When I open my downloads folder, no files appear, just a message saying "This folder is empty". I see the address bar progress slowly creeping along, and after about thirty seconds the files and folders appear. This problem only occurs in the downloads folder. If I search for a file in the downloads folder, it comes up, and if I right click on it and select "Open File Location", everything shows up instantly. I am using Windows 8, but I think I had a similar problem once in Windows 7. Sadly I can't remember how I fixed it.
Windows Explorer – Why Does the Downloads Folder Take Long to Load?
windows 8windows-explorer
Best Answer
By default, the Downloads folder tries to index files as Pictures, which is taking a long time.
From here:
Downloads
folderCustomize
Document
orGeneral items
from the drop downDocument
was already selected, chooseAlso apply this template to all subfolders