Windows 11 Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Two ways to quickly view the Desktop in Windows 11

Posted on April 10, 2025

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If you’ve recently switched to Windows 11 from a previous Windows version you’ve probably noticed that the little “Show Desktop” icon that used to be located beside the Start button is no longer there.

The folks at Microsoft really love making changes just for the sake of making changes, and this one is a real head scratcher.

The thing is, Windows 11 still has a “Show Desktop” icon. They’ve simply moved it to the far right-hand side of the Taskbar and changed its appearance a bit. And depending on your settings, it could actually be hidden from view.

Here’s how make sure the “Show Desktop” icon is enabled on your Windows 11 PC… [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I switch back to Windows 10 if I end up not liking Windows 11?

Posted on April 9, 2025

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Question from Melanie: For some time now Windows Update has been prompting me to update my PC from Windows 10 to Windows 11.

I’ve been putting this off because I’ve heard that lots of people who switch to Windows 11 end up hating it but they’re stuck with it because you can’t go back to Windows 10.

I was talking to a friend about this and she said that’s not true because you can actually go back to Windows 10 if you end up not liking Windows 11.

At this point I don’t know what to believe. I’d like to give Windows 11 a try but only if I’ll have the option to revert back to Windows 10 if I end up not liking it.

Can you clear this up for me? [Read more…]

Clear out junk with Windows 11’s Cleanup Recommendations tool

Posted on April 5, 2025

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As you probably know, Windows PCs tend to accumulate tons of “junk” that takes up valuable storage space on your machine’s hard drive or SSD.

There are numerous “system cleanup” apps that will clear this junk out for you, but Windows 11 now has it’s own native tool for this. It’s called “Cleanup Recommendations” and it’s very easy to use. [Read more…]

Create a screensaver slideshow of your favorite photos on Windows 11

Posted on March 19, 2025

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If you’re old enough to remember using the bulky CRT-style computer monitors of times past, you’re probably also familiar with screensavers, those always-in-motion images that kept the screen from “burning-in” while the computer was sitting idle.

Now that we’ve transitioned from CRT monitors to modern flat-screen monitors we no longer have a need for screensavers.

But guess what? Microsoft Windows still offers the option of launching a screensaver after a PC has been sitting idle for a few minutes. [Read more…]

Why you shouldn’t send suspicious files to the Recycle Bin

Posted on February 18, 2025

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If you’ve been using Microsoft Windows for a while you probably know that deleting a file doesn’t really remove it from the system.

Instead, it’s actually moved to a special folder called the Recycle Bin.

That’s generally a good thing because we all occasionally delete a file by mistake or wish we hadn’t deleted a file at some later point in time.

Having our deleted files go into the Recycle Bin makes it easy to restore one of them to it’s original folder in either of the above-mentioned cases.

But unfortunately some files can become problematic if we allow them to sit idly in the Recycle Bin.

[Read more…]