{"id":13615,"date":"2026-05-06T05:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T12:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/windows-11-file-explorer-is-getting-the-overhaul-it-should-have-had-years-ago\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T07:23:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:23:48","slug":"windows-11-file-explorer-is-getting-the-overhaul-it-should-have-had-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/windows-11-file-explorer-is-getting-the-overhaul-it-should-have-had-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 11 File Explorer is getting the overhaul it should have had years ago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"dt-post-content\">\n<p>Microsoft finally admits what many Windows 11 users have felt for years, File Explorer can be slow in ways that a quick launch alone will not fix.<\/p>\n<p>The latest explanation from Microsoft points to a wide performance push for Windows 11 File Explorer, including changes aimed at startup behavior, disk activity, visual latency, and application hangs.<\/p>\n<p>That is important because the pain is evident in daily use. Folder navigation, icons, context menus, and configuration can all make the Windows file manager feel heavier than it should be.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why quick start is still not available<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft&#8217;s controversial answer so far has been File Explorer&#8217;s preloading, which keeps important pieces of the app ready before you click an icon. The upside is clear, the window can appear faster because Windows is already doing some work in the background.<\/p>\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{\" imageid=\"\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Enlarge\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on-async--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5971542\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"credit\">Paulo Vargas \/ Digital trends<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But that adjustment has limits. According to Windows Latest tests, preloading adds about 35MB of RAM usage, which isn&#8217;t much on a modern PC, but still feeds the criticism that Microsoft is using memory to cover up slow code.<\/p>\n<p>The vulnerability appears after the application is opened. Large folders can take a while to fill, and right-click menus can still feel laggy. Microsoft&#8217;s latest response makes a lot of sense because it addresses boot order, unnecessary virtual work, disk reads, and hangs.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s changing inside File Explorer<\/h2>\n<p>Tali Roth, Microsoft&#8217;s Head of Product for Windows Shell, described the File Explorer program as an integrated approach, with implementation improvements and engineering fixes going hand in hand.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"h-lazy-embed\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-initial-classes=\"twitter-tweet\" data-embed-name=\"twitter\" data-sdk-src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When I talk about the work we do to make Windows more reliable, playable, and creative, there is a comment section that I will\u2026 politely \ud83d\ude09\u2026 summarize as \u201cverify\u201d. There&#8217;s no doubt we have a lot to do, but we&#8217;re excited to share what we&#8217;ve brought up so far! https:\/\/t.co\/oKE94G8b0X<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tali Roth \ud83e\ude9f (@TeaAndDates) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TeaAndDates\/status\/2050320710091120895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Windows Shell team targets the areas that users are most aware of. It improves load organization, removes additional animations and unnecessary work, cuts disk reads, and reduces hangs in the entire application.<\/p>\n<p>Those changes can reach parts of File Explorer that are preloaded that can&#8217;t clean themselves. A real improvement is the file manager that opens quickly, loads folders without sticky pauses, and keeps icons and menus moving.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to watch next<\/h2>\n<p>Microsoft says that File Explorer improvements will roll out gradually over the coming months, so the real test is whether Windows 11 users notice a difference outside of Insider builds.<\/p>\n<p>There are early signs of progress. The latest build reportedly improved navigation, removed the bright light that can appear in dark mode, and started replacing old File Explorer bits with a more modern Windows UI.<\/p>\n<p>The time of public wide availability is not pinned down to the source material. After updates arrive, watch for regular times, folder loading, icon rendering, right-click menus, and general responsiveness. This is where Microsoft has to prove that Windows 11&#8217;s file manager is actually growing fast.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft finally admits what many Windows 11 users have felt for years, File Explorer can be slow in ways that a quick launch alone will not fix. The latest explanation from Microsoft points to a wide performance push for Windows 11 File Explorer, including changes aimed at startup behavior, disk activity, visual latency, and application [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-13615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-laptops-gear"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13615"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13615\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13617,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13615\/revisions\/13617"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.runwayritz.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}