It seems that Windows updates can never fix something without breaking something else. The latest update to Windows 11 is killing SSD speeds for many, as reported by a multitude of users online.
At first, the issue was thought to be limited to the ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB SSD, but further reports revealed that it goes beyond just one manufacturer and SSD and plagues hardware from other OEMs too. Uninstalling the latest update fixes this issue immediately.
The Windows 11 update in question is called ‘Moment 2’ and it has been available to end users for a few days already. It adds Bing’s new ChatGPT-based search bar into the taskbar, but it also degrades storage speed for people, leading to slower loading times and transfer speeds.
Microsoft has already acknowledged the issue publicly. Here is what it said:
Copying large multiple gigabyte (GB) files might take longer than expected to finish on Windows 11, version 22H2. 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.Windows devices used by consumers in their home or small offices are not likely to be affected by this issue.
But unlike Microsoft’s claims, the issue is not just limited to slower file transfer but is also affecting boot times for the OS, and significantly even. One of the affected users reported on Reddit that their boot time more than doubled after the new update, going up from 14 seconds to 31 seconds.
The user uninstalled the Moment 2 update from their Lenovo Legion 5 laptop and the issue disappeared.
Microsoft is working on a proper fix at the time of writing, but the company has also provided a workaround for the time being. To mitigate the file transfer issue, you can “use file copy tools that do not use cache manager (buffered I/O).”
Microsoft also provides two “built-in” command-line tools to fix the error.
- robocopy \\someserver\someshare c:\somefolder somefile.img /J
- xcopy \\someserver\someshare c:\somefolder /J
