Today, my laptop suddenly experienced the Windows Explorer not responding issue.
The symptoms were like this:
- When you double-click on a document, for example a PDF file or an Excel file, by right, the file should be opened by its associated application. Now, it hangs when the application trying to load up. The rest of the Windows and running applications will still function well, only the portion of Windows Explorer or File Explorer hangs up.
- When you right-click on a file icon, by right, a pop-up option menu should appear. Now, it hangs before the pop-up menu is able to show up.
To fix this, you will need to go to command prompt window with administrator's right.
Because the right-click function no longer working, you can no longer just call out the CMD icon, right click on it, and select "Run as administrator" anymore.
Luckily, there is still alternative way to do so without using the right click menu.
To do so, press Win-R to open the Run dialog box, key-in "cmd" and press ctrl-shift-Enter. The command prompt window with administrator's right will be opened.
Then, run the System File Checker (SFC) to scan and repair your system files that could be corrupted.
The command is:
C:\> sfc /scannow
The process will take some time before it reached 100% completion.
Next, run the Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool to further scan and repair any corrupted critical system files.
The command is:
C:\> dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Your computer needs to be connected to the Internet when you execute this command.
After the process is completed, restart your computer. Hopefully, this is able to fix your problem. It did fix my laptop problem!
