Hello Jung Hyun‑joo,
Thank you for providing the detailed description and the troubleshooting steps you have already completed. Based on your notes and the error message shown in the screenshot (“The specified file cannot be found”), this issue does not appear to be related to antivirus software, firewall products, or external storage devices.
At this point, the behavior suggests a Windows Explorer / user‑profile level issue, rather than a disk or file‑system corruption, especially since:
- Files inside folders can be renamed without issue
- The problem persists after restarting Windows Explorer
- sfc /scannow reports no integrity violations
- The issue occurs even on external drives
To continue troubleshooting in line with Microsoft support guidelines, please proceed with the checks below.
Next steps to isolate the root cause
- Test from an elevated Command Prompt
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator
- Navigate to the affected path and attempt to rename the folder using the ren command This helps determine whether the issue is limited to File Explorer (shell) or affects the file system more broadly.
- Test with a new local administrator account
- Create a new local user account with Administrator privileges
- Sign in with that account and test folder rename behavior If the issue does not reproduce, it indicates corruption or restrictions specific to the original user profile.
- Check for third‑party shell extension conflicts
- Third‑party shell extensions can block Explorer operations such as renaming
- Temporarily disable non‑Microsoft shell extensions using a trusted diagnostic utility (for example, ShellExView)
- Restart Windows Explorer and test again
- Verify Group Policy and registry restrictions
- Open gpedit.msc and check: User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → File Explorer Ensure no policy prevents renaming files or folders.
- Also verify the following registry path does not contain a restrictive value: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer (for example, a NoRename entry)
- Review Event Viewer logs
- Open Event Viewer
- Check Windows Logs → Application and System
- Look for Error or Warning events that occur when the folder rename fails
- Check Windows Logs → Application and System
- Open Event Viewer
- Open gpedit.msc and check: User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → File Explorer Ensure no policy prevents renaming files or folders.
- Temporarily disable non‑Microsoft shell extensions using a trusted diagnostic utility (for example, ShellExView)
- Third‑party shell extensions can block Explorer operations such as renaming
- Create a new local user account with Administrator privileges
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator
Additional note
If the affected folder is located under a OneDrive‑synced directory, please temporarily unlink OneDrive, restart Windows, and test the rename operation locally before re‑enabling sync.
Please share the results of:
- Command Prompt rename test
- New local administrator account test
- Any relevant Event Viewer error codes
This information will help determine whether the root cause is related to the user profile, Explorer shell behavior, or a Windows component configuration issue.
Thank you for your cooperation. If this response helps clarify the direction of troubleshooting, please consider marking it as Accept so it can assist other community members experiencing similar behavior.