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Windows 8.1 - File Explorer Slow

Discussion in 'Legacy Windows' started by axel, 2013/11/05.

  1. 2013/11/05
    axel

    axel Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hi all,
    since I upgraded to windows 8.1 file explorer is very slow. The green bar creeps slowly along and it takes a long time to open any folder. I tried to switch off Defender and tried various views ... nothing works to make it go faster.
    Anyone for a solution?
    Cheers
    Axel
     
    axel,
    #1
  2. 2013/11/06
    retiredlearner

    retiredlearner SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Hi axel, Have you tried running Checkdisk?
    Right click My Computer > Right click Local Disc > Properties > Tools > Error Checking > Check > Scan Drive. Neil.
     
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  4. 2013/11/06
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    The green bar represents a function of Indexing.

    Try a few searches through explorer (file explorer).
    If it too is slow then there is a fix to speed things up:

    Add this via Indexing Options:
    C:\Users\[YOURUSERNAME]\AppData

    See the 3rd question here:
    Indexing and Search: Frequently asked questions

    It's quite possible your entire drive is being indexed. AppData is all that needs to be indexed unless you want some multimedia files indexed.

    Other causes of the slow green progress bar are:
    corrupted images or multimedia files,
    empty folders,
    network storage drives,
    files in folders are changing because some app or program is writing to the directory (disable or uninstall all goofy unneeded apps).
     
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  5. 2013/11/06
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    You should not disable Windows Defender in W8 unless you have another antimalware solution installed and running.

    If this is due to indexing, letting it run will allow it to catch up then should not be a problem. That said, it is supposed to step aside when you are using the computer.

    How much free disk space do you have?
     
    Bill,
    #4
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  6. 2013/11/06
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    If you're bold and adventurous... Delete this file:

    C:\Users\YOUR User Name\AppData\Local\IconCache.db

    It'll get recreated....
     
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  7. 2013/11/06
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    Not really. Certain directories must be set as indexed directories else the progress bar will always be slow. If the whole drive is set to be indexed it will likely never fully get done unless you don't use the computer for anything for a very long time.
     
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  8. 2013/11/06
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Right. That's why I said letting it run will allow it to catch up. As noted here, indexing can take several hours - especially on large, heavily populated disks. But once done, only new and modified files will need to be re-indexed and that takes virtually no time at all. If not allowed to complete, searches on local drives will likely lead to "file not found" or "no results found" when you know darn well the file is there - somewhere.
     
    Bill,
    #7
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  9. 2013/11/06
    James Martin

    James Martin Geek Member

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    Would a Windows user (8, 7, Vista) be better off installing a third-party desktop search function - such as Copernic - instead of using Windows built-in search tool?

    I used it (Copernic) on XP, and it did a pretty good job in little time.
     
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  10. 2013/11/07
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    Better off? I think that is a matter of personal preference. Like many of the "native" tools built into Windows, they are only meant to be "basic" tools. And in many cases, that is all we need. These include Windows Defragger, Backup, and calculator. But some folks want more advanced tools and so for them, 3rd party tools may be better.

    One thing about W8 search over previous versions is it has 3 different search types, as explained here.
     
    Bill,
    #9
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