Microsoft promises to make Windows 11’s File Explorer much faster – and it’s about time

Microsoft will do more to File Explorer to make it faster
This goes beyond the existing work to help it load faster the first time it is used
It includes ‘targeted optimizations’ to further speed up launch and ‘fundamental engineering to eliminate unnecessary disk reads, reduce hangs and improve responsiveness across the board’

A Microsoft executive has confirmed that work to speed up File Explorer won’t be limited to just preloading the app when Windows 11 first starts, and in fact there are several additional tweaks that boost performance.

You may remember that when the preloading change was tested late last year, there was some grumbling that it was more of a workaround, complaining that it doesn’t fix all the performance issues of File Explorer (the app that runs your desktop folders).

Windows Latest reports that Tali Roth, who is Microsoft’s product manager, Windows Shell, explained to the X that there is more to come with File Explorer, responding to a post which noted that many felt the preloaded solution was ‘inelegant’.

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Roth said Microsoft is “driving targeted optimizations for the File Explorer launch by improving the load order and optimizing critical paths, along with removing unnecessary work and visual animations.”

Roth added, “In addition to launch, we’re doing the basic engineering to eliminate unnecessary disk reads, reduce hangs, and improve responsiveness across the board, many of which will also directly benefit launch performance.”

Analysis: fundamental changes

(Image credit: Getty Images)

If you missed the whole preloading incident, this move was to address the fact that on some Windows 11 PCs, File Explorer can take forever to open the first time you use it (with subsequent folders opening faster). Microsoft’s tactic was to move the main loading process of File Explorer to happen when Windows 11 first starts, so that it is more easily accessible the first time it is run.

Of course, this increases the workload of Windows 11 when it first starts the desktop and all the initial processes therein – but Microsoft has successfully made the change without any noticeable additional sluggishness here.

That said, it’s still a bit of a mess of a solution, so it’s good to hear that Microsoft is exploring other ways to speed up File Explorer. Especially considering that preloading is only about the initial experience of File Explorer anyway, and it does nothing to spice up how quickly the app responds on subsequent use.

The goal of bringing general optimizations to File Explorer and reducing drive activity sounds pretty profound, with the reference to “fundamental engineering” being the key clue here to how far Microsoft is digging into Windows 11’s inner workings to smooth out performance.

Of course, Microsoft is very much in the mood to make big promises about Windows 11 this year, and as I keep repeating, it’s one thing to say these things and another to actually realize them. To be fair to the company though, progress is being made quickly enough and so far the early results of the ‘fix Windows 11 campaign’ look impressive.

There’s still a long way to go, though, and as for File Explorer, the obvious question is: why was the foundation of this critical part of the Windows 11 interface in a shakier-than-ideal state to begin with?