Computer Tips Archives - Page 195 of 231

How to use a spare laptop and webcam as an Internet-based baby monitor

Posted on February 5, 2015

baby If you have a spare laptop and webcam laying around your house, you have at your fingertips all you need to set up an outstanding free baby monitor.

It doesn’t have to be a top-of-the-line laptop either. You can easily use one that has been sitting on a shelf gathering dust for a couple of years (as long as it still works).

All you need to do is open a free Google + account to use as the digital “connection” between your spare laptop’s webcam and your smart phone. Here’s how to set it up, step-by-step: [Read more…]

How to move the ‘My Documents’ folder to a USB flash drive

Posted on February 1, 2015

microsoft-windows A while back a local business owner asked me if there is a way to move the ‘My Documents’ folder from its default location on the hard drive to a USB flash drive.

His routine was simple, yet time-consuming. At the end of every workday he copied all of his data files from the ‘My Documents’ folder on his hard drive to a 64GB thumb drive so he can work on them some more at home. The next morning he copied them back onto the hard drive.

I told him how to make the change, and now his files are automatically saved directly to his thumb drive regardless of where he happens to be working. Since he is quite happy with the new setup, I thought some of you might be interested in doing the same. The instructions that follow will explain how to set it up, step-by-step, in either windows 7 or Windows 8. [Read more…]

How to create a USB Flash Recovery Drive in Windows 8.1

Posted on February 1, 2015

windows-8-1 If your PC is running Windows 8.1, your hard drive probably has a hidden recovery partition that you can use to restore your Windows installation if something ever goes wrong and Windows becomes corrupted.

But what if your hard drive fails or the recovery partition itself becomes corrupted and no longer usable? It happens, and when it does it can cause all kinds of heartache for those who don’t have a backup of some sort to restore from.

Luckily, Windows 8.1 users have a very easy way to prepare for such an emergency. All you need to do is create a USB Flash Recovery Drive. Here’s how: [Read more…]

How to ‘unpost’ an embarrassing Facebook post before anyone sees it

Posted on January 31, 2015

Have you ever published a status update, a photo, or a link on Facebook only to immediately have second thoughts about it?

If so, you probably deleted the post as quickly as possible, hoping that you got rid of it before any of your friends had a chance to see it.

Truth be told, most of us have published an embarrassing post at one time or another. It happens.

Luckily, if you use Google Chrome you can give yourself a brief moment of reflection after clicking the “Post” button before the post actually goes live, and change your mind if you end up thinking better of it. [Read more…]

New computer? Prepare for having it serviced by creating an info packet!

Posted on January 27, 2015

pc-data-card Does this scenario sound familiar? You buy a new computer, take it home, set it up and begin using it.

Everything works just fine for several months, but then one morning it just refuses to boot into Windows. Try as you might, you can’t get the system to come up. Oh well, time to send it on for repair, right?

But then a question pops into your mind: Is the computer still under warranty? You know you’ve had it close to a year, but is the warranty still in effect? Did you spring for the extended warranty when you bought it? No problem, you’ll just get that information right off of the receipt.

Uh-oh, you can’t find the receipt! What to do now? [Read more…]