Windows 10: Microsoft Says Windows 11 Keeps Up to 2GB More Data in RAM and Loads Widgets on Demand on...

Microsoft says Windows 11 can now keep up to 2GB more active data in memory instead of moving it to slower storage, and that Widgets on PCs with 8GB of RAM load only when users open them.

The changes are described in a Windows Experience Blog post by Navjot Virk, which states that the improvements developed with the Windows Insider community are beginning to roll out broadly.

Microsoft says the memory work makes an especially meaningful difference on PCs with 8GB of memory. On those systems, loading Widgets on demand frees more than 200 MB of memory for apps and other work.

The company is also making additional changes that reduce background memory use, although the post does not list them individually.

Windows 11 Memory and Responsiveness Changes


The memory figures are tied to Windows 11 build 26300.9550, according to the footnotes in Microsoft's post. Microsoft notes that actual availability and performance vary.

The same post claims an overall Windows experience that is up to 20% more responsive. Microsoft says the gains start at boot and extend to Start, File Explorer, Search, Snipping Tool, Microsoft 365, and Edge.

The response times were measured on Search, Start, the right-click menu, Settings, Snipping Tool, and File Explorer, comparing build 26300.9550 with build 26200.7628. Results vary by device, configuration, and usage, and rollout timing differs by device and region.

Other changes listed in the announcement:

• AirPods pairing that is up to 15 seconds faster, based on build 26200.8737
• more reliable pairing, reconnection, and call handling for Bluetooth headphones
• improved Windows Hello sign-in with face and fingerprint
• more control over when Windows updates install, with coordinated updates designed to reduce restarts

The memory change is aimed at budget and older laptops in particular. On an 8GB system, Microsoft says, keeping more active data in RAM rather than pushing it to slower storage is where users should notice the difference most, and the on-demand Widgets change adds more free memory on top of that.

Advanced Shader Delivery and What Users Can Do Now


Microsoft also highlights Advanced Shader Delivery, which reduces game load times by delivering precompiled shaders for supported titles. Forza Horizon 6 and Gears of War: E-Day are the examples named in the post. Microsoft gives two steps to benefit from it:

1. Install the Xbox PC app before downloading a supported game.
2. Keep graphics drivers up to date.

For the memory and responsiveness improvements, Microsoft does not mention any setting that users need to change. The figures are linked to specific builds rather than to a named cumulative update, so Windows 11 users on 8GB systems should keep installing the latest updates and watch for the on-demand Widgets behavior.

Microsoft redesigned another inbox app in the same announcement, covered in our report on the Windows 11 Photos app redesign with OneDrive and iCloud. Microsoft has not said which release channel each build belongs to or when every Windows 11 PC will receive the memory changes.

Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post Microsoft Says Windows 11 Keeps Up to 2GB More Data in RAM and Loads Widgets on Demand on 8GB PCs appeared first on gHacks.

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Windows 11 Moment 3 latest Spotify Widget issue

It's only happening on Spotify Widget Jen. It says that "We're having trouble loading this content. There could be something happening on our end. Reload this widget to try again." With a reload button to reload it. But after pressing the reload button it is still a blank page of the Spotify widget. And I tried all the troubleshooting steps.

 

Widgets in Windows 11

One of the new features in Windows 11 is Widgets, coined by Microsoft as a place for content and entertainment where you can see information at one go. Widgets feature is the next evolution of the News and Interests feature that was introduced with Windows 10, where you can quickly check News, Calendar, weather, etc, without interrupting your workflow.





How to use Widgets in Windows 11

To invoke the widgets screen, simply press Win+W keys on the keyboard. You can also press the

button on the Taskbar.

Available Widgets in Windows 11

There are multiple widgets in Windows 11 that are available, and the list would be updated over time. As of now, the following Widgets are available:

• Weather: As the name suggests, it allows you to see the weather in your area. Clicking at the three dots menu to customize and resize the widget. Unlike Windows 10, you cannot see Temperature on the taskbar though.
  
• News: This widget shows News, which is powered by MSN, just like News and Interests in Windows 10.
  
• Outlook: To see your upcoming events added to your Calender of Microsoft account.
  
