Microsoft To Preload File Explorer in Background For Faster Launch in Windows 11
- Reference: 0180206025
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/25/140253/microsoft-to-preload-file-explorer-in-background-for-faster-launch-in-windows-11
- Source link:
[1] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/11/21/announcing-windows-11-insider-preview-build-26100-7271-dev-beta-channels/
not sure what is sadder (Score:3)
that this is news
or
that the file explorer in MS is so bloated it need to be pre loaded
Re: (Score:2)
"We need a slimmer OS that defaults to "no extra crap loading or running behind our backs tracking us and sending our info to Microsoft"."
I don't even need to say it, do I?
Re: (Score:2)
"I was a Unix admin before Linus wrote the first line of Linux. It still isn't ready for the desktop for 99% of people"
Would that matter? Apple has been "ready for the desktop" for 40 years and has never gone much above 15% market share. Android / ChromeOS are or could be desktop-ready yet where have those efforts gone?
This will never end (Score:2)
They will preload everything based on your daily habits and sell it as a copilot, when in fact it is a shitty captain.
Who uses MS file Explorer? (Score:3)
I use Directory Opus, and have done for 36 years.
Re: (Score:2)
> I use Directory Opus, and have done for 36 years.
[1]Directory Opus for Windows was first released 24 years ago. [wikipedia.org] Were you using it on Amiga before that?
Who uses Windows? I use Linux, and have done for 32 years, starting with Caldera Open Linux.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directory_Opus
Re: (Score:2)
Caldera Linux was first released in 1997, which is 28 years ago. Slackware Linux goes back 32 years. Red Hat Linux was 30 years ago now. Hard to believe. I first used Red Hat 5.1 28 years ago during the libc to glibc transition. KDE 1.0 came out about that same time and was a huge leap forward in Linux desktop usability for new users. Also StarOffice 5. Memory lane.
Re: (Score:2)
As much as I love Linux (I have been using it exclusively for the past 20+ years), I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who isn’t very computer-savvy. It requires a fair amount of maintenance. Graphics performance has improved dramatically, but it’s still miles behind macOS and Windows. It’s just not for the masses.
Re: (Score:2)
Bullshit, that is entirely dependent on what distro you use. I highly recommend Linux to anyone that isn't computer-savvy because (depending on distro) it's so much harder to fuck it up, install a virus, let a scammer talk you into connecting them so they can clean out your bank account, etc. Put on a theme that looks like whatever version of Windows they're used to, put their shortcuts in the same place, and a person that isn't computer-savvy won't know the difference - plus they'll still be able to safely
Wasting RAM in a shortage (Score:2)
All these preload hacks will waste RAM when RAM prices are high, with every app wanting to preload themselves it will just lead to swapping which will destroy the point. Remember that Windows XP worked on a 16th of the amount of ram as modern Windows before rust-electron-javascript vibecoded slopware was a thing.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, I just checked to see what the difference in memory usage was between explorer.exe with file explorer open and without (it's the same process for both). The difference was not significant.
and then claim File Explorer loads faster /s (Score:2)
Same thing being used with msOffice and iExplorer. Most of their bits are loaded at boot. Besides, file Explorer and the Search Box are next to useless in finding a file. I use Everything from voidtools.com
M$ is now slower? (Score:2)
So the boot/login process will now be slower and you won't have as much usable memory. This is the last straw reason that I'm ditching the last of my Windows machines--boot/login is too slow.
But it's already loaded! (Score:2)
What process provides the Windows desktop? Explorer.exe
What is File Explorer's executable? Explorer.exe
Am I missing something?
Re: (Score:2)
This here! What the hell? Explorer.exe is running permanently. File Explorer should just be an additional window. It's also loaded for literally every application (not written in Java) since it is used to display save as and open dialogues boxes.
Something about this announcement isn't right.
