How to Prevent Windows Explorer from Trying to Access Unreachable History in Address Bar?

Prevent Windows Explorer from Trying to Access Unreachable History Address Bar

Windows Explorer can get stuck trying to access unreachable history addresses when it tries to collapse the address bar and display the history. For example, if there is an unreachable FTP address like ftp://unreachable.com in the history, Windows Explorer may display a dialog like "Opening \..\" indefinitely and become unresponsive.

Understanding the Issue

This issue occurs because Windows Explorer caches the history of visited addresses and tries to display them when the user clicks on the address bar to collapse it. However, if a cached address is unreachable or invalid, Windows Explorer gets stuck trying to access it and becomes unresponsive.

Potential Solutions

To prevent Windows Explorer from getting stuck trying to access unreachable history addresses, you can try the following solutions:

• Clear the History: One simple solution is to clear the history of visited addresses. This will prevent Windows Explorer from displaying any unreachable or invalid addresses in the address bar.

• Disable the History: Another solution is to disable the history feature in Windows Explorer. This will prevent Windows Explorer from caching visited addresses and attempting to display them in the address bar.

• Use Registry Hacks: There are also registry hacks that can prevent Windows Explorer from getting stuck in this way. For example, you can add a registry key to disable FTP in the address bar, which will prevent Windows Explorer from attempting to access unreachable FTP addresses.

Clearing the History

To clear the history of visited addresses, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Click on the "Organize" button in the toolbar.

3. Select "Clear Recent History" from the dropdown menu.

4. In the "Clear Recent History" dialog, select the time range "From the beginning of time" and make sure that the "Address Bar History" checkbox is checked.

5. Click on the "Clear Now" button.

Disabling the History

To disable the history feature in Windows Explorer, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer.

2. Click on the "Organize" button in the toolbar.

3. Select "Folder and Search Options" from the dropdown menu.

4. In the "Folder Options" dialog, click on the "Privacy" tab.

5. Uncheck the "Remember visited folders" checkbox.