3

Question:

Whenever Windows Explorer is opened, it freezes and shows the "App Not Responding" dialog. Then it crashes or shows the contents of the folder I clicked and freezes afterwards.

I tried all the solutions I could find online:

  1. I ran System File Checker (SFC) sfc /scannow
  2. Scanned for viruses
  3. Restarted my PC
  4. Updated my Windows 11 to latest version
  5. Restarted File Explorer from Task Manager
  6. Cleared File Explorer history
  7. Ensured my Display Settings is scaled to 100%
  8. Ensured there is enough free storage on my PC

None of the above worked for me. What else can I do?

Holyfield
  • 81

2 Answers2

5

Answer:

I eventually found the solution by following the steps outlined below:

  1. Go to Control Panel
  2. Search for "Indexing Options"
  3. Click on the "Advanced" Button. A new dialog opens.
  4. Locate the "Troubleshooting" section and click on "Rebuild"
  5. The Indices begin to rebuild again and once they're done, your Windows File Explorer will begin working again.

How did I know it had something to do with the Search Indexing Options? I opened Services from the Task Manager and located "Windows Search". I noticed it had stopped working. Upon restarting it, it stopped automatically after a 2-3 seconds.

However, I noticed that whenever I started it, the File Explorer which was frozen and "Not Responding" would suddenly start responding again. But once the Windows Search service crashes again, the File Explorer would also freeze again. So I checked the description of the "Windows Search" service and it says: "Provides content indexing, property caching, and search results for files, email, and other content."

This got me thinking that it had something to do with Indexing on File Explorer, and that was when I searched online for Windows Search Indexing and how it could be re-indexed. Upon following the re-indexing instructions, my Windows File Explorer started responding normally again. In addition, the Windows Search Indexing Service which always stopped automatically started working steadily again without crashing.

I thought to share this in case anyone else is going through the same challenge. It was frustrating because I tried all the other methods I could find online with no progress. Some even suggested re-installing windows or running Windows Recovery; of course I didn't go down that path.

Ramhound
  • 42,708
Holyfield
  • 81
0

Another way if you are want to do it with CMD. It should be run as Administrator

net stop wsearch <Enter>
del "%ProgramData%\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows\Windows.edb" <ENTER>
net start wsearch <ENTER>
user10191234
  • 455