The Downloads folder serves as a storage location for all of your Internet downloads on Windows. From there, you can access and manage all of the files you've downloaded from the web. However, this may not be possible if the Downloads folder stops responding on your Windows computer.
Below, the article has listed some effective troubleshooting tips to help the Downloads folder work smoothly on your Windows computer.
1. Restart the Windows Explorer process
Restarting the Windows Explorer process is an easy way to fix temporary problems with File Explorer. If it's just a one-time glitch, your Downloads folder should be working properly on your PC.
2. Optimize the Downloads folder for common items
The Automatic Folder Type Discovery feature in Windows optimizes your folders based on the types of files they contain. However, this optimization can sometimes lead to slow or unresponsive behavior, especially when there are a large number of files in the folder. Here's what you can do to avoid that.
3. Configure File Explorer to show icons instead of thumbnails
Another thing you can do to make your Downloads folder work smoothly is to configure File Explorer to show icons instead of thumbnails. Here are the steps to take.
Remember that this setting will apply to all folders on your system, not just the Downloads folder.
4. Delete unwanted files from the Downloads folder
Having too many files in your Downloads folder can cause it to become stuck and unresponsive on your Windows computer. Some users on Microsoft forums have reported fixing an unresponsive Downloads folder by deleting unnecessary files from that folder. Alternatively, you can move your files to another location to free up the Downloads folder.
5. Clear File Explorer history
File Explorer on Windows keeps a record of all your previous search queries to improve your experience. However, if this data is inaccessible, your Downloads folder may stop responding on Windows. You can try clearing this data to see if that gets things working again.
6. Try some general fixes for unresponsive Downloads folder
If the Downloads folder is still unresponsive, you can try the following troubleshooting tips to restore normalcy.
Error code 0xc0000098 in Windows causes a blue screen error on startup. The ACPI.sys driver is often to blame, especially on unsupported versions of Windows 11 like 23H2 or 22H2 or Windows 10.
In some cases, sometimes you start your computer in Safe Mode and the computer freezes. So how to fix the error in this case, please refer to the article below of WebTech360.
Snipping Tool is a powerful photo and video capture tool on Windows. However, this tool sometimes has some errors, such as constantly displaying on the screen.
Every network has a router to access the Internet, but not everyone knows how to make the router work better. In this article, we will introduce some router tips to help speed up the wireless connection in the network.
If the results seem slower than expected, don't be too quick to blame your ISP - mistakes when performing the test can skew your numbers.
In the article below, we will introduce and guide you to learn about the concept of QoS - Quality of Service on router devices.
Windows has a built-in Credential Manager, but it's not what you think it is—and certainly not a replacement for a password manager.
Microsoft charges for its official codecs and doesn't include them in Windows 10. However, you can get them for free without pulling out your credit card and spending $0.99.
While having trouble accessing files and folders can be frustrating, don't panic—with a few simple tweaks, you can regain access to your system.
After creating a USB boot to install Windows, users should check the USB boot's performance to see if it was created successfully or not.
Although Windows Storage Sense efficiently deletes temporary files, some types of data are permanent and continue to accumulate.
You can turn off Windows 11 background apps to optimize performance, save battery and reduce RAM consumption.
When a computer, mobile device, or printer tries to connect to a Microsoft Windows computer over a network, for example, the error message network path was not found — Error 0x80070035 may appear.
We can block Internet access for any application or software on the computer, while other programs can still access the network. The following article will guide readers on how to disable Internet access for software and applications on Windows.
Instead of paying $30 for a year of security updates, keep Windows 10 safe until 2030 with this simple solution.
