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How to increase the memory cache of Windows Explorer?

Paul Alexandru Cazacliu 0 Reputation points
2026-06-19T06:07:28.2233333+00:00

Answer, please, how to increase the memory cache of File Explorer in Windows 11, cos just after opening, only 40 tabs, an easy feat when studying something on your PC, File Explorer freezes, and crashes.

And before you come up with the silly kind of answer about "hardware limitation", it's not a potato or a toaster PC, it's a mighty PC that I built myself: i7-13700K, and a whopping 128 GB of RAM (the maximum supported by my system), 11.87 TB of storage (Nvme SSDs, normal SSDs, and Hard drives), so the system memory, both virtual and physical aren't the problem.

So, how to set the File Explorer in Windows 11, to use more memory, and not crash after opening just around 40 windows?

It's a simple and clear question, asking for a simple and clear answer.

No wonder so many people now are living Microslop for Linux.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Files, folders, and storage

3 answers

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  1. Horace Wiggins 440 Reputation points
    2026-06-19T12:01:24.38+00:00

    https://www.bing.com/search?q=open+new+tab+Windows+11&FORM=R5FD4

    https://www.bing.com/search?q=tabs+bar+in+File+Explorer&form=WSBMNS&cvid=e9fa6d64f47b402b8c7d5c8ecfff63e7&cc=US&setlang=en-US&nclid=20A3F34F22030F2EC4716DF397AE2060&ts=1781870807281

    Tips

    Tabs keep their own folder view and history, so you can switch without losing context iSunshare.

    If tabs disappear after an update, restart File Explorer or clear its cache (taskkill /f /im explorer.exe, delete %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\thumbcache and iconcache, then restart Explorer) Microsoft Learn.

    On managed devices, IT policies may disable the tabbed view — contact your administrator if needed.

    With these steps, you can fully leverage the tabs bar in File Explorer to manage multiple locations efficiently in Windows 11.

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  2. Onyx Is here 4,275 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-06-19T08:02:14.1366667+00:00

    Sorry to hear you're having trouble.

    However, as the previous answer mentioned there is no way to manually increase the memory cache. I'd also like to mention that on my research to see if this was possible I came across this post https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3929358/is-there-a-way-to-increase-the-memory-cache-of-win which is very similar to yours right down to the amount of RAM. As you can see by the answer there it's not possible. The best I can suggest is that if you're opening 30-40 windows at a time you may want to make sure the browser cache is cleared on a regular basis.

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  3. AI answer

    2026-06-19T06:07:46.7633333+00:00

    Windows does not provide any supported setting to “increase the memory cache” specifically for File Explorer, and there is no per‑app cache slider or registry option to force Explorer to use more RAM.

    However, performance and stability issues when opening many Explorer windows can sometimes be mitigated by ensuring that overall system memory management is healthy and that the paging file and system cache are not constraining Explorer indirectly.

    Try the following supported adjustments and checks.

    1. Let Windows manage virtual memory (paging file) If the paging file is misconfigured (too small or disabled), applications can hit commit limits and behave unpredictably even when plenty of physical RAM is installed.

    Windows 11 default is a system‑managed page file that grows as needed:

    • Minimum size: varies based on RAM, usage history, and crash dump settings.
    • Maximum size: up to 3 × RAM or 4 GB (whichever is larger), limited by volume size.

    To ensure this is enabled:

    1. On the taskbar, type control panel and open Control Panel.
    2. Select System and Security > System > Advanced system settings.
    3. On the Advanced tab, under Performance, select Settings.
    4. Go to the Advanced tab.
    5. Under Virtual memory, select Change.
    6. Make sure Automatically manage paging file size for all drives is selected.
    7. Select OK, then Apply, and restart the PC.

    This ensures Explorer and other processes can allocate commit without delays from slow page‑file growth.

    1. If seeing out‑of‑memory–type behavior, set a fixed page file If there are memory allocation failures due to slow page‑file growth (even on high‑RAM systems), a fixed‑size paging file can reduce latency:
    2. Open System Properties → Advanced system settings → Performance → Settings → Advanced → Virtual memory → Change.
    3. Clear Automatically manage paging file size for all drives.
    4. Select the system drive, choose Custom size.
    5. Set Initial size to about 1.5 × installed RAM (in MB) as recommended in the documentation.
    6. Set Maximum size to the same or slightly larger value.
    7. Select OK and restart.

    If errors persist, increase the initial size further.

    1. Check that the system file cache is not consuming most RAM If the system file cache grows excessively, it can starve user processes of physical memory and cause freezes or crashes. The only supported way to limit the system file cache is via the GetSystemFileCacheSize and SetSystemFileCacheSize APIs. Microsoft provides a sample Dynamic Cache Service that demonstrates how to use these APIs to restrict cache growth.

    For advanced scenarios (typically on servers or workstations under heavy I/O load), consider using the Microsoft Windows Dynamic Cache Service as documented to keep the system file cache from consuming too much RAM, which indirectly helps Explorer and other apps remain responsive.

    1. General performance tuning that can help Explorer These do not increase Explorer’s cache, but they can reduce contention and improve responsiveness when many windows are open:
    • Adjust visual effects for best performance
      1. Select Start, type Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows, and open it.
      2. On the Visual Effects tab, select Adjust for best performance.
    • Set power mode to Best performance
      1. Select Start > Settings > System > Power & battery (or Power & sleep on some builds).
      2. Choose Best performance or the High performance power plan.
    • Monitor resource usage and heavy processes
      1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
      2. On the Processes tab, check for processes using high CPU, memory, or disk that may be impacting Explorer.
    1. What cannot be done There is no supported configuration to:
    • Directly increase a dedicated “Explorer cache” size.
    • Force Explorer to reserve or pin a specific amount of RAM.

    Explorer uses the standard Windows memory manager and system file cache; tuning those (paging file configuration, preventing excessive system cache growth, and general performance settings) is the supported way to improve stability when many windows are open.

    References:

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