How to fix Downloads folder not responding

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You may have encountered a situation in Windows 10 where your Downloads folder hangs when you open it. It might show "Waiting" and just do nothing. If you check the Task Manager, it shows Windows Explorer is "Not Responding".

Likely what happened is you put a file into the Downloads folder and it is somehow problematic.
  • For example, while I was examining a .ZIP file in Windows Explorer, I dragged one of the archived files into the Downloads folder. Although the file appeared to copy just fine, doing it this way somehow caused the Downloads folder to hang when I try to look at it in Windows Explorer.
The fix was simply to delete the file I had put into the Downloads folder. Moving it out of the Downloads folder should also work.
But how do you do that when the Downloads folder hangs when you try to look at it?
Apparently the problem is related to Windows Explorer. So don't look at the folder using Windows Explorer.
Open up another application that can let you browse files. For example, Paint 3D.

But first, if you have Windows Explorer in a Not Responding state, use Task Manager to Restart Windows Explorer (not End Task).
Now we can proceed to find the problematic file and move it out of the Downloads folder.
  • Create a temporary working folder somewhere and open it in Windows Explorer.
    • E.g., in the Documents folder, create a folder called "_Suspects"
  • Run Paint 3D.
  • Click "Open".
  • Click "Browse Files".
  • Navigate to the Downloads folder. It should NOT hang on you.
  • Go to the "File name" field at the bottom and type "*.*" to show all files.
  • Find the last file you put into the Downloads folder. Move it into your "_Suspects" folder
    • Right-click on the file and choose Cut.
    • Go to your "_Suspects" folder, right-click in empty space, and choose Paste.
  • Close Paint 3D.
  • Using Windows Explorer, navigate to your Downloads folder and see if it still hangs. If not, then one of the files you moved into "_Suspects" was problematic.
    • If the Downloads folder still hangs, move more files into your temporary working directory.
    • In the worst case, move everything and slowly put files back in your Downloads folder a few at a time to find the culprit.
If you've emptied the Downloads folder but it still hangs in Windows Explorer, then try one of the typical solutions you can find on the internet. Commonly this is what they suggest: 
  • Right-click on the Downloads folder and select Properties.
  • Go to Customize
  • In the Optimize this folder settings, set it to General items.
  • Also check the settings “Also apply this template to all subfolders” and click apply and then OK
Hopefully something here will work. Good luck!

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