My File Explorer is showing duplicate "items" and information at the bottom of the screen

Question

My File Explorer is showing duplicate "items" and information at the bottom of the screen

moon totoro 0

Hello! I've never had this issue before, and I'm not sure how it happened but I've seen people asking how to fix this and no one has responded. My File Explorer suddenly is displaying a duplicate bottom bar, how can I turn it off? I've attached an image to this post. Thanks for any help! Screenshot 2026-07-15 163035

Viorel 127.3K Reputation points

2026-07-21T05:46:17.64+00:00

What do the other parts look like?

2 answers

Your answer

Viorel 127.3K Reputation points

2026-07-21T05:46:17.64+00:00

What do the other parts look like?

Answer 1

Hi, good day!

To help narrow down the cause, could you please answer a few questions

Did this start after a Windows update or after installing any new software?

Does the duplicate bar appear in every File Explorer window, or only in a specific folder?

If you restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager (select Windows Explorer > Restart), does the duplicate bar disappear temporarily?

If you open File Explorer in Safe Mode or create a new Windows user account, does the issue still occur?

Open File Explorer > click 3 dots > Options

Select View tab, under Advanced settings

Find and uncheck Show Status bar

Click Apply

Restart your computer

Go back to the same option and this time tick Show Status bar > Apply

I look forward to receiving your update and I'm willing to collaborate with you till we resolve the issue. Do keep me informed by clicking "Add comment" below.

Answer 2

Hendrix-V 20,820 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi moon totoro,

From the description, this appears to be a File Explorer display issue rather than actual duplicate files. In some cases, an Explorer pane or information bar can remain visible unexpectedly due to a temporary view configuration.

You can try the following step by step:

Open File Explorer and go to View > Show.
If Details pane is enabled, toggle it Off, then turn it On again.
Select the three dots (...) > Options > View tab, then choose Restore Defaults.
Open Task Manager, locate Windows Explorer, and select Restart.

If the extra bar still appears afterward, check whether the behavior is present in all folders or only specific locations. This can help determine whether the issue is related to the current Explorer view or a particular folder configuration.

I hope this helps point you in the right direction. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Hendrix-V 20,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-18T07:25:12.1466667+00:00

Hi moon totoro,

If you have any further questions or updates regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know in the Comments section. I'd be happy to assist you.
moon totoro 0 Reputation points

2026-07-21T05:34:53.8933333+00:00

Hello! I tried all four steps, but unfortunately, the extra items bar is still present at the bottom of file explorer. It is present in all subfolders, not just one. Thank you so much for the help!
Hendrix-V 20,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-22T07:41:30.93+00:00

Hi moon totoro,

Thank you for testing those steps and for confirming that the additional bar appears in every folder. Since the behavior is consistent throughout File Explorer and persisted after resetting the view settings, this may point to a profile-specific Explorer configuration rather than a single folder setting.

As a quick check, could you try creating a temporary local Windows user account and then open File Explorer there? If the extra bar does not appear in the new profile, it would help narrow the issue to settings associated with the current user profile.

Thank you for the additional information, and I look forward to your update.
Hendrix-V 20,820 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-23T07:06:42.55+00:00

Hi moon totoro,

If you have any further questions or updates regarding this issue, please feel free to let me know in the Comments section. I'd be happy to assist you.