IT'S GEEK TO ME: Getting around Windows File Explorer performance bottlenecks

Question: Besides starting my Windows 11 laptop in Safe Mode, how can I configure it to open with minimal 'stuff' running? My File Explorer seems to choke/freeze, requiring restart, after I select too many files at once to say sort all by a certain file attribute (date taken in the example of photographs). I'm thinking it's choking because too much 'stuff' is hogging resources. My machine runs fine no matter how many demands I make of it, otherwise. — William R. Fort Walton Beach, Florida Answer: Ah, the classic 'too much stuff' conundrum! I imagine we've all been there at one time or another. You buy a powerful new computer, it handles complex tasks like a champ, and then a basic feature built right into the Windows operating system brings the whole parade to a grinding halt. It is incredibly frustrating when your machine can handle massive demands but chokes on a folder full of family vacation photos. Your troubleshooting instinct are pretty sharp, but, while Safe Mode is a great diagnostic environment, it is not practical for a problem such as this, because besides paring down the 'stuff' that runs, it also disables your normal drivers, network capabilities, and even the overall look of your operating system. Fortunately, Windows 11 allows you to perform what we techies call a 'Clean Boot' to trim the background fat without losing your network or display capabilities. Let's address your first goal: configuring your computer to boot up with the absolute bare minimum running in the background. We can achieve this in two quick steps. First, let's look at the apps that launch automatically on startup. Press the [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[Esc] keys simultaneously to open the Windows Task Manager. Look at the left-hand sidebar and click on the icon that looks like a little speedometer or a stopwatch — this is the 'Startup Apps' tab. You can probably guess from the name that it contains a list of everything that loads on boot. Go down the list, right-click on anything you do not absolutely need running the very second you turn on your machine (like Spotify, game launchers, or cloud storage clients), and select Disable. Don't worry; you aren't deleting the apps. You are just telling them to stay asleep until you explicitly click on them. Make a list as you go, so you can re-enable them later. Second, perform a systemic trim using the System Configuration tool. Press [WinKey]+[R] to bring up the 'Run' box. Type 'msconfig' into the field, and hit [Enter]. Go to the 'Services' tab. Before you do anything else, click the checkbox at the very bottom that says 'Hide all Microsoft services.' This is your safety net; it prevents you from accidentally turning off something Windows needs to survive. Once the critical Microsoft services are hidden, look at what remains. These are background updaters and telemetry tools from third-party software you've installed. You can uncheck the ones you don't need running constantly, then click 'OK.' When Windows asks you to restart, go ahead and do so. You are now running a much leaner version of Windows 11. As a software engineer, I feel like I have a duty to point out that your background 'stuff' might actually not be the culprit in this specific crime. Since your laptop handles other heavy demands perfectly, your system resources (like RAM and CPU power) are likely doing just fine. The real culprit is almost certainly File Explorer itself, specifically how it handles metadata (data about the data) in large quantities. When you open a folder of images and tell File Explorer to sort them by 'Date Taken,' Windows cannot just look at the file names or standard file sizes. It has to physically open every single image file, read the hidden EXIF metadata embedded by your camera, find the specific time stamp, and then rearrange them. If you select hundreds of photos at once, Windows tries to cache all those details simultaneously. If a single photo file is slightly corrupted, or if a third-party preview handler (like a cloud syncing overlay or a photo editing extension) gets stuck trying to read it, File Explorer will choke, wait, freeze, and maybe even require a restart. To fix this specific bottleneck, open File Explorer, click the three little dots (…) at the top menu bar, and choose Options. Go to the View tab. Scroll down and find the option that says 'Launch folder windows in a separate process' and check that box. This creates a wall between your desktop and your file browsing; if File Explorer crashes while sorting your photos, it won't take the rest of your system down with it. Next, while still in the View tab, check the box for 'Always show icons, never thumbnails.' Displaying hundreds of tiny image previews puts a massive strain on the system cache. Turning thumbnails off switches your view to standard icons, allowing you to select and sort by 'Date Taken' instantly without the graphical lag. You can always turn thumbnails back on when you are working with smaller batches. Give these tweaks a try, and let me (and the other readers) know if your machine stops choking on those photo folders. To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question of your own, visit my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!) Question: Where are my downloads, files, etc.? I cannot find anything when I look in Folders, or in Downloads. Apparently I have saved nothing else anywhere since May 2024, and things I thought I saved are gone. Clicking on panels does nothing but put checkmarks on them. 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