Microsoft is working on some modest but important changes to Windows 11 An explorer that can finally curb the need for system memory. Currently being tested in Latest Windows Insider buildsThese changes are aimed at optimizing how the file manager handles searches, specifically addressing the issue of high RAM and CPU usage that often spikes when digging through large folders.
This update appears in Windows 11 build 26220.7523 and later versions.
It is currently only available to Insider Preview members. The essence of the fix is ​​to work smarter, not harder: Microsoft wants to stop File Explorer from performing the same indexing tasks over and over again, which has been a serious drain on system resources for years.
In a recent update, Microsoft noted that it has improved the search process by “eliminating repetitive file indexing operations.” Essentially, this means that Windows will stop scanning the same files repeatedly during searches. This is a common sense decision that should make the entire process faster while reducing the load on your equipment.
It's worth noting that File Explorer doesn't actually have its own search engine; it connects to the built-in Windows Search Indexer. Although this indexer is supposed to be intelligent, it often gets caught in a loop of repetitive tasks, causing unnecessary load on the CPU and RAM. By eliminating these “double checks”, Microsoft reduces the overall system load, which is great news for anyone running Windows on a laptop with limited memory.
In addition to technical work, Microsoft also continues to clean up the Explorer interface.
In particular, the right-click context menu. In recent tests, several options that people don't use every day, such as Copy as Path, Compress To, and image rotation tools, have been moved to their own submenu.
Depending on which version of the test you're looking at, this new submenu is called either “File Management” or “Other Actions.” The goal is pretty simple: declutter your main menu so the things you really need aren't buried under a mountain of specialized tools you only use once a year.
While these updates are still being finalized on Insider channels, they are not far off from general release. Microsoft is expected to begin rolling out these improvements to everyone around the end of January or February. If all goes according to plan, the next Windows update could make file searching much quieter and your desktop less cluttered.
