Microsoft Is Testing A File Explorer Trick To Speed Up Load Times In Windows 11

The latest Windows Insider build for Windows 11 features numerous performance fixes and additions, especially for File Explorer. One of the fixes, pictured below, is a reorganized right-click context menu in File Explorer. Perhaps the most interesting change is that Microsoft is considering pre-loading File Explorer in an effort to improve its performance. In a blog post on the company website, Microsoft explains, "We're exploring preloading File Explorer in the background to help improve File Explorer launch performance." The feature is being rolled out to Windows Insiders who download the necessary "enablement package".

Some users have been critical of this supposed fix on social media, claiming that Microsoft is not really optimizing File Explorer, but rather pre-loading a bloated application to give the impression of faster launch performance. File managers on alternative OSes typically launch much quicker and consume less memory. Alternatives for Windows, like File Pilot (currently in ...