Win 8.1, Windows Explorer: HUGE right-click lag driving me insane

Hi Geeks,
I have a recurring problem with Windows Explorer.exe in Windows 8.1.
I've only had this brand new Win 8.1 computer a matter of weeks and this (one of many) issue(s) is driving me insane.
Whenever I open a folder in Windows Explorer (a music file or photo, etc) and right-click on it to obtain info, I get a ridiculously long lag before it brings up the file-info.
This lag can last between 8-20 seconds and it's driving me nuts.

I have googled this problem and I can see that I'm not alone here.
I've tried a number of alleged fixes, including terminating and restarting explorer in Task Manager and also running ShellExView/ Context Type and disabling non-microsoft objects (except my Avast!) - all to no avail.
I've also ran a "clean boot", I've disabled all start-up items , ran a sfc /scannow and even did system restore to a few days back and SILL the lag is omnipresent.
I just ran Malawarebytes Pro and a full Avast! virus scan and everything is clean.

Surely this is a Windows 8.1 problem and nothing that I've done myself?
There seems a lot of talk online about this with some individuals finding some form of resolution but no solution works for me. Am I doing something wrong here?
Any help greatly appreciated.
Kind regards:
Skinno

 

Do you have anything else added to your context menu?

Download and run CCLEANER , it has a tool in there which can tell you what else is on your Context menu, Worth a thought

 

Hi there wilddean,
Thanks for replying. Yes, I've used CCleaner for years but oddly enough never looked at the Context Menu in there until now.
I just disabled Winrar in CCleaner and a few others but the long lag is still very much present when I right-click any files in Explorer folders. So, so annoying.
It was never like this when I had Windows 7, despite having a large Context Menu.
I've enclosed two screenshots of the Context Menu when I right-click files.
One is from when I right-click on a music file, which shows my editing programs and the other is from a photo file.
Any more suggestions (from anyone) would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance:
S

 

Found from another site:

Please download: ShellExView - Shell Extension Manager For Windows

1. This program does not require installation, just right click and run as Administrator
2. From the menu, click on Options then click on Filter by Extension Type and select Context Menu
3. On the list, you'll see some of the entries with pink background, those are installed by the third party software
4. Hold down CTRL Key and select all of them then click on the red button on top left corner to disable.
5. Click on the Options again and select Restart Explorer
6. Now try to right click on desktop to see if it fix your problem. If it does then start to enable one by one and repeat step 5 until the problem occurs again, that's the offending extension.

link: http://www.eightforums.com/performance-maintenance/19373-right-click-menu-lag-my-pc.html

 

Hi, theefool,
Thanks for the reply. As already mentioned in my original post, I have tried your suggestion re: ShellExView:

It doesn't make any difference for me and there are no entries with 'pink background' when I run it.
I've actually run ShellExView six times - disabling and re-enabling various context menu fileds but nothing happens. It makes no difference to my problem. :confused

 

O.K. so here is a screenshot of my Context Menu when I run ShellExView. The items I have disabled are at the top of the list. All the others are Microsoft.

 

Does it happen on all files or just media Files,

Remove everything from your context menu, one by one, see if u can locate the issue that way,

 

Hi JoeRay12,
I was going to disable ALL the items in the context menu (including the Microsoft ones) but when I tried, I got this pop-up (see enclosed screenshot), which kinda stopped me in my tracks for fear my PC would stop working if I disabled them. Do you think I should disable anyway?

@ wilddean: the lag seems to happen on all files.

 

Hi,
I disabled EVERYTHING in CCleaner's context menu (see screenshot below), then rebooted my computer. Nothing changed. Still a right-click lag of about 12 seconds in all files in Explorer folders.

 

Have you tried creating a new user account and see if the issue persists?

What about safe mode?

 

Do you have a spare harddisk you could do a fresh install onto? i know this doesnt resolve the issue, but sometimes its quicker than troubleshooting

 

Hi guys, thanks for the replies.
I'll attempt to explain more in detail about my problem before answering your questions.

