Computer Tips Archives - Page 2 of 157

How to make Windows start up with your last-used programs and websites already open

Posted on June 19, 2019

I have a friend who recently bought a Windows laptop after her MacBook went belly up on her, and she asked me if Windows would ever have a feature like that.

My answer? It already does!

Windows has a special shutdown mode that saves a copy of everything that’s in the system’s RAM to the hard drive, then uses that stored information to re-create the same exact state the system was in the next time you turn on your computer.

This special mode is called Hibernation, and if you select it instead of clicking Shutdown the next time you power down your PC you’ll be able to pick up right where you left off when you start it back up.

[Read more…]

Try this first if you install a new program or app and it doesn’t work as expected

Posted on June 18, 2019

The Internet has forever changed the way we acquire new software to run on our computers and mobile devices.

Gone are the days when we had to visit a retail store and buy a disk.

Now all we have to do is perform a quick Google search to find what we’re looking for and then click “Download” and install it.

But even though it’s easier than ever to find and download useful new software, things still go wrong during the installation process on occasion.

Case in point: I received a message from a reader just yesterday explaining how she had installed the Chrome browser on her system only to receive an error message every time she tries to open it.

This nice lady asked for my help in resolving the issue, but instead of giving her a list of things to check I simply gave her one basic suggestion: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I get Desktop icons to open with a single click?

Posted on June 17, 2019

Question from Marie: When I bought my computer they set it up for me so that I could click on a desktop icon and it would open with a single click.

Ever since the last update was installed I have to click on an icon twice to get it to open.

I have a neurological disorder that makes it hard for me to double-click because my hands shake so bad.

How can I get the single click to start working again?

I’ve checked the mouse settings and I can’t find the one that sets the number of clicks you need to open something.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to set your Internet connection to ‘metered’ in Windows 10 (and why you might want to)

Posted on June 16, 2019

Microsoft automatically sets cellular Internet connections as “metered” in Windows 10 because many cellular service plans have a data cap.

If you exceed the data cap on your plan one of these things will typically occur, depending on the terms of the plan:

The devices using your plan will be cut off from using the Internet until the start of the next billing cycle.

The Internet connection speeds for devices using that plan will drop from 4G or 3G to what are effectively dial-up speeds for the remainder of the current billing cycle.

Your connection speed will remain the same but you’ll be billed for the extra data that was used during that billing cycle.

Of course none of those results are desirable, hence Microsoft’s decision to automatically set cellular connections to “metered” in Windows 10. [Read more…]