Re: (Score:2)
Without knowing precisely how Explorer is structured, it's conceivable that there may be different dynamically-linked libraries and/or execution points for running the desktop and for the file explorer, in which case just having explorer.exe running in and of itself doesn't mean that new modules have to be loaded if explorer.exe process fires up. The solution could very well be to load the libraries involved in file browsing when the desktop opens.
Just guessing here. There was a time when there was a lot mo
My 486 took three minutes to boot. (Score:2)
My new PC boosts instantly. What are they trying to improve? With oodles of RAM and absurdly fast SSDs there is nothing slow about a computer these days.
Re: (Score:2)
If your computer id idling, they will find a way to fill that void. Trust them.
uh (Score:2)
This is news? Why wouldn't parts of File Explorer be preloaded? It's integrated to the operating system. har har
But I agree, how big and heavy does a file management program need to be? hmmm...
-m
Windows explorer (Score:3)
Windows explorer im convinced is design and programmed by people who dont manage files. Its useless at its core functions. Explorer has been on downward trajectory since win7
Jesus Christ (Score:1)
That, on modern hardware, they have to preload a fucking file browser so that it pops up faster is just an indication of what a steaming pile of garbage MS is. They had sweet spots with Win2k-WinXP and with Win7, but their incoherent need to be a whole bunch of contradictory things --- with AI! has led what was a rather iffy OS and UI experience to begin with to become a cluster fuck of incoherence.
I do most of my day to day work on MacOS and Gnome, and fortunately the Terminal services version I have to RD
fast computers (Score:2)
We have the fastest computers ever, fast processors, fast memory, fast solid state storage, fast buses. But our software is such garbage that we need to preload it all. Its not like we are reading File Explorer from a floppy. There really is no excuse we just stopped building efficient software in exchange for being faster to market.
This feels like a band-aid solution (Score:3, Interesting)
Seriously. My current instance on my work laptop uses just over 500MiB of memory. Just why? My gut feeling is that they will be able to boost performance by just focusing on the application optimization itself. Goes for basically every MS product.
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe Microsoft AI is incapable of optimization and they fired all the people who were capable of doing it.
Seriously, file explorer is not that much different (from the user perspetive) from the one in Windows XP, but uses vastly more resources.
Re:This feels like a band-aid solution (Score:4, Insightful)
XP didn't spend as much time going through all your documents and data files and sending its "telemetry" off to Microsoft for AI training (and sale to advertisers for "targeted ads").
And now, file explorer will be running all the time , so make certain they don't miss anything.
Re: (Score:2)
Open your task manager. Look for explorer.exe. It is running all the time already. It has to, it's your desktop. Open file explorer and check to see if there's a new instance of explorer.exe. There won't be, unless you're on a rather old version of Windows.
The Windows search indexer was added in either XP sp 2 or 3. It slowed things down quite a bit since indexing on a PATA HDD gives the I/O scheduler fits.
If you have telemetry concerns, you should probably turn the telemetry off.
Re: (Score:2)
Turning telemetry off is such a nice, rewarding game of whack-a-mole.
Re: (Score:1)
I'm guessing it's mostly due to add-ons installed by third party software. There are APIs that let third party stuff hook into Explorer, and the current situation is an absolute shit-show. Because there are so many old and broken ones, Explorer loads them to see if they crash, and if they do it loads them again in compatibility mode, and if they still crash it gives up. Once loaded there are no limits on how slow they are to start up or operate.
Re: (Score:2)
It uses that much memory because it's your entire desktop. Explorer.exe is both your desktop and the file explorer. Look at the process tree in something like Process Explorer and it'll make a little more sense. Then look at how little the memory usage changes if you have a file explorer window open.
And it's why I don't really understand what they're talking about. Explorer.exe is always loaded.
Re: (Score:2)
> It uses that much memory because it's your entire desktop.
Ok, I'll bite. What on the desktop justify to use *any* memory? Tiny widgets that display the latest rss feed from msnbc ?
Re: This feels like a band-aid solution (Score:1)
All the extraneous bullshit Microsoft added to the start menu is always lurking in memory for performance reasons.