File Explorer Issue

[DannyTechTips]

Whenever I save as, Mircosoft Print to PDF, save image as, or open File Explorer (FE) in general, FE does not respond for about 15 seconds and then responds. Sometimes, it does not respond for a minute. I already tried rebuilding indexes and clearing FE history. Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

[OddOod]

Have you tried SFC and DISM scans?
Also, is this true on a clean reboot or does it crop up after days of uptime?

[DannyTechTips]

6 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Have you tried SFC and DISM scans?
Also, is this true on a clean reboot or does it crop up after days of uptime?

I already did a scannow and there weren't any corrupted files.

[OddOod]

DISM then?
And how old is the install?
Ultimately, this sounds like a corrupted windows install and the most sure solution is just reinstalling windows, but that can be a hassle

[DannyTechTips]

8 minutes ago, OddOod said:

DISM then?
And how old is the install?
Ultimately, this sounds like a corrupted windows install and the most sure solution is just reinstalling windows, but that can be a hassle

I did DISM, and the operation was completed successfully. I installed Windows about 2 years ago, but it is up to date. I tried clean installs, where I keep the files and applications. 

[OddOod]

Hmmmmm.
Does this *only* happen when you are doing Save As...? or is it any time you open file explorer?

Do you have any network shares mapped? Are you using a VPN?
Weird questions but I am reminded of an oddly similar experience

[DannyTechTips]

34 minutes ago, OddOod said:

Hmmmmm.
Does this *only* happen when you are doing Save As...? or is it any time you open file explorer?

Do you have any network shares mapped? Are you using a VPN?
Weird questions but I am reminded of an oddly similar experience

It usually happens when I open File Explorer. I have a NAS mapped and use PIA as my VPN. 

[OddOod]

On 8/23/2024 at 9:59 AM, DannyTechTips said:

It usually happens when I open File Explorer. I have a NAS mapped and use PIA as my VPN. 

I bet it's the same thing! 
For some reason the VPN messes with the ability of Explorer to find the NAS and it hangs until it is able to verify if it's connectable or not. There *might* be something you can do to get around this, but I was too lazy to figure it out until ultimately I separated work from play computers so the one that has the NAS mapped no longer has a VPN.
This answer looks promising, but I have not tested it
https://serverfault.com/a/10936