Windows 10: Please Help.. I Suddenly can't Open Any Folders, or This PC.

Hello Everyone,

I've searched the forum, but haven't been able to find a solution that works. In a nutshell, I can't open "This PC" or any other folder that is on my desktop. File Explorer won't function either. Whether I double-click, or do a right-click and choose "Run", all that happens is the little hourglass comes on for 1/10th of a second. If I do a right-click, choose properties, and click on "Open Target Location", my entire screen goes black for 2 seconds and then comes back with icons repopulating the window slowly. In fact, this is my second time composing this message, because my Edge Browser crashed the first time, because I did the "Open Target Location" during composition, just to make sure it wasn't a one time anomaly.

This inability started 2 days ago. Since then, I've tried:

1. The SFC ScanNow. Everything is Fine.
2. Running complete boot-time scans using Avast and Malwarebytes. No Viruses, Adware, etc..
3. System Restore. Surprisingly only one Restore Point was there, and it was only 10 hours old. Not back far enough.
4. Burned the latest Windows10 ISO to DVD and Reinstalled Windows...keeping all files/settings. Four hours invested in doing this last night... made no difference.

Still can't open any Folders or "This PC". All the other right-click functions work, except for "OPEN". All other aspects of this P.C. work great, just like they did before this one major problem suddenly appeared. This shouldn't be THAT big of a deal to fix. Never had problems even remotely like this in Windows 7 or even Vista. What should I do next?

Thanks in advance! *Smile -Allen

:)

 

Can not open any folders including "this PC"

Thank you thank you thank you! After exhaustive troubleshooting, your fix solved my problem with explorer.exe.

 

Can not open any folders including "this PC"

Cys84, thanks for the reply. I think that could be related, but I found a solution to my problem on Reddit of all places, I will include a link at the end.

But in short I cleared out all the registry settings "Bag" and "BagMRU" folders mentioned on the Reddit post. This immediately allowed Windows Explorer to open again. I did a little research before deleting the settings and it seams the Bag settings store
the Windows Explorer personalized views for every Explorer Window you open and change (like position, view style etc.)

So I am thinking that a certain combination of Window position, and/or view setting is causing Explorer to crash when reading it. This could be related to hi-dpi desktops too. But so far it's been three weeks since I reset the Bag settings and it has not
come back yet.

Reference: Reddit Answer to Explorer Problem

 

Well, I finally figured out the problem. When Microsoft pushed out the kb3093266 patch earlier this week, it caused my custom Display DPI scale of 120% to be incompatible with Opening Folders, File Explorer, or "This PC".

If I use one of the Windows10 display presets of 100% or 125% or 150%, using the little horizontal slider bar, all the folder open perfectly...just like before. So, I have it set to 125%, which is a tad large for my tastes, but at least I'm back to 100% Windows10 functionality now.

Perhaps with each incremental update/patch that Microsoft puts out, a little bit of the old "legacy" way of doing things will become inoperable, or incompatible with Windows10. That seems to be what happened to me. I doubt if many users choose a "Custom DPI" setting, which is why the complaints (and assistance) are not out there on the net. Windows10 is such a radical change, that there's a lot of uncharted territory ahead, IMO.
-Allen

 

Thank you Allen, i was freaking out as well and nothing i tried seemed to fix it, until i saw this post!! Thank you! Funny that i was such a simple fix!

 

Allen, thanks for taking the time to inform us on this issue. I was very upset with my new system when most of the desktop lost function. I to adjusted the display setting but did not figure out that was the issue until I read your post. You just saved my sanity (for now), thank you again for your advice.

 

Thanks gentlemen.. I'm glad my advice helped. We've all used the internet to solve lots of problems. Giving back, when we find a solution to something, is the least we can do. This is the best forum for Win10 community-based assistance, because of each of us, the tutorials, and the way everything is organized here.

 

Thanks for posting. I can now access my folders again but only at 125%. If I switch back to 100% display, no access. Anyone have a permanent fix?

 

I have this problem too and this dosent fix it for me O_O

 

AllenChicago. Yesterday you gave me the solution to opening my files by changing the display size. Later in the day I changed it back to work on something else. Today I was able to open my files at the original size! Don't know why. Things could change again. I will not forget your solution in case I need it again. Thanks again, Allen

 

Thanks Allen. It worked. Mine was already set at 125% so I put it at 150% and my documents opened. A permanent fix would be a good thing. Thanks again, Allen.