Microsoft Tries to Fix Windows 11 File Explorer Lag with New Preloading Feature
Do Son 
If you use Windows 11, you have likely noticed that opening a folder and launching File Explorer is swift, yet once Explorer starts, rendering the contents often stutters. This hesitation typically lasts between 0.3 and 1 second, during which the main panel turns white or displays a “processing” indicator.
When a directory contains many images, rendering can take even longer, resulting in painfully slow load times. For users, this delay is exceedingly irritating — a problem entirely absent in Windows 10, making the difference quite striking for those who upgraded.
Microsoft has finally acknowledged the issue. In the Windows 11 Build 26220.7271 preview, the company announced that it will begin testing a preloading mechanism for File Explorer. This “preloading” means that Explorer will be loaded into memory by default, dramatically improving its startup speed.
In truth, the approach is somewhat roundabout, suggesting that Microsoft has yet to fully resolve the stutter that occurs after Explorer is launched and begins loading and rendering files. By preloading Explorer into memory, the startup time becomes noticeably faster, shaving off several hundred milliseconds from the overall delay.
However, preloading Explorer into memory does have a slight impact on system performance. Users may disable the feature by opening the Folder Options menu in File Explorer and unchecking the option to enable window preloading for faster startup. Once disabled, File Explorer will operate in its traditional manner.
Still, unless a user is working with extremely limited memory, disabling the feature is unnecessary. File Explorer consumes relatively little RAM, and Microsoft has enabled preloading by default to maximize the user experience. As for how it performs in real-world use, that remains to be tested.
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