File Explorer - Status column problem

Question

Hi all,

In File Explorer on my Windows 11 laptop, the Status column is often missing or empty when I'm viewing folders that are synced to OneDrive. In other words, sometimes the column (including its heading) doesn't appear at all, and sometimes the column is there but it has no icons. Sometimes it's OK.

This was just an occasional problem at first, but it's been getting worse in the last couple of days. In the past, I could always fix it by restarting the laptop. Today, I've done several restarts (and tried shutting it down and switching it on again), and the problem hasn’t gone away at all.

I've tried right-clicking on the column headings, then selecting 'More' and then ticking one or more of the 'Status' items in the list (there are three of them!). But this just adds empty columns, and it only works for that specific folder anyway - I wouldn't want to have to do this for every folder.

A few minutes ago, the Status column was empty for the top-level folders (e.g. C:\Users[…]\OneDrive […]\Documents), and completely missing for the lower-level ones. Now, it's completely missing everywhere except the main C:\Users[…]\OneDrive folder.

OneDrive itself seems to be working OK all the time. If I click on the cloud icon in the taskbar, it shows the most recent syncings and (when appropriate) says 'Your files are synced'.

Does anyone have any advice, please? (N.B. If you suggest altering registry files, I'm not sure whether I'll do this unless it's very simple and very safe.)

Thanks and regards,

Graham

Answer 1

Thanks for getting back. I appreciate you were able to try the steps I have provided. In this case, may I know what Windows build and version is currently installed on your device? To check press the Windows key + R to open the run tab and type in "winver" and hit enter.

If it does not show version 22H2, please make sure to install this latest version through the Windows update assistant.

For Windows 11, you can go to this link and click on "Download Now" under "Windows 11 Installation Assistant".

https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/win...

If you are already running 22H2 version, it would be best to proceed with the in-place repair. An in-place upgrade is a final alternative before you have to reinstall the operating system.

An in-place upgrade is a process wherein it will upgrade the device to the latest version and repair many issues without deleting any files while repairing corrupted system files, apps, and even incompatible drivers on the system.

Here is a link you can follow how.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/for...

Thank you for your patience! Feel free to follow up if you have any questions.

Answer 2

Hi Nada,

It's version 22H2, OS build 22621.1555.

As I said in my reply to LesFerch, the problem isn't happening now. If it starts happening again, I'll consider doing an in-place upgrade.

Thanks,

Graham

Answer 3

Thank you for your reply and information.

I am sorry that the processes followed earlier did not work and thank you for your cooperation. Unfortunately, I don't have any more troubleshooting to offer.

There are many experienced users active on the forum and I hope someone can offer more information about your issue.

Sincerely,

Answer 4

Hello! I'm Cristiano. I'll try to help with this issue.

One thing you could try is resetting the File Explorer folder view settings. To do this, open File Explorer, go to the View tab, and click on Options. In the Folder Options window that appears, go to the View tab and click on the "Reset Folders" button. This should reset all folder view settings to their default values.

If that doesn't work, you could try resetting the OneDrive sync client. To do this, right-click on the OneDrive icon in the taskbar and select "Close OneDrive". Then, open the Run dialog box by pressing the Windows key + R, type "%localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset" (without the quotes), and press Enter. This should reset the OneDrive sync client.

If neither of these solutions work, you could try reinstalling OneDrive. To do this, open the Run dialog box again, type "appwiz.cpl" (without the quotes), and press Enter. In the Programs and Features window that appears, find Microsoft OneDrive, right-click on it, and select "Uninstall". Then, download and install the latest version of OneDrive from the Microsoft website.

I hope one of these solutions works for you. Let me know if you have any other questions or if you need further assistance.

Best regards,

Cristiano

Answer 5

Hi Nada,

Thanks, but you seem to have misunderstood. I said the problem isn't happening now. If it starts happening again, I'll consider doing an in-place upgrade.

Regards,

Graham