Windows 11 could get a free speed boost soon as Microsoft promises 'significant gains' for boot times

Microsoft is working to speed up boot times Over at IFA 2026 a Microsoft executive said that 'we've made significant gains' with startup speeds and more The exec also underlined Microsoft's commitment to get Windows 11 running more smoothly on 8GB PCs Microsoft is readying a major boost to the perfo

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Microsoft is working to speed up boot times</strong></li><li><strong>Over at IFA 2026 a Microsoft executive said that 'we've made significant gains' with startup speeds and more</strong></li><li><strong>The exec also underlined Microsoft's commitment to get Windows 11 running more smoothly on 8GB PCs</strong></li></ul><p>Microsoft is readying a major boost to the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/how-i-think-microsofts-campaign-to-fix-windows-11-is-going-so-far-the-verdict-now-were-3-months-in">performance of Windows 11</a> that should speed up boot times.</p><p><a href="https://www.windowslatest.com/2026/09/07/microsoft-confirms-windows-11-upgrade-for-faster-boot-and-8gb-ram-pcs-but-shares-no-numbers/" target="_blank">Windows Latest reports</a> that at IFA 2026 last week a Microsoft exec confirmed improvements to boot speeds are inbound.</p><p>This was Mark Linton, who is VP of Windows & Devices at Microsoft, who told the tech site: "We've made significant gains on things like boot time, Windows Hello responsiveness."</p><p><a href="https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/microsoft-is-ditching-password-based-authentication-tomorrow-edge-browser-will-switch-to-windows-hello-access">Windows Hello</a> is the secure login that's offered with Windows 11 – often facilitated via an infrared-supporting webcam and facial recognition – and that happening more swiftly, alongside a faster boot time, should mean you arrive at the desktop in a far more timely manner.</p><p>This work isn't in testing just yet, we're told, but Microsoft is still tinkering with ramping up boot performance in internal builds.</p><h2 id="analysis-performance-promises-are-underlined">Analysis: performance promises are underlined</h2><figure class="van-image-figure inline-layout" data-bordeaux-image-check ><div class='image-full-width-wrapper'><div class='image-widthsetter' style="max-width:2000px;"><p class="vanilla-image-block" style="padding-top:56.25%;"><img id="vUENLgpmE9SAJMUqFSigSF" name="microsoft-windows" alt="Windows 11 on a laptop" src="https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vUENLgpmE9SAJMUqFSigSF.jpg" mos="" align="middle" fullscreen="" width="2000" height="1125" attribution="" endorsement="" class="inline"></p></div></div><figcaption itemprop="caption description" class=" inline-layout"><span class="credit" itemprop="copyrightHolder">(Image credit: Windows/Unsplash)</span></figcaption></figure><p>The use of the word 'significant' is promising, and Windows Latest talks about getting to the lock screen 'almost immediately'. In fairness, Windows 11 already boots nippily (on my PC certainly), so we could be looking at effectively booting in the blink of an eye – fingers crossed.</p><p>As noted, this isn't even in preview builds of Windows 11 yet, but it should be here before too long. It's part of a larger effort and Microsoft's broad promise to make Windows 11 faster in general, ensuring that menus perform more responsively, and that apps load more swiftly (the latter is already <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/windows-11s-august-update-has-arrived-here-are-3-reasons-to-download-it-including-turbocharged-app-launching">rolling out in the form of a CPU boosting feature</a> known as 'Low Latency Profile').</p><p>This performance boosting work is all the more important considering that <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows-laptops/the-macbook-neo-kickstarted-an-8gb-ram-trend-and-seeing-new-windows-11-laptops-from-dell-acer-and-microsoft-following-its-lead-has-me-worried">8GB laptops are making a resurgence</a> – thanks to the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/memory/the-ram-crisis-just-hit-a-new-low-heres-my-advice-on-what-to-do-based-on-30-years-of-writing-about-gpus-memory-and-pc-components">RAM crisis</a> pushing up notebook prices – and so Microsoft is also working to ensure that Windows 11 is more performant with that lesser memory configuration. Speaking of which, Windows Latest said that Microsoft also underlined its commitment to make sure that the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-acknowledges-how-dire-the-ram-crisis-is-by-promising-to-reduce-windows-11s-memory-footprint-on-8gb-laptops-but-it-should-have-been-this-way-from-the-start">desktop OS will run better on 8GB</a> over at IFA 2026.</p><p>Linton said of Windows 11 that: "We're continuing to improve on the fundamentals," adding that: "We're optimizing so that 8 gig of RAM runs great on machines as well."</p><p>However, the exec didn't provide any estimates of what kind of performance jump might be expected – although that's hardly surprising at this early stage of the game.</p> </article> ]]>