Windows 11’s menus have fade and slide animation effects most users probably seldom notice. Such effects generate momentary delays in menus appearing, amounting to about half a second (400 milliseconds). And while 400 milliseconds may not be a particularly noticeable delay, animation effects still slow menus down a little.

However, there are ways you can speed up menus. You can reduce the 400-millisecond menu delay or disable their visual effects entirely. This is how you can speed up menus in Windows 11 with three methods.

How to Speed Up Menus by Editing the Registry

Windows 11 doesn’t have a built-in setting with which to configure the delay parameter for menus. However, the registry includes a MenuShowDelay string you can tweak the value of to speed up menus. You don’t need to add or delete any keys or DWORDS for this registry trick. Follow these steps to set a lower value for the MenuShowDelay string:

  1. Click Start > All apps > Windows Tools to bring up a folder that includes Registry Editor.
  2. Double-click Registry Editor in the Windows Tools directory to open Regedit.
  3. Click inside Registry Editor’s address bar, and erase the current path. Then input this key location in that address bar and press Enter: 
            Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
  4. Double-click the MenuShowDelay string to bring up a Value data box for it.
    The MenuShowDelay string
  5. Erase the current number in that box and input a lower value. Inputting 0 will disable the animations, so enter something like 100 (milliseconds) if you want to retain visual effects.
    The Value data box
  6. Select OK to save the new menu delay value.
  7. Then click Start > Power > Restart in Windows 11.

Now you may notice a subtle difference in the responsiveness of the Start menu and other submenus. You can always experiment with different values and even try slowing down the menus by inputting a higher number (4000 is the max value). To restore the default delay, input 400 in the MenuShowDelay string's Value data box.

How to Speed Up Menus With Winaero Tweaker

Winaero Tweaker is software that includes many customization options for tweaking Windows. Among them is a Menu Show Delay setting that enables you to change the menu delay without manually editing the registry. This is how you can speed up menus with Winaero Tweaker’s Menu Show Delay option:

  1. Bring up the Winaero Tweaker page that includes the software’s download link.
  2. Click the Download Winaero Tweaker link from there.
  3. Extract Winaero Tweaker’s ZIP and then open its setup wizard from its extracted folder to install the software. Our guide for customizing Windows 11 with Winaero Tweaker includes full installation instructions.
  4. Next, open Winaero Tweaker from the Start menu or by double-clicking its desktop shortcut.
  5. Click the Behavior settings category in Winaero’s navigation sidebar.
  6. Select the Menu Show Delay option.
  7. Drag the slider on the Change a delay before submenu pops up bar leftwards to lower the value and speed up the menu.
    The Menu Show Delay setting
  8. Then select the Sign out now option to log out of Windows.
    The Sign out now option in Winaero Tweaker
  9. Sign in to Windows 11 again.

Now try opening some menus in Windows 11 to see the difference. You can restore the default delay value in Winaero Tweaker by clicking Reset this page to defaults for the Menu Show Delay setting. Or drag the bar’s slider to 400 instead.

How to Speed Up Menus by Disabling Visual Effects

Disabling Windows 11’s animations and other effects is another way to speed up menus. Turning off those effects will free up system resources. You don’t need to edit the registry to do so since Windows includes options for adjusting its effects. Instead, disable visual effects via the Performance Options window as follows:

  1. To open the Visual Effects tab, press Win + R and input SystemPropertiesPerformance in Run. Then click OK to bring up that tab.
  2. Select the Adjust for best performance radio button.
    The Adjust for best performance option
  3. Click the Performance Options window’s Apply button.
  4. Select OK to exit Performance Options.
  5. Restart your Windows 11 PC to apply the visual effect changes.

The Adjust for best performance option disables all effects, which free ups more RAM. You can more specifically select to disable the Start menu’s animations. To do so, uncheck the Animate controls and elements inside windows checkbox on the Visual Effects tab.

Open Snappier Menus on Windows 11

Windows 11’s menus will be slightly quicker and more responsive than before when you reduce the menu delay or disable animation effects for them. Doing that might not drastically speed up Windows 11. However, you’ll notice a marginal difference when opening menus if you set the delay time below 100 milliseconds.