Fix Slow loading of folders green loading bar indefinitely in Windows 10 / 11

Is any folder loading very slowly on your Windows 10 or windows 11 device? If it is, then there are a huge number of reasons to blame, starting from a huge number of files in the folder to low free space in Local Disk C, low memory, etc. But, don’t worry. There are quite a few easy fixes available to decrease the loading time. But before going ahead for the main solutions try out these workarounds first and if these don’t work out, go for the main solutions-

Workarounds

1. Check if there is enough storage in Local Disk C: (or wherever Windows is installed on your computer).

2. Stop any unnecessary background tasks which take a huge amount of disk processing power (like- antivirus). Further, check the loading time of the folder.

If any of the workarounds didn’t do the trick, go for these solutions-

Fix-1 Disable Windows Search service

Disabling Windows Search from ‘Services‘ of System Configuration window may do the trick.

1. Search Services in Windows search and then click on services icon to open search service.

2 -Now, Locate Windows search service, Double click on it

 

 

3 – Choose Startup Type as disabled

4 -Click on Stop to stop the service.

5 -Finally click on apply

After rebooting, open the problematic folder on your computer. It should load faster than before.

Fix-2 Change the customization of the folder-

A wrong customization parameter can significantly influence the loading time of a folder.

1. Go to the location of the folder which is loading slowly.

2. Now, right-click on the folder and click on properties.

 

3. At first, go to the “Customize” tab.

4. Now, under ‘Optimize this folder for:‘ section, click on the drop-down and select “General items“.

5. Don’t forget to check the option “Also apply this template to all subfolders“.

6. Finally, click on “Apply” and then on “OK” to save the changes on your computer.

 

 

Close File Explorer window.

Open File Explorer again and navigate to the folder location.

If it still loads very slowly, go for the next solution.

Fix-3 Restart File Explorer-

Restarting File Explorer can be a quick workaround for the problem.

1. Right-click on the Taskbar and then in the elevated window, click on “Task Manager“.

 

 

2. Now, scroll down and right-click on the “File Explorer” process.

3. Then, click on “Restart” to restart the process.

 

 

File Explorer process will be stopped and started again.

Go to the problematic folder and check out the change in loading time.

In case the problem returns, go for the next fix.

Fix-4 Empty Quick Access history-

If a huge number of files or folders are listed in the Quick Access section then it can increase the overall loading time.

1 – Search File explorer Options in Windows search box.

2 – Click on File explorer options  icon from the search result.

3.  In the Folder Options window, go to the “General” tab.

4. In the Privacy section, click on “Clear” to empty the file explorer history.

5. After clearing the history, click on “Apply” and then on “OK” to save the changes.

 

6. Now, click on view tab.

7. Now, locate and check option saying locate folder windows in a separate process.

8. Click on OK and then Apply and close the window.

 

 

Now, try to open the problematic folder location.

Check the difference in loading time. It should load faster than before.

 

Fix- 5 Empty AutomaticDestinations folder-

If there are unnecessary numbers of temporary files present in your computer it can slow the loading process of a bulky folder. To delete temporary files follow this process-

1. Press Windows key+R. This will pop up a Run terminal. 

2. In Run window, copy-paste this folder location and hit Enter to go to the AutomaticDestinations folder.

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations

 

 

3. In the AutomaticDestinations folder, select all of the items at once and press the ‘Delete‘ button from your keyboard to empty the folder.

 

 

Once you have emptied the folder, close the File Explorer window.

Open File Explorer again and navigate to the problematic folder location. It should load way faster than before.

Fix-6 Empty Quick Access history-

If a huge number of files or folders are listed in the Quick Access section then it can increase the overall loading time.

1. Press Windows key + E to open the File Explorer window.

2. In File Explorer window, on the left-hand side, right-click on “Quick access“. Then, click on “Options“.

 

 

3.  In the Folder Options window, go to the “General” tab.

4. In the Privacy section, click on “Clear” to empty the file explorer history.

5. After clearing the history, click on “Apply” and then on “OK” to save the changes.

 

 

Now, try to open the problematic folder location.

Check the difference in loading time. It should load faster than before.

Fix-7 Change folder attributes

1. Go to the location of the folder which is loading slowly.

2. Now, right-click on the folder and click on properties.

 

3. Click on advanced.

4. Now, uncheck the option saying Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed.

 

5. Click ok OK.

Fix- 5 A lot of images inside the folder may be an issue

Reduce the number of Pics inside the folder with which you are facing this issue. You can create a new folder inside this folder and put all images inside the folder.

Fix- 6 Stop sorting the files

1 – Right click on any empty space inside the folder and hover the mouse on Sort by and then click on more

 

 

2 – Now, Uncheck all the attributes except Name and click OK.

 

Fix- 7 Opt for List View, they are faster

Opt List View in Folders as they are faster.

 

Fix 8 – Disconnect any network drives you have on Your PC

Network drives are some times responsible for slowing down the file explorer and resulting in Green Loading bar. Go to file explorer and try to disconnect any Network drive you have.

Your issue should be fixed.