135
Use the steps for Windows 8 / 8.1 (same for Windows 10)
Easily done and easily undone.
You're basically just disabling all Startup Items and all non-Microsoft services. Do no mess with the Microsoft services. Be sure to check the box to hide them before proceeding.
See if that provides any relief from the problem or if it still persists.

 

[NathanielWhitlock]

Sorry I've been away for a while. I did manage to temporarily go away from the situation by hiding away the navigation pane and reminding myself to be careful when going to This PC folder. Windows was bugging me about updates, so I decided to go ahead with that just in case. Although this was kind of a risk of making things worse, it actually fixed my issue. It still hangs for about two seconds when opening a new window, but I'm fine for the rest of the session. Maybe the update patched up the holes it tore when failing. Either way, my problem is gone, now, and I'm relieved of that. I'll keep updated if it ever happens again and the solution ever fails me. Windows is fully functioning, now, and I'm happy for that. ^^