A fix for slow NVMe SSD speeds in Windows 11 is out — here’s how to get it

By Arif Bacchus Published December 10, 2021

An issue has been plaguing some Windows 11 users where NVMe drives might be running slower than expected, but Microsoft has now acknowledged the problem and issued a fix. As part of the latest Windows 11 monthly preview update, Microsoft is now testing a bug patch that should get rid of the issue.

Initially released on November 22, Microsoft mentions that the KB5007262 (OS Build 22000.348) preview has a fix related to write operations. The company also mentions that Windows 11 was performing unnecessary actions each time a write operation occurs. However, the issue only occurs when the NTFS USN journal is enabled. In most cases, this is always enabled on the C: drive, which is the primary system disk for most NVMe SSDs installed on a PC.

An SSD inside the Surface Pro 7+. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

If you want to get this update today to patch this issue, there’s little risk in doing so. This monthly preview update was tested and verified by Microsoft before it’s release. Just go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Then, in the Optional updates available area, you’ll find the link to download and install the KB5007262 update. Download and installation should not take longer than five minutes, and you’ll also get some bonus features with this update, like a newly redesigned set of emojis.

Recommended Videos

It’s been a bit of a rough road for Microsoft when it comes to these Windows 11 bugs — even though fixes are usually issued within a few weeks or days. There have been various issues since the operating system launched. The list covers problems with right-click menus in the File Explorer, issues with performance, and empty folders in subsystem areas.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

For now, though, the fix for slow NVMe drives is still in preview. There’s no risk of installing it early, but if you want to wait, Microsoft usually issues bug patches once a month on a day that’s known as “Patch Tuesday.” The next “Patch Tuesday” is expected for December 14. However, Microsoft has warned that the upcoming holidays and “minimal operations” in the United States might impact that release, so it may be worth it to grab this November 22 preview update now.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…

Computing

Windows 11 24H2 may crash your PC if you have a certain SSD

The blue screen of death in Windows.

Microsoft's Windows 11 2024 Update, more commonly referred to as 24H2, is here, but it's not without issues. Reports from disgruntled users have flooded various forums, talking about constant blue screens of death (BSOD) that have appeared since they updated to the latest version of Windows. Although Microsoft has yet to officially acknowledge the problem, the users seem to have pinpointed the cause of it, and even found a workaround.

So far, it looks like these crashes are fairly limited in scope, as they seem to happen if you have one of a few Western Digital SSD models. Other SSD vendors appear unaffected so far. As reported on the WD Community Forums, users are getting BSODs with the error "critical process has died" ever since they updated to the 24H2 update.

Computing

Microsoft is fixing my biggest problem with Windows 11 on handhelds

Asus ROG Ally with the Windows lock screen.

We're finally starting to make some progress on the handheld experience of Windows 11. Although Windows 11 handhelds like the ROG Ally X are some of the best handheld gaming PCs you can buy, that's despite their use of Windows, not because of it. Now, the latest Windows 11 Insider preview (build 22631.4387) adds a feature that should make navigating the OS much easier on a handheld -- a keyboard built for gamepads.

Windows has included an onscreen keyboard for years, and updates over the last couple of years have even made it usable with touch inputs. On a handheld, however, there are two problems with the keyboard. You can't invoke it naturally -- you have to bind Windows + Ctrl + O to a hotkey -- and you can't use your controller to navigate it. With the new update, Microsoft is fixing that last point, at the very least.

Computing

Windows 11 is creating an ‘undeletable’ 8.63GB cache

The Surface Pro 11 on a white table in front of a window.

The recent Windows 11 24H2 update is reportedly flawed with a new issue where it creates 8.63GB of undeletable update cache. This cache is made during the update process and seems to remain on the system, despite attempts to remove it using traditional methods like Disk Cleanup, Storage Sense, or even manually deleting system folders like Windows.old.

The issue appears to be linked to checkpoint updates, a new feature in Windows 11 designed to streamline and shrink update sizes by downloading smaller patches rather than full updates.