• Stock Watchlist/Movers: This widget is for stocks that you wish to watch. To add a stock to the watchlist, click the 3 dots menu and click customize.
  
• Photos: Photos widget shows the recent photos from your Microsoft Account synced to Onedrive.
  
• Windows 11 Tips: This widget gives tips regarding Windows 11.
  
• To do: The to-do widget helps you in Tasks management, synced to your Microsoft Account.
  
• Family Safety: This widget is helpful for those who have added a Child to their Family. It allows you to see recent activity from members of your Microsoft family group.
  
• Traffic: To see Traffic in your area - Location access must be given.
  
• Sports: The Sports widgets show live scores of the sports you are interested in.
  
• Office 365 for Enterprise customers only: This widget brings relevant documents, news, and meeting recordings to enterprise users. This widget will only be available if you are signed in with your AAD account on your PC running Windows 11.
  
• Entertainment: Only available in US, UK, CA, DE, FR, AU, JP.
  

The top bar has a web search option as well, which allows you to quickly search if you want.

Customize Widgets

To customize the Widgets screen, click your profile picture at the top right to open Widget Settings.





If you want to customize the news, you need to open MSN settings, which are located on this page. MSN News is now referred to as Microsoft Start.

Microsoft Start (msn.com)

Common questions Regarding Widget Board:

1. Widget opens Microsoft Edge instead of my browser for Settings: This is by design. Like News and Interests, Widgets settings and everything else open in Microsoft Edge instead of your default browser.
   

• Can I add multiple accounts in the Calendar widget: You cannot add multiple accounts as of now.
  
• Can I add 3rd party widgets: No, as of now 3rd party widgets are not supported.
  
• Cannot remove a Stock from the watchlist widget: This is by design. Microsoft is looking into it.
  
• Watchlist Widget does not sync with MSN watchlist: This is by design. You need to create a separate watchlist.
  
• Make the widget board full screen: It is not supported yet.
  

Troubleshooting Windows 11 widgets

At certain times, the Widgets feature may not work properly. In that case, the following troubleshooting may help:

Reinstall Windows Web Experience pack: Microsoft delivers content in Widgets through an app from Microsoft Store, called Windows web experience pack. Basically, this app is responsible for web content inside the Operating system. If WWEP is missing, the Widgets feature would disappear. If this is the case for you, please perform the steps below:

• Right-click Start>Windows Powershell(admin).
  
• Type the following command to remove traces of the Windows web experience pack: winget uninstall "windows web experience pack"
  
• Wait for the process to complete. When it is done, go to the following page
  
• Windows Web Experience pack from Microsoft Store.
  
• Click Get>Install.
  
• When the installation is complete, restart your computer and see if the issue is resolved.
  

Reinstall Edge Webview2: Widgets board uses EdgeWebView2 to render content. If in case the same is crashing, you can try reinstalling the EdgeWebView2 component from here. Choose Standalone installer. Also, make sure Edge is installed on the machine.

• Webview2 - Microsoft Edge Developer
  

Reinstall Display drivers: In certain scenarios, the display driver may be causing issues for the Widget board to load. Please try reinstalling them from the manufacturer and try again. Make sure to install the latest ones. For troubleshooting purposes, you can remove the display driver and see if the widget board opens with the basic display driver.

Check Microsoft Store for available updates: Make sure all the apps, specifically the Web experience pack and else are updated in the Microsoft Store.

To send Feedback about Widget features to the Windows team, press Windows key+F. The relevant category is Desktop environment>Widgets.

You can know more about Widgets in this video:



Also read:

• Repair Install Windows 11 using an ISO file (yourwindowsguide.com)
  
• Windows 11: FAQ (microsoft.com)
  
• How to: Use Snap Layouts and Snap groups in Windows 11 (microsoft.com)
  
• Check Windows 11 compatibility using these tools - Your Windows Guide
  
• How to change the default apps in Windows 11? - Your Windows Guide
  

Sumit (@_sumitdhiman) / Twitter

 

32bit vs 64bit with 2GB of ram

Also, 64bit Windows runs very slow on 2GB of RAM, we suggest 4GB or better to install 64bit Windows.