File Explorer won't open folders after recent update

I dunno how to put the quote above my own text, but whatever. Yep, this fixed it for me! I realize I'm not the one that asked, but regardless, the newest update broke it for me as well.

Weirdly, so did Windowblinds 11 and Start11, from what I can tell. To tell the truth, File Explorer initially didn't open at all. After turning off (not uninstalling) those two, it started opening, but then I was having the same issue as OP, I couldn't open folders. I had tried lots of stuff prior to that.

• Restarting File Explorer
• Clearing File Explorer's cache
• Resetting File Explorer to default settings
• Uninstalling various updates
• Running DISM and SFC
• Restarting the PC after each individual fix

What's weird is that the updates you point out (one of them at least) wasn't there initially, but after doing all this, now it showed up. Uninstalled them, and what do you know, it's working now. I think a fix from Microsoft is needed, because I'm worried about how many other people are experiencing this issue.

Rollback the Update

Since uninstalling/reinstalling the update didn’t work, try rolling back to a previous version:

• Open Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates.
• Look for KB5055523 and KB5054979, then uninstall them.
• Restart your PC and check if File Explorer works.

Hi Dominik,

Thank you for posting your issue here in Microsoft Community.

I totally understand how importance this with you to fix the issue of your File explorer which folders won't open after the recent update. Rest assured, I will be providing you the steps and solution of the issue.

It sounds like you've tried a lot of troubleshooting steps already—kudos for being thorough! Since the issue started after the latest Windows 11 update, it’s possible that the update introduced a bug affecting File Explorer. Here are a few additional steps you can try:

Check for Known Issues

Microsoft has acknowledged some File Explorer-related bugs in recent updates2. If this is a widespread issue, Microsoft may release a fix soon. You can check their official update logs or forums for any announcements.

Rollback the Update

Since uninstalling/reinstalling the update didn’t work, try rolling back to a previous version:

• Open Settings → Windows Update → Update history → Uninstall updates.
• Look for KB5055523 and KB5054979, then uninstall them.
• Restart your PC and check if File Explorer works.

Create a New User Account

Sometimes, a corrupted user profile can cause issues:

• Open Settings → Accounts → Other users.
• Click Add account and create a new local user.
• Log in with the new account and check if File Explorer works.

Run DISM and SFC Again

Since you've already tried sfc /scannow, try running DISM as well:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run: DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
3. After it completes, run: sfc /scannow
4. Restart your PC.

Restart Windows Explorer via Command Prompt

If Task Manager didn’t work, try restarting it via Command Prompt:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. Run: taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
3. Then restart it: start explorer.exe

Check for Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR)

Microsoft sometimes rolls out fixes in stages. If the update included a fix for File Explorer, but it hasn’t reached your device yet, you may need to wait for the next update.

Perform an In-Place Upgrade

If nothing works, an in-place upgrade can reinstall Windows without losing your files:

• Download the latest Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft.
• Run the setup and choose Upgrade this PC now.
• Follow the instructions to reinstall Windows.

Hope this will help you resolving your issue.

Best regards,
Bo
Microsoft Community

Hello ,

I’m here to help you in resolving your issue

There might be a problem with File Explorer's registration. You can try to re-register it via PowerShell:

1. Press Windows + X and choose Windows Terminal (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).
2. Type or paste the following command and press Enter:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

3. Restart your computer after running this.

After trying above steps, please reach out to me if you have any doubts or issues

We are happy to hear that the problem you had with Windows update has been resolved. We're glad we were able to help you!

To help other customers searching for help on related issues, please feel free to mark the response you found most helpful by clicking "Yes" on the bottom of that post. This will ensure the helpful responses are most visible when searching (and you can vote more than once if the solution was spread over multiple posts).

Moreover, I totally understand your side of this but no worries, this will identify by our Windows developers to check more updates to be more reliable. Thank you so much for your understanding.

Best regards,

Bo

Microsoft Community