Why Does Right-Click Menu Take So Long To Appear? Learn The Causes & Fixes (Updated)

The right-click (context) menu is a shortcut menu that offers a set of commands that can be performed on a file, folder, desktop, or the Start menu in Windows 11/10. The functionality comes in handy, as it provides quick access to commands you might need to perform frequently. But things get cumbersome when the right-click menu appears slowly or doesn’t show at all. If you’re facing the same issue, don’t worry, you’re not alone!

Several Reddit users have complained about this problem as they’re hunting for practical solutions to troubleshoot the problem. Fortunately, fixing the slow right-click menu issue is pretty simple and in this blog post, we’ll show you how.

Causes & Fixes: Windows 11/10 Right Click Menu Loads Slowly (2023)

Here’re some significant reasons that trigger context menu lagging issues:

1. There’s a conflict between third-party apps and Windows shell extensions.
2. You have a corrupt third-party shell extension.
3. You might be running faulty, damaged, or outdated display drivers.
4. Corrupted registry items can also cause the issue.
5. Malware or virus attack.
6. Tons of graphics extensions are added to the context menu, after installing NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel drivers, making it completely messy.

By default, Windows 11/10 includes a bunch of options in the context menu & this list grows as you install more applications on your device. But you can easily get rid of all the useless & irrelevant entries in no time. Using the Best Context Menu Editors For Windows 10, 8 & 7 you can easily add, remove, and manage right-click menu entries. This would certainly help you to boost overall productivity as well!

Additionally, you can try the following methods to get rid of Windows 11/10 Right Click Menu Freezing issues.

How To Fix Slow Right Click Menu On Windows 11/10 PC/Laptop? (2023)

The slow right click context menu is super annoying, primarily if you use it quite often. Let’s try to fix the problem as soon as possible.

METHOD 1 – Update Display Drivers

If your display drivers have become outdated or faulty, it can trigger the Slow Windows 10 Right Click Menu issue. The first solution is to check your display drivers and update them as soon as possible. There are multiple ways to update drivers automatically & manually. You can check the complete list here!

In case you are looking for a hassle-free way to update display drivers, consider using Smart Driver Care. It automatically detects and lists all the device drivers that need immediate attention. Just download, install, and launch the driver updater utility using the button mentioned below. From the main dashboard, click on the Start Scan button to search for old, missing, damaged, corrupted, and incompatible drivers. Once you detect them, you can click on the Update button to fix or replace outdated drivers to install their latest version individually.

METHOD 2 – Execute A Clean Boot

Try putting your operating system in a clean boot state and check for potential issues. You never know if certain third-party programs are conflicting and cause the slow Windows 10 right click menu. To do so, follow the steps below:

STEP 1 – Launch the Run window. You can use the Search box to look for a Run application.

STEP 2 – Type “msconfig” (without inverted commas) and press the Enter button.

STEP 3 – Now, head towards the General tab and ensure that the Selective Startup option is checked. If it is not, make sure you check the header and uncheck the Load startup items entry.

STEP 4 – Next, you need to go to the Service tab and carefully check the box. Hide all Microsoft services. You can find the option at the bottom-left of the screen. Once you find it, click on the Disable all button and hit OK to save the changes.

STEP 5 – Now that all the conflicting startup items are disabled successfully, the next step is to head towards the Startup tab and click on the Open Task Manager options.  

STEP 6 – From the new window, you need to find and disable startup entries that are enabled. (Just right click on the item and choose the Disable option.)

STEP 7 – Hit the OK button and restart your PC!

Hopefully, this should repair the right click context menu’s delayed appearing problem. If there’s still some issue, you can try a few steps too: Launch Run window again > type msconfig > hit the Enter button > General > select option Normal startup > click on OK button.

As soon as you get a prompt to restart your system. Follow the on-screen instructions and get the “Windows 10 right click menu freezing” issue eventually on Windows 10.

METHOD 3 – Fix Registry Issues

If none of the workarounds helped you, the last resort is to make some tweaks in the Windows Registry. But before proceeding, make sure you backup your entire computer so that no important data gets deleted, unfortunately. Once done, you can follow the instructions below:

STEP 1 – Go to the Search menu and look for Regedit, and hit the Enter button. This will open the Registry Editor on your system.

STEP 2 – From the Registry Editor, you need to follow the path: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\ shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

STEP 3 – Once you reach the ContextMenuHandlers folder, expand the category to see more folders. Now simply right click on each of them, leaving New and WorkFolders. Click on the Delete option to complete the process.

Once all the folders are deleted, you need to restart your PC to implement the changes. Hopefully, this should successfully resolve the “slow right click windows 10”.  

METHOD 4 – Tweak Performance Options

Windows 11 includes a slew of animations and visual effects that enhance user experience. But, as they’re enabled for a long time, it consumes valuable system resources & bogs down daily operations. This includes ‘right-clicking menu items opening slowly or freezing’. By following the workaround mentioned below, you can configure your PC to prioritize performance over visual experience and speed up things. To do so:

STEP 1 – Go to the Search bar and type adjust the appearance and performance of Windows and hit the Enter button.

STEP 2 – In the Performance Options window, hit the radio button next to Adjust for best performance.

STEP 3 – Click the Apply button, followed by OK.

This will help repair slow right-click menu issues on Windows 11/10 desktops. In case the issue persists, try another workaround listed below!

METHOD 5 – Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

Microsoft Safety Scanner is a robust malware detection and remover tool, that helps users eliminate the potential malware traces that might be causing the ‘slow right-click menu’ issue. To fix this, all you have to do is:

STEP 1 – Install the Microsoft Safety Scanner on your desktop/laptop.

STEP 2 – Double-click the executable file and click the Next button. Upon launch, select the type of scan to perform: Quick Scan, Deep Scan & Custom Scan.

Hit the Next button to proceed. Once the scanning process gets completed, the tool will automatically locate and remove suspicious files and programs that might be causing the ‘context menu lagging’ issues.

METHOD 6 – Run SFC Scan

Often times, corrupted or faulty system files can also be responsible for causing the ‘slow right-click menu items appearing slowly’ issue. Fortunately, Windows include System File Checker (SFC) tool that can assist you in the journey of repairing damaged system files & improving degraded performance.

STEP 1 – Right-click on the Start menu and choose Windows Terminal (Admin) option from the pop-up menu that appears on the screen.

STEP 2 – On the next window, simply copy & paste the command line – SFC/scannow and hit the Enter button.

As soon as the scanning process gets complete, make sure to restart your computer. After that, observe whether the problem of the ‘context menu is still slow’ issue is resolved or not!

Must Read: SFC Scan Stops Working On Windows 10? Here’s The Fix!

Were You Able To Fix Right-Click Context Menu Hanging Issue? (2023)

Hopefully, the aforementioned solutions helped you to troubleshoot the problem of the ‘context menu constantly freezing or appearing slowly’. For me, updating the display drivers to the latest and most compatible versions did the trick. Hence, you can try that in the first place to see if it resolves the issue at your end as well. If you know of any other workaround, do share it with us in the comments section below!