Windows Explorer freezes for a few seconds on right click

I'm using Windows 8.1 and whenever I right click to get the open with/new/extract/etc context menu, explorer (not my computer) would freeze for anywhere between 5-15 seconds, the cursor would become the spinning loading icon and at the top it would say "windows explorer (not responding)". Explorer does not crash. The problem would temporarily go away if after freezing, I right click again within a few minutes, i.e. the next time I right click, it would load the context menu immediately. But after a few hours, the problem would come back again. Restarting computer does the same thing, fixes the problem but comes back in a few hours.

Anyone know what might be causing this? My computer seems to generally slow down after running for a while, eg takes 2-3 seconds for start menu to appear (I installed start menu as an add-on since 8.1 doesn't have it), takes a few seconds to get any menu from task bar to appear, etc.

Do you have a laptop?

Sounds to me like aggressive power saving management on the hard drive.
Next time you click and it freezes, do you hear your hard disk switch on and begin spinning?

Check your advanced power settings in control panel. Check what amount of time you've set your hard disk to shut off after. If it is set to something lower than about 5 minutes, you should increase it to 10 or 15. While this uses little bit more power, it makes using the computer a lot nicer, and also saves your hard disk from wearing out early.

I had a disk fail completely after a few thousand spinups. Same model disk with only about 200 spinups but over 8 years powered on hours still works like a champ.

Yes I'm using a laptop, Lenovo IdeaPad Y510p. I've had it set to shut off after 20 minutes though, so I guess this is not the problem?

oh my god.. i'm so sorry for your loss.. you have a lenovo y510p..

I have a y410p.. welcome to the club of you've just paid around $1000 for a laptop and got screwed over by Lenovo.. and I'm right there with you.

I'm sure you seen the billions of support forums for these machines..

so this freezing started happening with you installed start add on?? hmmm... hmm....

Your gonna have to look at all the programs you have installed.. especially if you noticed this happened after you've installed a ton of stuff..

You may want to have a look with this tool: ShellExView

Check if there is a large number of pink colored items listed. Those are the third party extensions that are added by programs.

You can disable them too by selecting them and cliocking the red button in the top left corner.

If you spot a bunch, try disabling them one-by-one until your context menus stop lagging.

hydranix said:

You may want to have a look with this tool: ShellExView

Check if there is a large number of pink colored items listed. Those are the third party extensions that are added by programs.

You can disable them too by selecting them and cliocking the red button in the top left corner.

If you spot a bunch, try disabling them one-by-one until your context menus stop lagging.

Click to expand...

You can also use: Process Explorer to look for any processes that consumes the most while the issue is ongoing. This should help you find out what causes the problem.

Have you also tried scanning for malware? I recommend that you use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware or Trend Micro Internet Security for the security check.