I can actually right-click on a file in Explorer and the context menu comes up immediately, with no lag. It's when I then click on 'Properties' that the long lag occurs - when attempting to show the info of the file. Interestingly, I have noticed that if I right-click on more than one file at a time, then click Properties, there is no lag whatsoever. It only happens when I click on a single file.
Also, when I click on any single file in Explorer, it (sometimes) takes ages to show the file-info in the 'details panel' at the right hand side.
Now, to answer your questions:

@ JoeRay12: I too thought there were a lot of context menu entries. No idea why, especially the Winrar but there were more on my previous Win7 but no lag whatsoever then.
I did many sfc/scannow tests earlier this week and each one came back saying something about files being unavailable (or something) and to look in LOGS. However, I have since ran
'Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth' then re-run sfc/scannow afterwards and the sfc/scannow came back fine. The lag still persists though.

@ wilddean: I do not have a spare hard disk to do a fresh install on. I don't even have an installation disk. When I bought this computer, Windows 8.1 was already installed (an OEM, I think?) and it came with no disk.

@ theefool: I haven't tried creating another user account yet, no, nor have I tried safe mode but they might be good ideas I guess.

As a point of interest, I have done a 'recent' system restore but what I have considered is doing another system restore to the furthest-back possible option, which is from when I installed Avast! and before many Windows updates.
I also noticed that alongside some of the Windows updates that installed successfully, there are quite a few that didn't.

I rang Microsoft a few times and spoke with a few people there about the problem. They weren't very helpful and told me that they couldn't help me unless I gave them more personal details about myself than I wanted to and they also said that they may charge me for helping me. No chance.
They then advised me to call Packard Bell instead (that's my PC brand), saying that they would be the ones to help resolve my issues. Oh really?
I rang Packard Bell, they said I needed to speak to the retail outlet from where I bought my PC, which I did. They couldn't help either.
It seems everyone is blaming someone else here and passing the buck yet surely it must be a fault of Microsoft.
So, I'm still puzzled (and very frustrated) with this annoying issue.

 

UPDATE:
I ran the computer in Safe Mode and the lag problem was still there unfortunately.
However, I also just created a new user account (with admin permissions) and opened Explorer.
I right-clicked on the files, as usual then clicked on Properties and BOOM, the lag was gone!

I then logged out of the new user account and returned to my original account and tried the same thing again. BOOM, the lag has disappeared there now also!
How can this have happened?
I didn't actually do anything to my existing account - nothing at all yet the lag has now gone. At least for now.
I'm just happy that it is now back to normal.
HUGE thanks to theefool for the suggestions but I'm still puzzled as to why it's suddenly working normal again considering I did nothing to my original account.
Thanks guys. If there's any change, i'll let you know.
Regards:
S

 

Skinno, what I found strange is the duplication of Convert image file & Create slideshow in the second image in post #3. Are they still there? :confused
Just a thought...

 

Hi Eldon,
Thanks for commenting. I never saw that initially until you just pointed it out. How strange.
I just checked and yes, the duplication of Convert Image file & Create Slideshow IS still there.
I wonder why that is. Very odd indeed :confused

 

Hi plodr,
Thanks for the suggestion - appreciated.
As mentioned earlier, the problem seems to have been (somewhat mysteriously) solved for now since I made another user account then switched back to the old one.
There doesn't appear to be any lag like before but if I do find things starting to lag again, I will uninstall QuickSFV.
I'll be closely monitoring my right-click / Properties speed from now on and will certainly inform of any updates.
Many thanks:
S

 

Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
The lag has returned.
It started again this afternoon, exactly the same as it was before and now the (Explorer) folders are taking forever to load once opened.
Now I'm REALLY frustrated. I uninstalled the QuickSFV as suggested but that hasn't helped.
I'm really puzzled as to why it seemed (temporarily) OK but has now reverted back to lagging.