How to Fix File Explorer Not Responding in Windows 10

File Explorer is a baked-in instrument for file administration on Windows systems. This tool is the fundamental application to explore files and other data in the computer system. It allows you to access and handle all files present on the storage drive.

Unresponsive Behavior of The File Explorer :

Sometimes, due to some technical glitch, the file explorer starts malfunctioning, and an error is displayed that the file explorer is not responding. Nowadays, in the recent versions, Windows explorer is renamed as, file explorer. They are designed for the same purpose, and they just differ in name.

To Open File Explorer in Windows 10, either click the File Explorer icon available on the Taskbar, or you can press Windows key + E together on the keyboard.

How to Fix File Explorer Not Responding in Windows 10?

However, a lot of users have encountered Windows explorer not responding problem in Windows 10, when they try launching it. In this post, we are explaining here detailed steps to perform fixing of this issue. To get help with file explorer in Windows 10 you can try the below-mentioned methods to overcome this issue :

Here are some methods to fix your error related to the File Explorer :

1. Check for Updates :

To overcome this glitch in File explorer, you require updating your windows. Generally, many of these glitches are fixed in the updates rolled out by Microsoft. For updating your windows, you need to follow these steps :

1. Click on the Start Button and then navigate to the Settings. (gear-shaped icon).
2. On the Settings page under Update & Security, Click on the Windows update.
3. Hit on the Check of Updates button.
4. Install the updates if available, and restart your device to get new settings in effect.

2. Restarting your Device :

If you are unable to search for the Windows updates, you require restarting your PC. This will install previous pending updates and can resolve your problem.

Also See: What Makes Windows hosting a Seamless Choice?

3. Optimizing Advanced System Settings and Virtual Memory Settings :

For Optimizing Advanced system settings and virtual memory settings, you require the below-mentioned steps:

1. Open the Control panel by typing the Control Panel in the Search box.
2. Click on the System in the Control panel window, and then, click on Advanced system settings.
3. Click on the Advanced tab, and further under Performance head, click on the Settings, and then navigate to the Advanced option.
4. Verify that the settings are made to Adjust for the best performance under the Programs Tab.
5. Now, in the Virtual memory settings, Click on change and verify that Automatically manage paging file sizes for all drives is chosen.
6. Click on the Apply button.
7. Restart your PC to get settings in effect.

4. Using Disk Cleanup :

To free up space on the Storage disk, you need to run the Disk clean-up utility in Windows 10 on your device. To execute, you require trying these steps :

1. In the search box, type Disk Cleanup.
2. Select Disk Cleanup from the search results.
3. Select the checkbox for each type of file available in the list.
4. Click on the OK button.

5. Use System Maintenance troubleshooter :

This is another fix for fixing the issue of file explorer being non-responsive. You require the following steps to run the system maintenance troubleshooter. To run the system maintenance, you require following the steps mentioned below :

1. Open the Control panel by typing the Control Panel in the Search box.
2. In the Control panel window, click on the view by menu, select large icons or small icons.
3. Click on troubleshooting and further click on view all.
4. Now, select System Maintenance.
5. In the System Maintenance troubleshooter window, click on the Next button and select Try troubleshooting as an administrator.
6. Review the displayed results and follow the instructions displayed on the screen.

6. Use system file checker :

System File Checker is a service in Windows 10 that reviews for problems related to files on your Windows system. To use this service, you need to follow these steps:

1. Verify that the version installed on your computer is the most advanced, and further restart your system to install the previously downloaded updates.
2. Click On the Taskbar to Open the Search Box. In the search box, type Command prompt.
3. Run the Command prompt as an Administrator and Click on Yes.
4. Type the mentioned command in the Command prompt  DISM.exe/Online/Cleanup-image /Restorehealth and press Enter.

This step may consume some extra time, depending upon the performance of the system.

1. When you are able to see the message “The operation completed successfully”, then, type SFC/scan now in the command box and hit Enter.
2. Type Exit after seeing this message “Verification 100% complete”.

7. Run Automatic repair

An automatic repair tool helps in repairing the corrupted registry files of Windows 10 and helps to overcome this unresponsive behavior of the file explorer. T launch automatic repair you need to follow the steps :

1. Click on the Start Menu and then select Settings.
2. In the settings tab, and Click on Update & Security.
3. Further, Click on the Recovery tab and then navigate to the Advanced Startup.
4. Hit on Restart now and then to the Windows 10 Advanced setup. 
5. In the Choose an option window, click on Troubleshoot.
6. Select the Advanced options window and click on the Automated repair.
7. Enter your details as instructed, i.e., name And password.
8. The automatic repair will now start, and the PC might restart during the process.

Conclusion :

Windows File Explorer is an inbuilt utility of Windows10, and it requires working flawlessly for efficient working on Windows 10. The explorer helps in managing files & data on the storage disk and also helps in improving the overall performance of the system. We hope you must have acquired ample knowledge about how to fix these issues of file explorer. If any of the methods worked, do not hesitate to comment your feedback in the comment box below.