Image: Foundry
The drive letter X: in Windows usually stands for the use of a RAM disc. RAM refers to Random Access Memory, i.e. the working memory of your PC. You can make part of it available as a RAM disc and assign any letters. Users often use the drive letter X: for this purpose. This is the option of making part of the RAM available as a drive in Explorer.
This drive is extremely fast. However, the contents are lost when you shut down the PC, as the contents are then deleted. The drive is particularly suitable for fast temporary storage under Windows, which you use as a temporary drive. Examples include temporary files for programs or games. We have…
Image: Foundry
The drive letter X: in Windows usually stands for the use of a RAM disc. RAM refers to Random Access Memory, i.e. the working memory of your PC. You can make part of it available as a RAM disc and assign any letters. Users often use the drive letter X: for this purpose. This is the option of making part of the RAM available as a drive in Explorer.
This drive is extremely fast. However, the contents are lost when you shut down the PC, as the contents are then deleted. The drive is particularly suitable for fast temporary storage under Windows, which you use as a temporary drive. Examples include temporary files for programs or games. We have explained what is behind the drive letters in Windows in a separate article.
Using RAM as a high-speed hard drive
There are various tools with which you can create a RAM disc, i.e. make part of the RAM available as a drive with the letter X:. Two well-known tools are the free open source tool ImDisk Toolkit and the freeware tool RAMDisk.
After downloading ImDisk Toolkit, extract the archive. Then run the “install.bat” file on the PC. After installation, start the “RAM disc configurator.”
Here you specify the size of the drive, which drive letter you want to use, and whether the corresponding driver should start automatically with Windows. This means that the drive is available again after every restart.
Thomas Joos
You can use the ImDisk Toolkit to save the contents of the RAM disc in a virtual hard drive when you close it and import the data in this virtual hard drive back into the RAM disc when you restart.
When creating the drive, you can also share drive X in the network in the properties. This allows other users to save files in this directory while you can access them locally at maximum speed.
*By the way: If you are using Windows 11 Home, you will miss out on the many advantages of the Pro version. The Windows 11 upgrade is available in the PCWorld Software Store for a favorable $59.99 instead of $99. *
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
Author: Thomas Joos, Contributor, PCWorld
Thomas Joos has 40 years of experience in the IT industry and has established himself as a freelance author and expert in the areas of networks, security, business software, artificial intelligence and operating systems. His extensive work includes more than 100 books, including publications for Microsoft Press. In addition to his writing work, Joos offers consulting services for companies, especially in the areas of security and network infrastructure. As a trainer for LinkedIn Learning, he regularly creates online courses aimed at professionals and administrators.