Windows 10 & File Explorer Issue

Oblivion

I have just bought the wife a new Dell XPS-5 laptop which came with Office Home & Student 2016 pre-installed. I have transferred all her files from the old laptop and we have a bizarre problem.

Most files can be opened into their respective applications from within File Explorer by double clicking including music, photos, videos and old .doc and .xls files. However clicking on either a .docx or .xlsx file brings File Explorer to an instant halt with a "Not Responding" message and I have to close it down. I have checked that they have the correct file association with Word & Excel 2016.

I cannot get an actions box up when I right click on these files as again it just freezes immediately so I am unable to delete, rename or move them within File Explorer. They are just stuck there.

If I open Word or Excel I can use the File / Open from within the program and the files load in just fine so I can't believe there is anything wrong with the files themselves. I just can't do anything with them in File Explorer.

I have run cmd: sfc/scannow ... I have tried turning off anti-virus ... I have tried stopping other programs from starting at reboot ... all to no avail.

Anyone have any idea what might be making just these two file types crash File Explorer?

debitcardmayhem

Don't know but try setting them from Settings , Apps , Default Apps, Choose Filetypes

Oblivion

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

Don't know but try setting them from Settings , Apps , Default Apps, Choose Filetypes

Yes, I did go through that and settings were correct.

I think I have stumbled on a solution although it makes no sense at all.

I played around with the View settings in File Explorer and turned off the Details Pane and turned ON the Preview Pane and it's suddenly all working ok. Must be a bug in the programming somewhere because for the life of me I can't see why the Preview Pane should affect a files ability to load.

Windows 10, what a farce.

Debbie_Savard

>Windows 10, what a farce.<

But 400 million other peeps with Windows 10 are OK...:think:

Oblivion

Not if you read the forums they're not.

John_Gray

Debbie_Savard wrote: »

>Windows 10, what a farce.<
But 400 million other peeps with Windows 10 are OK...:think:

This is worryingly like saying that "1.5 million people read the Daily Mail, so it must be a good newspaper"...

Some reading up on logical fallacies may be advisable! :T

unforeseen

Oblivion wrote: »

I can't see why the Preview Pane should affect a files ability to load.

Because it re-asserts the file association entries in the registry?

were

Debbie_Savard wrote: »

>Windows 10, what a farce.<

But 400 million other peeps with Windows 10 are OK...:think:

Those 400 million are mostly either too afraid to move to linux, to unskilled to move to linux, or their apps are not supported and the is no substitute app with the available features, or just cant be bothered.

Debbie_Savard

>Some reading up on logical fallacies may be advisable! <

Actually, the OP fell into the fallacy of defective induction, stating that Windows 10 was a farce based on the result of a single case

Oblivion

unforeseen wrote: »

Because it re-asserts the file association entries in the registry?

Interesting possibility that would make sense.

Well, we have been testing it thoroughly and File Explorer is still behaving itself so the fix seems to be permanent ... well at least until the next full moon or Windows Update

Oblivion

Debbie_Savard wrote: »

>Some reading up on logical fallacies may be advisable! <

Actually, the OP fell into the fallacy of defective induction, stating that Windows 10 was a farce based on the result of a single case

Incorrect. My comment was based on the many cases of W10 failure reported in the numerous Windows forums.

You only have to research the number of Windows 10 Updates that have crippled users' machines to conclude that your beloved Windows 10 is and will continue to be compromised by a lack of intelligent programmers at Microsoft.