If File Explorer has ever felt slow or cluttered on your Windows device, know that big changes are on the way. We’ll explain how Microsoft is making it easier to navigate your PC as we sit down and sync up with Rocket IT’s weekly technology update.

In this episode, you’ll hear more about:

• Why File Explorer can feel slow or cluttered over time.
• How Microsoft is trying to make it faster behind the scenes.
• What “preloading” means and why it matters.
• Which PCs benefit the most from this change.
• When these updates are expected to roll out.

Video Transcript

Microsoft is testing changes to File Explorer in Windows 11 that are designed to make it launch faster and reduce clutter, especially on PCs that aren’t equipped with the latest hardware. To understand why this update matters, it helps to know how File Explorer works today.

Right now, File Explorer doesn’t fully load until you open it. On most modern PCs, that happens almost instantly. But on machines with older processors, limited memory, or slower storage, like low-budget laptops, that delay becomes noticeable. Throw in years of additional features, cloud integrations, and right-click options, and File Explorer can start to feel heavier than it needs to be.

That’s where Microsoft’s new approach comes in. Microsoft is testing something called preloading on devices running Windows 11. Put simply, preloading means Windows 11 quietly starts certain parts of File Explorer in the background before you actually click on it. Because some of the work is already done, File Explorer can open faster, instead of starting from scratch each time.

While this background process runs silently and is designed to help systems where performance is more constrained, Microsoft is making it optional to enable. If you have a high-spec PC that doesn’t need it, or if your organization prefers not to have background processes running, the setting can be disabled.

Alongside the speed improvement, Microsoft is also tackling clutter. File Explorer’s right-click menu has grown crowded over the years, making it harder to quickly find common actions. This update reorganizes those menus by moving your less frequently used options into sub-menus.

Right now, these changes are only available in preview builds of Windows 11, but Microsoft expects them to roll out more broadly in early 2026.

For businesses that want to test this early, an IT partner can help safely evaluate preview features, determine whether preloading makes sense for your environment, and ensure it aligns with performance and security best practices.  For help, contact Rocket IT using the link in this video’s description. And to stay up to date on technology news, hit that subscribe button and the bell to catch us on next week’s episode of Sync Up with Rocket IT.