What to Do if Explorer Crashes When Opening Large Folders 

Quick Tips

• Windows File Explorer can crash when opening large folders, primarily due to overload.
• If this keeps happening, you can disable certain Explorer settings to lighten the burden.
• Disabling third-party extensions can also free up resources and prevent software conflicts.

You’d think computers can routinely handle large files by now. At least, this is probably what you’re thinking to yourself if your Windows Explorer crashes every time it tries to open a big folder. You no doubt have questions, and it’s also doubtless that you want fixes.

In this article, we’ll be doing both and showing you how to proceed when Explorer crashes for large folders.

Why Is Explorer Crashing When Opening Large Folders?

Many things can cause Explorer to crash when opening big files and folders, including:

• Trouble generating thumbnails for all files in the folder
• Add-on and extension conflicts from third-party software
• Explorer is exceeding the shell heap limits and crashing
• File and system corruption

How to Fix Explorer Crashes for Large Folders

If your Windows Explorer won’t operate correctly when dealing with large folders, then try these fixes below:

Restart Explorer

A good first step is to restart Windows Explorer via Task Manager. This may fix any erratic behavior Explorer picks up while running and gives a fresh start:

Step 1. Open Task Manager directly by pressing (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).

Step 2. In the “Processes” tab, look for “Windows Explorer.” Click on it.

Step 3. Press the “Restart” button at the bottom-right of the window. Your screen might go black as Explorer restarts.

Adjust File Explorer Settings

Perhaps the biggest cause of Explorer crashing when opening large folders is overload. On bigger folders, Explorer struggles to produce thumbnails and metadata for every file and is quickly overwhelmed. On less powerful computers, this can be especially problematic. To fix this, try lessening the burden on Explorer through its settings. Here’s how to do so:

Step 1. Open up an Explorer window (Win + E).

Step 2. A new window will pop up. The biggest offender is thumbnail generation. Check “Always show icons, never thumbnails” on the list. In addition, try hiding hidden folders by clicking “Don’t show hidden files, folders, or drives.”

Step 3. Click “OK” to finalize.

Disable QuickTime and Explorer History

QuickTime is a handy way to access recently used files and folders, but it can also overload Explorer. While in Folder Options (mentioned above), switch to the “General” tab and do the following:

Step 1. Under the “Privacy” subsection, uncheck all the boxes.

Step 2. Finally, click the “Clear” button to wipe your File Explorer history. Click the “OK” button once done.

Check for Extension Conflicts

The add-ons and extensions we add to Windows to make life easier can also make things more difficult. To check if a third-party program is interfering with Explorer, you can download ShellExView for free. Here’s what to do:

Step 1. Download ShellExView and right-click the executable, selecting “Run as administrator.”

Step 2. Click the “Type” column to sort by it. Any Extension that isn’t directly related to Microsoft (mentioned in the “Company” column) can be disabled by right-clicking it and selecting “Disable Selected Items.” Any “Context Menu,” “Property Sheet,” “Preview,” and “Thumbnail Handlers” extensions are the most likely culprits.

Step 3. Deactivate extensions one by one, testing Explorer after every check.