Windows 10 update breaks File Explorer and users are pissed

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Microsoft's Windows 10 November 2019 Update is a relatively minor release -- except when it breaks your File Explorer application.

As Windows Latest first reported, the program tasked to give you the location of files, photos and videos is crashing for some users after they install out the latest Windows 10 update. Furious users have taken to Microsoft's community forum to voice their frustration. 

Multiple users claim they can no longer copy and paste into a search box within File Explorer. Others say that it takes forever for the cursor to appear after they've pressed in the search box. 

"Exact same issue here and windows build. Windows file explorer is a mess. Even here in this window, I can't cut/paste/move a single thing," user stevecramer2 wrote.

There are numerous reports describing various issues, but Microsoft has not yet acknowledged any problems with the File Explorer. As such, there is no official fix for the issue. 

If you want to be extra careful, we recommend following our guide on how to roll back to an earlier version of Windows 10

The Windows 10 November 2019 update, otherwise known as version 1909, doesn't make any major changes to the operating system and was supposed to have a quiet launch. But Microsoft can't seem to push out an update without breaking things in the process. 

A few weeks ago we wrote about how users were having trouble installing a part of the November 2019 update that fixes critical security flaws in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. Before that, another update made laptops boot down with a Blue Screen of Death.

If Microsoft can't clean up these errors, it risks losing users to macOS or Google's growing Chrome OS. 

Phillip Tracy

Phillip Tracy is the assistant managing editor at Laptop Mag where he reviews laptops, phones and other gadgets while covering the latest industry news. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Phillip became a tech reporter at the Daily Dot. There, he wrote reviews for a range of gadgets and covered everything from social media trends to cybersecurity. Prior to that, he wrote for RCR Wireless News covering 5G and IoT. When he's not tinkering with devices, you can find Phillip playing video games, reading, traveling or watching soccer.