Another step backwards with Explorer and Taskbar

Question

With Windows 11 it always seems to be 1 step forwards, 3 steps backwards. Why do "updates" actually cause more problems than they solve? Windows Explorer is still in a state of catalepsy since last year and the Taskbar icons which were "disappeared" in January have still not resurfaced. There are no fixes and no solutions. Can't Microsoft get anything right?.

Answer 1

Regarding File Explorer loading slowly, I suggest you rebuild the system index. Win + Q to open the search box, enter "index options" and press Enter to open "Index Options", click "Advanced” > “Rebuild”.

Reindexing may take a long time, please be patient or check again in a few days, and try to keep your computer turned on during this time.

Additionally, you may in-place upgrade the system by the steps below.

• Please rest assured that the in-place upgrade the system will theoretically not affect your data and applications (you need to choose to keep files and applications in the next steps), just update all the system files are the latest.
• If you have important data, you may make additional backups to prevent accidental loss of your data. Also make sure there is enough free space in the system partition, at least 40GB.

1. Download Windows 11 ISO file Visit Download Windows 11 (microsoft.com) and click "Download Now" under “Create Windows 11 Installation Media” to download MCT (Media Creation Tool). Then run the program, select "Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC”, and then choose Language, Version, Architecture (if you are not sure about these, choose "Use the recommended options for this PC"), then select "ISO file" in the "Select Media to Use" interface, and then a Windows ISO file will be downloaded to your disk (about 4-5GB in size, it is recommended that you choose a non-system disk).
2. In-place upgrade the system After the download is completed, double-click the ISO file, double-click to run "setup.exe" in the open file explorer, and select "Change how Windows Installer downloads updates" > "Download updates, drivers and optional features", Select "Keep personal files and apps" after accepting the terms of the agreement, then click "Next" > "Install". Then the system will reboot a few times, and then enter the welcome screen.

Answer 2

Mosken-L thank you for your response. WINVER says I am running Windows Home Version 22H2 (OS Build 22621.1413) patched with the latest updates. My PC is an ASUS Vivo AIO V241DA_M241DA AMD Ryzen 7 3700U with 8gb RAM with 500GB SSD and a 1 TB HDD. Windows Explorer has been running extremely slow since mid last year taking minutes to display a list of files, particularly on Onedrive, and if you click to see a sub-directory, then go back to the previous directory it seems to start to re-index everything all over again which means another long wait. This is so frustrating that I have gone back to using an old Windows 10 laptop for file management where Exporer is lightning fast as it should be. Also since early this year it is not displaying thumbnails for .png files just a blank icon. Since a January update some taskbar icons have disappeared as explained previously, including those for Weather, Media Player and Notepad. The function is still there, as if you hover the cursor over where the icons used to be it displays the app name, but the icons have gone. I note the fix to this involves some tinkering which I haven't tried yet. Next I'll try a clean boot as you suggest. However my complaint is that an update from Microsoft should not cause such defects and problems which were not there before - they sould have been ironed out in testing before release. I used to work in IT for CSC, and if we realeased a faulty patch like this into production on a customer's systems we would have had hell to pay!

Answer 3

Hello Peter Kra,

Good to see you in Microsoft Community.

Firstly, could you let me know the specific system version? You can check it by pressing the Win key + R key, and typing "winver", then press Enter, please take a screenshot/photo of it, and only send the relevant information without PII in the next reply.

Regarding the File Explorer, would you please describe your problem in detail or take a screenshot of it, and include it in the next reply to help me understand your situation better?

And you mentioned the Taskbar icons which were "disappeared" in January, could you please specific it? If what you were talking about is that app shortcuts in the taskbar were not working as expected, this is a known issue and has been resolved, visit Resolved issues in Windows 11, version 22H2 | Microsoft Learn for more details.

Meanwhile, you may Perform a clean boot to see if the File Explorer and Taskbar work fine, this is a troubleshooting step. In this mode, we can further confirm whether it is caused by system problem or third-party software or personalized settings. So, please be patient.

Disclaimer*: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background program is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.*

These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by-step so that it will help you get you back on track.

If anything is unclear, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Best Regards,

Mosken_L - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist