Delay or Error Creating/Renaming Folder on Windows 10 Network Share

Problem:

Windows 10 file shares, when accessed from any version of Windows, may delay or fail in creating or renaming folders. This seems to be more common or exclusive to Windows 10 with the “Anniversary Update.”

Solution:

While there is no direct solution, the only consistently effective workaround is to disable search indexing on the shared folder.

Procedure:

  1. Use File Explorer to navigate to the location of the shared folder on the Windows 10 computer that is sharing the files.
  2. Right-click on the folder and click Properties.
  3. Select the General tab.
  4. Click the Advanced… button in the lower right of the tab.
  5. Uncheck the box next to “Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed in addition to file properties.”
  6. Click OK until you have returned to File Explorer.
  7. Click the Start button, type “Indexing Options” and press Enter. The Indexing Options window should appear.
  8. Click Modify and uncheck the box next to each folder currently being shared. Click OK, then Close.

Limitations:

Removing search indexing from the folder slows down searching its contents using the Windows Search service.