Windows Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Would moving the Page File to a RAM Disk make a PC run faster?

Posted on July 1, 2025

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Question from Ethan: I was reading an article last night that discussed using part of a computer’s unused RAM as a RAM Disk, and it got me to thinking.

I have a 6 year old desktop computer that’s running Windows 10. It has 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.

This machine runs really slow, coming almost to a crawl at times. After doing some research I’ve determined that it’s likely sluggish because it’s doing a ton of swapping back and forth with the page file.

Do you think moving the Windows Page File to a RAM Disk would help speed it up? [Read more…]

How to place a shortcut to System Services on your Windows PC’s Desktop

Posted on May 23, 2025

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Do you frequently find yourself needing to access your PC’s Windows Services screen to stop, start or otherwise interact with one of the services listed there?

For example, I often find myself needing to clear the print spooler, which requires me to stop and restart that service.

Most people open the System Services screen by clicking the Start button and then typing services.msc, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with opening it that way. But if you find yourself opening it on a regular basis there’s a faster and easier way… [Read more…]

Stop your PC from logging your computing activity and sending it to Microsoft

Posted on May 22, 2025

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Did you know your Windows 11 PC is logging every action you take, storing it in a database and sending it back to Microsoft?

Yep, every website you visit, every app you use, every game you play, every file you open…all of that data is collected, stored and sent to Microsoft for them to use for various purposes.

If this collection, transmission and usage of your detailed computing activities makes you a bit squeamish, you’re certainly not alone. I’m right there with you. [Read more…]

This Windows service is spying on you (but you can stop it)

Posted on April 12, 2025

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By default, a sneaky Windows service that’s constantly running on your PC watches your every move and sends the data it collects about your computer usage back to Microsoft.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of serious issues with this… [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…]