Windows 11 24H2 installs updates much faster thanks to Windows Update improvements

Windows 11 version 24H2, released on October 1, packs quite a few new features. However, more stuff is invisible to the naked eye, such as Windows Update improvements. In a new blog post, Microsoft detailed how changes under the hood made it possible to speed up installation time and reduce resource consumption quite significantly.

Improvements to Windows 11 version 24H2's servicing stack allowed for a 45.6% faster installation time, 39.7% faster restart time, and over 15% less CPU usage than in Windows 11 version 22H2 (and 23H2 since the two versions share the same servicing stack) when installing cumulative updates on "well-maintained devices."

Neglected systems with much older updates also showed similar performance uplifts. Microsoft tested improvements on a device with a Windows installation that was outdated by 18 months, and the experiment showed a 43.6% faster installation time, 33.5% faster restart time, and 25% less CPU usage. Pretty impressive.

According to Microsoft, all those improvements were made possible with the following changes:

• Parallel processing of component manifests. This complements the parallel hydration of newly serviced components using reverse and forward differentials first introduced in Windows 11, version 22H2.
• Optimized reading and parsing of component manifests. After reading and parsing the first time, we cache the results to use later in the process. This helps efficiency if the same component is referenced across multiple packages.
• Scalable use of available random-access memory (RAM). We use more RAM for storing the manifest cache if available and less if not.

It is not just cumulative updates, though. Microsoft says that feature updates are also more efficient now, thanks to improvements to how the operating system handles its inbox apps. This change was first introduced in Windows 11 version 22H2, but now, it also includes Microsoft Edge, which shaves an extra 200MB off the overall feature update size.

If you want to try all those improvements and benefit from improved Windows Update performance, check out our guide describing how to update to Windows 11 version 24H2, including on unsupported devices.