Fix Windows 11 explorer.exe High CPU Usage
By Zennith Tech Lab
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Published 2026-05-22
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Windows 11CPUPerformancePower
To fix Windows 11 explorer.exe high CPU usage, clear the file explorer navigation history and restart the system process.
File Explorer Restart
Restart the "explorer.exe" desktop graphic shell process in your Task Manager to resolve outstanding memory and CPU leaks.
# Step 1: Restart Explorer Process
1. Open Task Manager via Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Locate Windows Explorer inside the process tab.
3. Right-click Windows Explorer and click Restart.
# Step 2: Clear Navigation Cache History
1. Run Control Panel and open File Explorer Options. 2. Click Clear next to Clear File Explorer history to flush locked diagnostic keys.