Restart Windows Explorer process

The first method to solve the “Explorer not refreshing changes” problem, is to restart the Windows Explorer process. To do that:

1. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC to open task manager.
2. In Processes tab, right-click in Windows Explorer and choose Restart.

Restore Folder and Search options to default

1. Open File Explorer and from the File menu choose Change folder and search options.
2. In General tab, click the Restore Defaults button.

Restore Quick Access Default Locations & Clear Recent Files

Windows displays in the Quick access menu, a list of recently visited folders/places and a list of the recently opened files.

Although this is very convenient, it can cause Explorer to not refresh when making changes to files/folders, especially when the Quick Access menu contains a location that no longer exists.* So, proceed as follows…

1. Remove from Quick Access any “Network Locations” that points to a server that is not currently available or to a drive/location that no longer exists.
2. Reset the quick access locations to default and clear the recent files, by deleting all files on the following locations (To navigate to the below locations, copy-paste each address on Explorer’s address bar and hit Enter):
   • %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations
   • %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations
   • %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
3. After deleting the files under he above locations, restart the Windows Explorer process (see method-1), or restart your PC and check if Explorer is refreshing your changes now.

Enable User Account Control

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the ‘Run’ command box.
2. Type control userpasswords and press Enter.
3. Click Change User Account Control settings.
4. Drag the slider to Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (default), and click OK.
5. Restart your PC to apply changes and see if the problem persists.

Disable Client for Microsoft Networks in Network Properties

1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the ‘Run’ command box.
2. Type control ncpa.cpl and press Enter.
3. Right-click on the active network connection and choose Properties.
4. Uncheck the Client for Microsoft Networks, then click OK and see if the problem persists. If not, try to re-enable the Client for Microsoft Networks to see if the problem is gone or leave it disabled.

FIX Windows corruption errors with DISM & SFC tools

1.  Open command prompt as administrator. To do that:
   • In the Search box type: cmd or command prompt
   • Right click on the command prompt (result) and select Run as Administrator.
2. At the command prompt window, type the following command & press Enter:
   • Dism.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth
3. Be patient until DISM repairs component store. When the operation is completed, (you should be informed that the component store corruption was repaired), give this command and press Enter:
   • SFC /SCANNOW
4. When SFC scan is completed, restart your computer.