Tech Questions & Answers Archives

Q&A: Lightning destroyed my cable modem. Should I replace my router too?

Posted on June 21, 2018

Question from Kendra D.: Hi Rick. Last night we had a bad thunderstorm. I turned everything off like I usually do when a storm is approaching and then went on to bed.

This morning when I turned everything back on but I couldn’t get the cable box or the modem to light up at all. They’re completely dead.

I called the cable company and they’re sending a technician out tomorrow to replace both the cable box and modem. What I need to know is do you think I need to buy a new router too?

The router lights up like it always did. I just don’t want to damage my computer by plugging it into the router if it happens to be damaged too. I’ll take whatever advice you give me because I trust you. Thanks for helping me.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I give my blog’s sidebar widgets a background color in WordPress?

Posted on June 21, 2018

Question from Kevin A.: Hi Rick. First of all, I really love your blog. What a wonderful service you’re providing to those of us who struggle with technology!

I have a WordPress blog of my own and the sidebar widgets sort of run together because they all have a white background.

How can I give my own sidebar widgets a light gray background color like the widgets on your blog?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I fix a ‘500 Internal Server Error’ on my WordPress blog?

Posted on June 21, 2018

Question from Bobby: I need some fast help Rick. I updated a plugin on my WordPress blog and now none of the pages will load! This is NOT a good thing because I don’t make any money when my blog isn’t up.

When I visit the site all I get is a blank page with the words “500 Internal Server Error” on it. I can’t even log in to the dashboard to disable the bad plugin!

Do you know of any other way to clear this error message and get my blog back up? It’s been down for two whole days already! Please help me ASAP if you don’t mind!!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I decide which programs to install on my new SSD?

Posted on June 20, 2018

Question from Lacie G.: I read your post explaining the advantages of installing an SSD a while back and I’ve wanted one ever since to go in my HP desktop PC.

I ended up buying a 120GB SanDisk SSD and installed it as the boot drive in my HP desktop computer. I left the 750GB hard drive in there for extra storage.

I installed Windows 10 from scratch on the SSD and now I’m ready to install my programs. The thing is with only 120GB of space on the SSD it won’t hold anywhere near all of my programs.

I have a couple of questions for you:

1 – Which programs should I install on the SSD and which ones should I leave on the hard drive?

2 – Should I leave the original Windows 10 files on the hard drive or is it safe to delete them to free up that space?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the best way to clean my computer screen?

Posted on June 20, 2018

Question from Clara: I’ve been cleaning the screens on my MacBook Pro and iPhone with a micro-fiber cloth covered with glass cleaner, but someone told me I shouldn’t do that because the glass cleaner could damage the screen. What’s the best way to clean them?

Rick’s answer: The person who told you that was right Clara. Many glass cleaner solutions can cause discoloring and other forms of damage to the screens in modern flat panel displays and mobile devices.

As a general rule, it’s best to use wipes that are pre-moistened with a solution that was designed specifically for flat panel display screens in order to keep them clean and prevent the devices from being damaged. [Read more…]