Microsoft already seems to be working on a fix for slow storage in Windows 11

Microsoft is working to fix issues that some Windows 11 users are experiencing with SSDs and HDDs. The performance issues occur when the NTFS USN Journal feature is enabled, which is the case for the C: drive by default.

Microsoft recognizes that Windows 11 has an issue that could affect the performance of NVMe drives and other SSDs and HDDs. This is caused by the OS performing unnecessary actions every time a write is performed. The problem only occurs if the NTFS USN Journal feature is enabled. This is the case by default for the C: drive, but does not have to be the case for other drives of a Windows 11 system.

Microsoft mentions addressing the issue in the release notes of the preview of update KB5007262 for build version 22000.348 of Windows 11. As Windows Latest noted, Microsoft already published it on November 22. In recent weeks, reports of storage performance issues have appeared on the Feedback Hub, Reddit, and Microsoft’s Answers forum, among others. The first reports of performance degradation date back to August. Users describe how, in particular, the random write performance of Windows 11 can be as much as 45 percent lower.

The question is to what extent the patch actually solves the problems. Some users state that the performance is 10 to 15 percent higher after installation, but that it is not yet at the level of Windows 10. Others claim that the problem was not solved with build version 22000.348.

Benchmark results of two Samsung 980 Pro SSDs on a system with a fresh Windows 11 installation. Source: RedLee