Windows Explorer freezes when dragging files over mapped network drives
To minimize traffic, Windows doesn't re-establish an idle/disconnected mapped drive connection until you go to use it.
Dragging a file over it in Explorer is enough for the OS to consider that you're trying to use it.
Similarly (haven't actually tested just now, but based on memory), if you have a hard drive that's sitting idle and had been spun down, and you dragged a file over it's letter in Explorer, it'd spin up, and Explorer would freeze for a bit until it heard back from the drive (or gave up waiting for it).
Answer:
Vote on this bug: https://aka.ms/AA2pzti
This MS support conversation suggests checking your hover response time (mine is the default and I still have the problem): https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/windows-explorer-freezes-for-a-few-seconds/612d7e98-ee13-440d-969e-d6a72c67ead8
Quote from LuckySoul777:
I know this is an old thread, but I stumbled over it when I was looking for a solution. Since I have found one now, here it is.
https://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1884-mouse-hover-time-change.htmlBasically the "MouseHoverTime" value under HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Mouse in the registry has been reduced to a ridiculously low value. Who did it? I don't know. In my case, it was 8 (ms)! By changing it back to the default value of 400, my problem is solved. Hope this is useful for everyone.