Microsoft delivers fix for decreased copying performance issue in Windows 11 22H2

This week, Microsoft released Windows 11 Dev Build 25252, which features a VPN indicator and a new look for Search on the taskbar. Another main highlight of the release is the fix for the copy performance issue in Windows 11 users that Microsoft first confirmed in October.

At that time, Microsoft said that the issue started after the installation of the Windows 11 22H2 update. Affected users reportedly noticed performance reduction when copying larger files from a remote computer to their Windows 11 PCs or when copying files on a local drive.

“Copying large multiple gigabyte (GB) files might take longer than expected to finish on Windows 11, version 22H2,” said Microsoft. “You are more likely to experience this issue copying files to Windows 11, version 22H2 from a network share via Server Message Block (SMB) but local file copy might also be affected.”

Microsoft didn’t detail the exact degree of the performance reduction in the copying function in Windows 11, but users reported it could reach up to 40% or even double the time when copying files. Ned Pyle, Principal Program Manager in the Windows Server engineering group, explained that the experience might vary by user.

After weeks of initial confirmation of the problem, the company was still unable to provide a permanent solution, though it offered a workaround.

“To mitigate this issue, you can use file copy tools that do not use cache manager (buffered I/O),” Microsoft said in a support document, referring to robocopy and xcopy tools, which need to use the commands robocopy \\someserver\someshare c:\somefolder somefile.img /J and xcopy \\someserver\someshare c:\somefolder /J, respectively.

Windows 11 Insiders who will get Build 25252 should get the preview fix. Meanwhile, its wider distribution for Windows 11 22H2 users is expected to come through a cumulative update.

“The preview fix for this issue is now available in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25252,” Pyle announced. “The final fix for Windows 11 22H2 production computer will come in a normal monthly Cumulative Update through Windows Update once validated in Insider builds.”

Apart from this issue, Microsoft also resolved this week another Windows 11 22H2-related issue affecting unspecified games and apps that were “inadvertently enabling GPU performance debugging features not meant to be used by consumers.” The solution comes in the November 2022 non-security KB5020044 preview update, which is optional and should be manually installed by users.