Windows 11 “Show More Options” Is Painfully Slow? Here’s Exactly Why and How to Fix It

Updated February 2026 — Covers Windows 11 24H2

If you have upgraded to Windows 11 and noticed that right-clicking on a file or folder feels sluggish — or that clicking “Show more options” to reveal the classic context menu takes an eternity — you are not alone. This is one of the most reported performance complaints in Windows 11, and in the vast majority of cases, the root cause is legacy Shell Extensions clashing with the new two-tier context menu system.

This guide explains the technical reasons behind the slowdown, walks you through every fix from simplest to most advanced, and helps you permanently resolve the issue without breaking your workflow.

Why Windows 11 Changed the Right-Click Menu

Microsoft redesigned the context menu in Windows 11 to create a cleaner, more modern interface. The new menu uses the IExplorerCommand interface, which is a modern COM-based API that loads asynchronously and supports icons natively.

However, the old menu — the one you see when you click “Show more options” at the bottom — still relies on the legacy IContextMenu / IShellExtInit COM interfaces. These interfaces were designed in the Windows XP era, and they operate synchronously on the UI thread.

What Happens Under the Hood

When you right-click a file in Windows 11, the system must:

1. Render the new compact menu — This is generally fast because Microsoft controls the entries.
2. Pre-load legacy shell extensions in the background — Even before you click “Show more options,” Windows begins loading all registered ContextMenuHandler DLLs.
3. Wait for all handlers to respond — If any single handler hangs (network timeout, disk I/O, or a bug), the entire menu pipeline stalls.

This means that a single poorly written shell extension from an app you installed years ago can make your entire right-click experience feel broken.

Key Insight: The delay is almost never caused by Windows 11 itself. It is caused by third-party DLLs that were designed for Windows 7/10 and have not been updated for the new shell architecture.

Diagnosing the Culprit

Before applying any fix, it is critical to identify which shell extension is causing the delay.

Method 1: ShellExView (Recommended)

ShellExView by NirSoft is the gold standard for diagnosing shell extension issues.

1. Download the 64-bit version from NirSoft’s website.
2. Run it as Administrator.
3. Click the “Company” column header to sort by publisher.
4. Look for all entries that are NOT from “Microsoft Corporation” — these are your third-party extensions.
5. Note the “Type” column. Focus on entries marked as “Context Menu”, “Property Sheet”, and “Drag and Drop” handlers.

Method 2: Process Monitor (Advanced)

If ShellExView does not reveal the culprit, use Sysinternals Process Monitor to trace exactly which DLLs explorer.exe loads during a right-click:

1. Open Process Monitor and set a filter:
   • Process Name is explorer.exe
   • Operation is LoadImage
2. Right-click a file in Explorer.
3. Examine the list of DLLs loaded immediately after your click. Any DLL with a long Duration value is suspicious.

Method 3: Event Viewer

Open Event Viewer → Windows Logs → Application. Look for Event ID 1000 or Event ID 1002 involving explorer.exe. The faulting module name will often point directly to the problematic shell extension DLL.

Fix 1: Restore the Classic Context Menu (Quick Fix)

The fastest way to eliminate the “Show more options” delay entirely is to restore the Windows 10 classic context menu. This bypasses the two-tier system altogether.

Using Registry Editor

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.

2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID

3. Right-click the CLSID key → New → Key.

4. Name it: {86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}

5. Inside this key, create another New → Key named: InprocServer32

6. Double-click the (Default) value in the right pane and leave it empty. Click OK.

7. Restart Explorer or log out and back in.

Using Command Prompt (One-Liner)

reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

Then restart Explorer:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe & start explorer.exe

How to Revert

To restore the Windows 11 modern context menu:

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

Warning: Restoring the classic menu means you lose the clean Windows 11 layout. However, for power users who rely on third-party tools integrated into the right-click menu, this is often the best permanent solution.

Fix 2: Disable Specific Problematic Extensions

If you would rather keep the Windows 11 modern menu but need it to be fast, selectively disable the extensions causing delays.

Common Offenders

Based on community reports and our own testing, these are the shell extensions most frequently responsible for slow context menus in Windows 11:

How to Disable in ShellExView

1. Open ShellExView as Administrator.
2. Select the offending extension(s).
3. Press F7 or right-click → Disable Selected Items.
4. Go to Options → Restart Explorer.
5. Test the right-click menu. If the delay is gone, you have found the culprit.

Fix 3: Windows 11 24H2 Specific Fixes

Windows 11 version 24H2 introduced changes to the shell extension loading pipeline that broke compatibility with several older extensions. If your slowdown started after the 24H2 update, try these additional steps:

Update All Third-Party Software

Many vendors released patches specifically for 24H2 compatibility. Update these applications first:

• WinRAR, 7-Zip, PeaZip
• Nvidia, AMD, or Intel GPU drivers
• Antivirus software (Kaspersky, Avast, Norton)
• Cloud sync tools (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive)

Reset the Icon Cache

Corrupted icon cache can cause Explorer to re-query shell extensions repeatedly:

ie4uinit.exe -show
taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
DEL /A /Q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
DEL /A /F /Q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
start explorer.exe

Run the DISM and SFC Repair

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

Fix 4: Group Policy (Enterprise Environments)

In corporate environments, administrators can enforce the classic context menu via Group Policy or Intune:

1. Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).
2. Navigate to: User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → File Explorer.
3. Look for policies related to the context menu behavior.

Alternatively, deploy the registry change via a PowerShell script through Intune:

New-Item -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" -Force
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKCU:\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" -Name "(Default)" -Value "" -Force

Performance Comparison: Before and After

After following the steps above, users typically report:

Frequently Asked Questions

Will restoring the classic menu break Windows 11 features?

No. The classic menu is fully functional. You lose only the visual redesign (rounded corners, spacing). All file operations, sharing, and compression features remain available.

Is it safe to disable shell extensions?

Yes. Disabling a shell extension via ShellExView only prevents it from loading into Explorer. The parent application continues to work normally — you simply lose the right-click integration for that specific app.

Why is this worse after a Windows Update?

Microsoft frequently changes the shell extension loading order and security policies with cumulative updates. Extensions that were “just slow enough” before an update can become noticeably broken afterward.

Summary

The “Show more options” slowdown in Windows 11 is almost always caused by legacy shell extensions that were not designed for the new two-tier context menu. The fixes, from easiest to most advanced, are:

1. Restore classic menu via registry (instant, permanent fix)
2. Disable specific extensions with ShellExView (surgical, keeps modern menu)
3. Update third-party software for 24H2 compatibility
4. Deploy via Group Policy for enterprise scale