Boost Windows 11 25H2 SSD Speed? I Tested the NVMe Registry Trick

Microsoft recently added a native NVMe driver in Windows Server 2025, promising better storage performance, especially for NVMe and M.2 SSD drives. Soon after the announcement, advanced users found that the same feature can be experimentally enabled on Windows 11 25H2 with a few registry tweaks, even though Microsoft has not officially announced support for Windows 11 Home or Pro.

In this article I share real test results, explain how the tweak works, and, most important, show what actually makes the biggest difference for SSD performance on Windows 11.

In this article

1. Where This Came From
2. Important Disclaimer (Read First)
3. What Is the Native NVMe Driver in Windows Server 2025?
4. My Test Setup
5. Why 4K Random Performance Matters
   1. RND4K Q32T1
   2. RND4K Q1T1 (Most Important)
6. Baseline Test (Before Any Tweaks)
7. The NVMe Registry Tweaks (Tested)
8. Performance Results After the NVMe Tweak
9. Bonus Tip: The Biggest SSD Performance Killer
10. Final Verdict
    1. Best practice

Where This Came From

The trick was first discussed in this Reddit thread about native NVMe in Windows Server 2025:

Announcing Native NVMe in Windows Server 2025: Ushering in a New Era of Storage Performance | Microsoft Community Hub
byu/anestling inwindows

Comment
byu/anestling from discussion
inwindows

You can read Microsoft’s own announcement here:

Announcing Native NVMe in Windows Server 2025 (Windows Server News and Best Practices)

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Important Disclaimer (Read First)

This NVMe registry tweak is:

• Officially documented only for Windows Server 2025.
• Not officially supported by Microsoft on Windows 11 Home or Pro. In the video, it works on my PC, but your result can be different.

Warning: Editing the registry can cause problems if you make a mistake. You change these keys at your own risk. Always benchmark your SSD before and after any change, and back up your important files first. The download below includes a rollback file that removes the keys again.

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What Is the Native NVMe Driver in Windows Server 2025?

Microsoft redesigned the NVMe storage stack in Windows Server 2025 to reduce overhead and improve I/O efficiency. According to early tests and discussions:

• NVMe IOPS can improve.
• Random 4K performance may increase.
• Latency is reduced in some workloads.

This is most relevant for servers, virtualization, heavy multitasking and high I/O workloads. The big question is: does it actually help on Windows 11 25H2?

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My Test Setup

Here is exactly how I tested it:

• OS: Windows 11 25H2 (Home / Pro compatible)
• SSD: NVMe M.2 (HP EX900 Plus 1TB)
• Benchmark tool: CrystalDiskMark
• Test focus: Sequential Read / Write, 4K Random Q32T1, and 4K Random Q1T1 (most important for real-world use)

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Why 4K Random Performance Matters

Many people look only at sequential speeds, but that is misleading.

RND4K Q32T1

• Measures how well the SSD handles many small requests at the same time.
• Important for multitasking and server-like workloads.

RND4K Q1T1 (Most Important)

Measures responsiveness for everyday tasks:

• Opening apps
• Booting Windows
• General system speed

If you want Windows 11 to feel faster, this is the metric that matters most.

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Baseline Test (Before Any Tweaks)

Before any registry changes, I ran CrystalDiskMark with the default profile and a 1GB test size. Important detail: my C: drive was 92% full, and most videos ignore this.

The result was very poor 4K Random write performance and unbalanced SSD behavior.

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The NVMe Registry Tweaks (Tested)

Advanced users found that these registry keys can turn on the Server NVMe path. They live under this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\FeatureManagement\Overrides

Three DWORD values are added there and set to 1. I tested this in two ways.

Option A: PowerShell commands. Open PowerShell as administrator and paste these three lines:

reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\FeatureManagement\Overrides /v 1853569164 /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\FeatureManagement\Overrides /v 156965516 /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Policies\Microsoft\FeatureManagement\Overrides /v 735209102 /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Option B: ready-made .reg files. The download below contains an enable file that adds the three values and a disable / rollback file that removes them again. No PowerShell knowledge required: double-click the file you need, approve the prompt and restart.

Download NVMe Registry Tweaks (Enable + Rollback)

Direct file: NVMe-Registry-Tweaks.zip

After applying the tweaks and restarting Windows:

• NVMe drives moved under Storage disks in Device Manager.
• The NVMe disk type was recognized correctly.
• The Microsoft NVMe driver was active.

This confirms the registry tweak does something real.

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Performance Results After the NVMe Tweak

After the reboot and a new test:

• Write speeds improved.
• 4K Random performance increased.
• Results varied depending on how full the disk was.

On my system, NVMe performance became more balanced, write performance improved a lot, and the 4K Random numbers were higher than before. So yes, on my system the tweak made a real difference. Your results can be different, so always compare your own before and after benchmarks.

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Bonus Tip: The Biggest SSD Performance Killer

Here is the most important lesson from this test: a nearly full C: drive destroys SSD performance.

After I freed disk space and ran the same benchmark again:

• Performance improved more than the registry tweak alone.
• 4K Random write speeds increased a lot.
• The whole system felt much faster.

Free space matters more than hidden tweaks.

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Final Verdict

• The NVMe registry tweak does work on some Windows 11 25H2 systems.
• It is not officially supported.
• Results vary by hardware and disk usage.
• Free disk space has a bigger impact than most registry hacks.

Best practice

1. Benchmark your SSD.
2. Free disk space (aim for below 70% usage).
3. Test again.
4. Only then experiment with the NVMe tweaks.

Want more SSD speed without touching the registry? See my guide on how to fix 100% disk usage in Windows 10/11.