Solved "This folder is empty" when trying to open certain folders

martinlink

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Hey,

as the title says, I'm getting this problem since like 2 days ago. I'm trying to open my Music folder on my desktop or my whole D drive (with tons of items on it like game installations, music, pictures etc.) but the window that opens is empty and writes in it "This folder is empty". The address bar keeps loading and if I leave it loading (green bar filling), it stops right before the end and the window freezes. When I then click on the window a few times, the whole explorer.exe crashes and restarts, closing the window...

It's driving me crazy as I can't acces the documents on my D drive. When I search for anything on the drive, it finds it and I can use it (pictures open, songs play). So the files are actually there but just aren't loading. I've made sure that the files are not hidden and I've already scanned for malware.

What could be the problem? I'm getting desperate here!

Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 x64 with media center
Could have a failing drive. Back up everything you can ASAP off computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win7 Ult on DIY; Win8 Pro on MBP/Parallels; Win7 Ult on MBP/Boot Camp; Win7 Ult/Win8 Pro on HP
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    DIY Rig; MacBook Pro (MBP)/Parallels/Boot Camp; HP Pavilion dv6500t Laptop
    CPU
    Intel i7-2600K (sometimes OC'd to 4.8 GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS P8P67 Deluxe Rev B3
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 570 SC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gateway
    Hard Drives
    Dual Boot:
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on OCZ Revo x2 and
    Win7 Ult RAID 0 on Caviar Black SATA 3's
    PSU
    Cooler Master Silent Pro 1000W
    Case
    Cooler Master 932 HAF
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900MAX-B CPU Fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Mouse
    Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500
    Internet Speed
    20 Mbps Download/2+ Mbps Upload
    Other Info
    Pioneer Blu-ray Burner/DVD Burner
No, it's not a failing drive, because the music folder that exhibits the same behaviour is on my desktop, on the C drive. I've also done a scan with HD tune on both of the drives and they are all green. Also the SMART info is nearly ideal.

It has something to do with windows 8, definitely.

EDIT: I just noticed, my explorer.exe goes up to 95% CPU usage at random times when I try to open the folders. Maybe that's a clue?

EDIT2: I've now found that when trying to rename the affected item, explorer.exe also crashes immediately. When accessing the items through a cmd window, everything is there and works. NEED URGENT HELP! My school files are on the D: drive!!!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 x64 with media center
HELP!!!
Now I can't even see any items on my desktop and also if I go to c:\users\...\desktop, it hangs the same way as the music folder used to!!!
Need assistance ASAP!

EDIT: I've now done clean boot and started to enable more and more services until the issue happens again. Ive found out that Microsoft Account Sign-In Assistant was the culprit. When it's disabled, the folders do open but now I can't sign in to windows store.

I've also tried sfc /scannow a number of times to no avail.

What should I try next to fix the broken service?
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 x64 with media center
HELP!!!
Now I can't even see any items on my desktop and also if I go to c:\users\...\desktop, it hangs the same way as the music folder used to!!!
Need assistance ASAP!

EDIT: I've now done clean boot and started to enable more and more services until the issue happens again. Ive found out that Microsoft Account Sign-In Assistant was the culprit. When it's disabled, the folders do open but now I can't sign in to windows store.

I've also tried sfc /scannow a number of times to no avail.

What should I try next to fix the broken service?
Hi bro!
First of all,I think it's better to use DISK CLEANUP.When you open DISK CLEANUP window select Thumbnails and delete the files,this should solve your problem :)[the tip is about how to fix The address bar problem]
and the second tip,if the first tip is helpful,ENABLE Microsoft Account Sign-In Assistant it should work fine :)
In addition,I advise you to download ADVANCED SYSTEM CARE ULTIMATE 6 and Autoruns,first software just works perfectly and it should fix your problem and even more, ADVANCED SYSTEM CARE ULTIMATE 6 can fix registry errors,optimize system etc.:cool::thumb:
By "Autoruns" you can disable unused files to run automatically on windows startup . I hope my tips will be helpful :)[THE SOFTWARES ARE SECURED AND SAFE,SCANNED BY KASPERSKY PURE 3.0]
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 10Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer TravelMate 5760G
    CPU
    Intel Core i3 2330M 2.20MHz[4 Logical CPUs]
    Motherboard
    Acer TravelMate 5760G
    Memory
    Dual DDR3 SDRAM 4GB 1333MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GT 540M
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LED
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 5400rpm
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Eset Smart Security 9
I use autoruns actively for some time now.

But the problem itself was only fixed by a full reinstall, which I did about a month ago. So this problem is fixed for now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8 x64 with media center
"This folder is empty" is another one of those Windows 8.1 glitches due to the registry architecture, it usually occurs after an insult to "Windows Explorer" caused by a faulty external USB or driver associated with that USB, or due to faulty drivers in the Windows media files, or due to corrupted registry information. To fix this fault you need to 1)run "Disk Clean Up" and clean the system files, then 2)run scan disk or checkdisc (in the Properties/Tools menu when right clicking the C: Drive), close the machine and restart (re-boot), then run a reputable disc clean program, such as Glary Utilties or Jet Cleaner, then check that the problem is eliminated. It is usually to do with corrupted registry files but there can be other causes, including power surges or sudden power loss. If the problem persists you also have the option to do a restore to an earlier time before the glitch started being bothersome. It pays to back up your information as well.
Chris. Darwin, Australia. Using Windows 8.1 i7-4702MQ on an Acer Aspire V3 with 16GB DDR3L memory, 1000GB HDD.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3-772G
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-4702MQ 2.2GHz with boost to 3.2GHz
    Motherboard
    Acer VA-70
    Memory
    15.88GB DDR3 L Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVidia GE Force GT 750M
    Sound Card
    RealTek Dolby Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 1920 x 1080 17 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    C: 1000GB
    D: Blue Ray/ All type DVD/CD
    E: SDHC Card
    E: Freecom 1 TByte Drive.
    Case
    Acer
    Cooling
    Fan assisted
    Keyboard
    Acer
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    25 mbps
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
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