How to Fix File Explorer Not Responding in Windows 10

File Explorer or also known as Windows Explorer may be the most accessed program on your computer. The program enables you to visit folders and files, aside from displaying the desktop. But Windows 10 users may experience File Explorer not responding Windows 10. This is a trouble in which the program gets stuck and cannot respond to the command. How to fix this problem?

It is actually a common problem that can happen to any computer. Here, you are about to know how to fix File Explorer not responding in Windows 10. There are actually several ways to take, ranging from a simple restart to the more complex steps.

How to Solve File Explorer Not Responding Problem in Windows 10

The fact that File Explorer is an important element of Windows, you should know how to fix right after it encounters a problem. File Explorer not responding is a minor problem that can be solved by yourself without necessarily calling a professional technician. The following methods are easy to learn, helping you fix the problem right away.

1. Restart Windows Explorer

Restarting is the simplest and easiest way to save your life. This also applies to Windows Explorer that does not respond to the command in your Windows 10. You can simply restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager. Here is how to do it.

• On your taskbar, right-click then navigate to Task Manager. You can also access this Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del at once.
• Once it is opened, find Windows Explorer and right-click. Select Restart.

Your Windows Explorer should restart and respond to your command. If the problem persists, you may try another solution.

2. Clear Windows Explorer history

Emptying the history of your Windows Explorer can help solve the issue. You can try this method to make File Explorer works again. It is pretty easy to clear the history from your computer as you can do only in 3 steps.

• Open Control Panel from the Windows search box.
• Navigate to File Explorer Option and double click to open.
• On Clear File Explorer History under the Privacy menu, click Clear and press OK.
• Your Windows Explorer history is successfully cleared.

Try to open Windows Explorer. If the problem remains there, you can try another method below.

3. Open in a separate process

In some cases, the previous methods cannot solve File Explorer not responding Windows 10. You may need to find another method to run Windows Explorer without a problem. Try to open the explorer in a separate process may be an effective solution to get rid of the trouble.

• Press together Windows + S to open search box, then type File Explorer Options.
• You will see 3 tabs, select the View tab and scroll down.
• Find ‘Launch folder windows in a separate process’ and check the box. Click OK.

Many Windows users find this method is effective to make their File Explorer run immediately. But in some cases, you may need to restart the Windows before actually seeing the result.

4. Reset the setting

You may accidentally change the setting of Windows Explorer. If you suspect the change in setting is the one that causes the problem, you need to reset the Explorer. Resetting them is not a major task but is quite effective to overcome the trouble. Here is how to reset your Explorer setting.

• Press Windows + S at once to open the search box. Type File Explorer Options and click the entry.
• You will see a window that comes with three tabs. Make sure to click the General tab.
• Navigate to the Restore Defaults button and click to reset the setting. Click OK.
• Restart your computer. See if the trouble remains there.

In case this method cannot overcome the trouble, there is nothing to worry about. There are some other methods to try.

5. Uninstall display driver

If your File Explorer not responding Windows 10 persists, try to uninstall the display driver you are currently using. You can do the uninstallation from Device Manager.

• Open Windows Search box or press Windows + S at once, then type Device Manager. Click the entry name.
• Navigate to Display adapters and click.
• Your computer typically has one adapter device but some computers may have more than one. Find the active device and right-click, then click the Uninstall device.
• You will see a confirmation window, click Uninstall.
• You will need to restart the computer so that Windows can reinstall its display driver. This method is effective to make your File Explorer works.

Now that you know several methods to get rid of not responding File Explorer, you can try to solve the problem without calling a technician. File Explorer that does not respond to your command is common trouble on Windows 10, thus you should not worry when experiencing this problem. You will want to try all of these methods and find one that can bring back your Explorer.