(windows vista) Unable to open a specific file folder because of file explorer not responding

[adrienabadie]

Hello, and sorry in advance for my english, it is not my first langague. I was in the middle of saving a picture, i was in a hurry so i did it by dragging the picture from chrome directly into the folder (i have done this multiple times with no issues in the past) and foolishly dragged it before the folder finished loading completely causing the file explorer to freeze. I had to close it with task manager and now any time i try to acces the folder the file explorer freezes in 'not responding', having to manually shut it down every time.


Strangely i can acces the folder by searching it in the search tab. I tried cutting the folder and putting it somewhere else and suddely i could open it again. After that i tried making a new empty folder with the same namen in the same directory and now that folder is the one that freezes, so i think the problem is on the directory but i dont know a lot about computer stuff to be sure. If i change the folders name it works again too, but i dont want to consider that a solution. It feels like hidding the dust under a carpet and i dont know if this could cause more issues in the long run.


I have also tried deleting the picture, i can acces it and delete it with no problem, yet the problem persists. I also tried downloading the picture again and putting it in but its still the same. I already tried checking the entire drive for corruption with the windows tool but the problem persists. Anyone have any idea? Thanks in advance!

 

[Arecaidian Fox]

I've never been able to figure out why Windows desperately clings onto dead folders like that. I'm sure there's a magic solution, but what I usually do is just get a different operating system to erase the folder. I have a Linux machine and my phone here at home and if I set them up to be able to browse my PC's files and have full control over them, I can typically delete the folder/file from one of those.

 

[AceX]

Try a disk cleanup.

 

[Psionic Roshambo]

https://freecommander.com/en/summary/

Try that on it.

 

[adrienabadie]

I've never been able to figure out why Windows desperately clings onto dead folders like that. I'm sure there's a magic solution, but what I usually do is just get a different operating system to erase the folder. I have a Linux machine and my phone here at home and if I set them up to be able to browse my PC's files and have full control over them, I can typically delete the folder/file from one of those.

I can delete the folder without problems, but if i create a new folder with the same name on the same directory the problem persists. It only freezes when I try to open it.

Try a disk cleanup.

Would you please recommend me any specific program or method to do that?

 

[AceX]

Windows already has this.
Click Start, type disk cleanup in the Start Search text box.

Edit:I'm thinking that clearing temporary files from there will get rid of the problem, it's just the first thing I would try.

 

[Lacius]

If there a reason you are using Windows Vista? It no longer receives security updates.

Updating to Windows 10 is recommended if the computer can handle it. If you know what you're doing, you can update to Windows 10 with a legitimate license for free.

 

[adrienabadie]

Windows already has this.
Click Start, type disk cleanup in the Start Search text box.

Edit:I'm thinking that clearing temporary files from there will get rid of the problem, it's just the first thing I would try.

I will try to do that as soon as I get home to see if it works.

If there a reason you are using Windows Vista? It no longer receives security updates.

Updating to Windows 10 is recommended if the computer can handle it. If you know what you're doing, you can update to Windows 10 with a legitimate license for free.

It is an old computer on my grandmas house that I started using after my own pc broke down. I haven't been able to buy a new one because I live in Venezuela and it is extremely difficult to save up for something like that. Now I'm seriously considering upgrading it at least to windows 7 if it can't handle 10 as soon as my boyfriend is able to come and give me a hand. I don't want to mess anything up by doing it myself.

 

[chrisrlink]

I will try to do that as soon as I get home to see if it works.



It is an old computer on my grandmas house that I started using after my own pc broke down. I haven't been able to buy a new one because I live in Venezuela and it is extremely difficult to save up for something like that. Now I'm seriously considering upgrading it at least to windows 7 if it can't handle 10 as soon as my boyfriend is able to come and give me a hand. I don't want to mess anything up by doing it myself.

well windows 7 is also losing (free) support in a few months time too they are really pushing win 10 which is sad because of people like you unable to buy a new pc they should really consider some people's money issues but they don't

 

[Lacius]

I will try to do that as soon as I get home to see if it works.



It is an old computer on my grandmas house that I started using after my own pc broke down. I haven't been able to buy a new one because I live in Venezuela and it is extremely difficult to save up for something like that. Now I'm seriously considering upgrading it at least to windows 7 if it can't handle 10 as soon as my boyfriend is able to come and give me a hand. I don't want to mess anything up by doing it myself.

Windows 7 is about to lose all security support, so updating to Windows 7 is not recommended. Run the Windows 10 Upgrade Assistant to check for any compatibility issues. If everything looks good, you can do a clean install of Windows 10, and you can activate it later with a legitimate license.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant

If you don't want to do a clean install, you will have to update to Windows 7 before updating to Windows 10.

Aside from possible driver compatibility issues, a computer that runs Windows Vista will usually run Windows 10.