If you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11, you may experience that File Explorer freezes and becomes "Not Responding."
If you force quit every time this happens, your system may break down, so here's how to prevent it from freezing.
"Open folder windows in a separate process"
1. Press Windows Key + R to open Run, enter the following code and press Enter:
control.exe folders2. "File Explorer Options" will open, so open the "View" tab and scroll down to the "Advanced Settings" section.
3.You will then see an option called "Open folder windows in a separate process." Check it and click the OK button.
4. Once the setup is complete, sign out or restart your computer.
What does "Open folder windows in a separate process" mean?
Explorer is the process name (program name) of "explorer.exe" and displays the desktop, etc.
By default, when you open a folder, it will open in the same process as the currently running "explorer.exe".
In other words, no matter how many folders you open, only one "explorer.exe" will be running.
Explorer has system-wide effects.
For example, if you insert a slow USB memory stick with the normal settings, the response to reading and writing may become slow, and all responses related to "explorer.exe" may stop.
If you set it to "Open folder windows in a separate process," it will open in a separate process, another "explorer.exe," which will prevent the above problem.
To use an analogy with work, it's more efficient for two people to do 10 tasks at once than for one person to do the same.
If you try to handle everything on your own, you may end up overwhelmed.
If the above methods don't work, try clearing your Explorer history.
How to delete or not save Windows Explorer history in Windows 10/11
If Windows 11 Explorer stops responding after September 26, 2023, please see the following page.
Windows 11 Explorer won't open, won't launch, or won't respond
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