As much as Windows 11 supports NVMe SSDs, it’s only now that the operating system has been able to use such storage to its full potential. This increase in performance comes by way of registry edits, prompting a pseudo driver injection, resulting in a nearly doubling of random write performance in some cases.
Before diving deeper into this development, it’s important to understand how NVMe SSDs currently function on Windows 11. Microsoft’s operating system communicates with NVMe storage via an SCSI translation layer, rather than native instructions. This can inhibit performance in some cases, owing to the extra step the OS and hardware need to take in order to function together.
However, in a recent update to Windows Server 2025, Microsoft introduced a long-awaited native NVMe driver. It isn’t active by default in consumer versions of Windows 11, but users can force the driver to become active by way of registry edits.
Enabling NVME native drivers in Win 11 (tried on 25H2)
Works pretty good.
Just open regedit.
Go to : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\FeatureManagement\Overrides
Add DWORD 32 Bits:
“735209102”=dword:00000001
“1853569164”=dword:00000001… pic.twitter.com/UhE9q5Sw5h— Mouse&Keyboard (@PurePlayerPC) December 22, 2025
Using an SK Hynix Platinum P41 2TB drive running an installation of Windows 11 25H2, X user PurePlayerPC put the new driver to the test. Comparing AS SSD Benchmark results, the NVMe driver notably improved the SSD’s random read and write performance, with the latter category particularly benefitting from the switch.
Elsewhere, Redditor Cheetah2kkk applied the same changes to a Crucial T705 4TB inside an MSI Claw 8 AI+ and saw random write speeds improve by up to 85%. Suffice to say, the degree of improvements this NVMe driver can deliver will vary depending on the drive and surrounding hardware in play.
As you can see from the X post embedded above, PurePlayerPC has provided instructions on how you can follow in their footsteps. However, know that registry edits come with inherent risk. For instance, some users have reported losing access to the file systems on a drive with them active, thankfully recovering them once they’d reverted the changes. Proceed at your own peril.
Native NVME Support for Windows 11 25H2
byu/Cheetah2kkk inMSIClaw
There’s no word when, if ever, Microsoft plans to deliver this native NVMe driver to Windows 11. However, I can’t see a reason for the software giant not to, even if the real-world differences it’d make would only benefit a niche portion of the operating system’s user base.
PCIe 6.0 SSDs are still a ways off from entering the consumer space, particularly in the wake of ongoing DRAM and NAND flash shortages. Regardless, here’s hoping the wait isn’t too long, so we can all reap the benefits, knowingly or otherwise, without having to dive into RegEdit.
For more musings on storage, check out my latest review on the Kioxia Exceria Plus G4. Otherwise, make sure you’re following the Club386 Google News feed so you don’t miss a beat on anything SSD.
