An information management system is described herein that performs either a pre-processing or a post-processing operation to increase browse and restore speeds when a user attempts to browse for and restore files from a secondary copy of a data volume. For example, the information management system can implement the pre-processing operation by parsing a master file table (MFT) when a secondary copy operation is initiated on the data volume. The information management system can implement the post-processing operation by parsing the MFT after a secondary copy operation is complete. The parsing can occur to identify records of the MFT that include information useful for enabling a user to browse a secondary copy of the data volume. The information management system can then store the secondary copy of these records for use later in constructing an interface for browsing a secondary copy of the data volume.