File Explorer, previously known as Windows Explorer, is a file manager application used by Windows operating systems to browse folders and files. The file explorer provides a graphical interface to navigate and access the files stored on the computer. Well, sometimes you might experience Windows 10 File Explorer Not responding. A few users report after a recent windows update can’t open any files through Windows Explorer. It continuously getting not responding.
And this problem most commonly occurs because of corrupted system files, buggy updates, incompatible outdated display drivers, viruses and malware infection and more. Well if Windows 10 File Explorer is not responding for you, or other parts of the Windows interface are not working as expected, You can fix the issue with one of the solutions below.
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File Explorer Not Responding Windows 10
If you are very first-time notice windows file explorer not working as expected, a simple restart may help if a temporary glitch causing the issue.
Its recommended to perform a full system scan with the latest updated antivirus or antimalware application to make sure virus malware infection not causing the issue.
Start windows clean boot state that help determine if third-party service causing explorer to stop working.
Restart The Explorer
- Open task manager using keyboard shortcut ctrl + shift + Esc
- locate task windows explorer, right-click and select restart.
- You’ll see the desktop icons and the Taskbar disappear for a second or two and then come back.
- Now check if Windows explorer working as expected.
Pro Tip: If Desktop icons won’t come back then on task manager click file -> Run new task -> type explorer.exe and click ok.
Install the latest Windows Updates
Microsoft regularly releases cumulative updates for addressing the common bugs and vulnerabilities. These updates fix a lot of issues and sometimes, installing them on your computer can also resolve past issues as well.
- Press Windows key + I shortcut to launch Settings
- Click on Update & Security, the windows update,
- Here Under the Windows Update tab, you will see any pending updates waiting to be downloaded or installed.
- Install and reboot your PC to check if File Explorer is working again.
Run The SFC Utility
As discussed before corrupted missing system files mostly cause this issue, we recommend run the system file checker utility that automatically detects and restores missing files with correct ones.
- Type cmd on start menu search, from search results right-click on command prompt and select run as administrator,
- Now type command sfc /scannow and hit the enter key on the keyboard to execute the same.
- This will start scanning the system for missing corrupted system files.
- During the Scanning process, sfc utility will inspect all of the important Windows files on your computer including Windows DLL files.
- If System File Checker finds an issue with any of these protected files, it will replace them with the correct one.
- Wait until complete the scanning process, and restart your PC once 100% completes the scanning process.
Check Problems for Display Drivers
Corrupted and incompatible Device Drives may also cause this problem and Especially the Display driver. Windows Explorer can crash if the video driver fails to perform as it’s supposed to be and Which can occur due to a corrupt or outdated driver.
Visit your graphics card manufacturer’s website. Search by the card’s model and download the appropriate drivers compatible with your operating system and system type (x64 or x86). To know them both, hold the Windows key and press R, type msinfo32 and press Enter.
Also, you can Update manually the Display driver from Device Manager.
- Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc and click ok,
- This will open the Windows Device Manager where you can find all installed Device driver list.
- From here expand the Display Adapter,
- Right-click on installed Graphics Card Driver and Select update Driver software.
- On Next Screen Select Search Automatically for updated driver software.
- Then windows will check for the latest available driver for the same.
- If is there any new update available windows download and install. after complete Simply restart the windows and check.
If not work simply Right-click on the Installed driver on Device manager windows and click on Uninstall. After that download, the latest driver from the manufacturer website and install most of the time this tip work for users.
Clear your System’s RAM from Memory Problems
Acknowledging the importance of holding key instructions and application codes, faulty RAM can cause irregular behaviors within Windows. To check for these errors, use the built-in memory diagnostic tool, See How To Run Memory Diagnose Tool To Fix Memory Problems
Perform system restore
If none above solutions work for you it’s time to use the system restore feature that revert system settings to the previous working state. And that may help fix the windows explorer problem as well.
- search for sysdm.cpl and open it.
- Under the System Protection tab, check if the Protection Settings for the primary drive, usually the C drive where your OS is installed, is turned on. If yes, continue with the steps below.
- In the same tab, click on System Restore. A new window will pop up. Click on Next and follow on-screen instructions.
Also read:
- How to fix Windows 10 NTFS File System Blue Screen Error
- Fix Audio services not responding Problem on windows 10
- What to do when System File Checker Unable To Fix Corrupted System Files
- Solved: Keyboard Input not Working on Windows 10
- Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware (Code 37)
