Tech Questions & Answers Archives

Q&A: Can I create a Restore Point for a time that’s already passed?

Posted on July 21, 2026

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Question from Barry: Rick, I desperately need to create a System Restore Point for last Monday.

What happened was I downloaded a couple of torrent files last Tuesday and now my Windows 11 PC is all messed up.

I tried doing a System Restore back to the previous Monday, but the oldest Restore Point I see is from over 2 weeks ago and I have some really important files that were created since then. Is there a way to create one for last Monday? [Read more…]

Q&A: Did I just completely fry my PC?

Posted on July 17, 2026

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Question from Theresa: Hi, Rick. I’m really upset this morning because my desktop computer was damaged due to a bad electrical outlet.

What happened was I hired an electrician to install an electrical outlet in my new sunroom so I could move my computer out there.

As soon as I plugged the computer in and turned it on I heard a loud POP and now I can’t get either the computer or monitor to come on.

My brother stopped by and checked the outlet and found that it has 238 volts on it instead of 120.

I have two questions: [Read more…]

Q&A: Windows is showing my WiFi network as Public. Isn’t that dangerous?

Posted on July 12, 2026

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Question from Kellie: I was messing around with the network settings on my Windows 11 laptop last night.

While I was in there I noticed that my WiFi network is set to “Public” instead of “Private”.

I’ve always heard that public networks are dangerous.

Is that true? And if it is, how can I change it to private? [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the difference between System Updates and Software Updates?

Posted on July 10, 2026

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Question from Mike: Can you explain the difference between ‘System Updates’ and ‘Software Updates’?

Rick’s answer: I’ll be happy to do my best, Mike. Thanks for asking.

In a macro sense, both of those types of updates are ‘software updates’ since it’s code to some body of software that’s being updated.

However, there are indeed differences between the two from a general usage perspective. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I straighten a crooked photo with Windows 11?

Posted on July 9, 2026

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Question from Eileen: I took some pictures with my new phone and downloaded them to my computer (HP desktop with Windows 11).

All the photos look fine when I view them on the phone, but on the computer several of my favorites are crooked.

Is there a way to straighten them without installing an extra program? [Read more…]