Tech Questions & Answers Archives

Q&A: Will a SATA III SSD work in a computer with a SATA II interface?

Posted on November 12, 2019

Question from Richard G.: Hi Rick. I hope you can answer a question for me.

I have a old Gateway LX6810-01 desktop PC that came with a 640 Gig hard drive. The hard drive died and I want to replace it with a solid state drive (SSD).

My cousin has offered to sell me an unused 480 Gig SSD for half what he paid for it a just couple of weeks ago because he found out it won’t work with his even older Leading Edge computer.

My question is will this drive work in my computer since the old hard drive had a SATA II interface and the SSD is SATA III?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I remove the ‘Sent from my iPhone’ message from my outgoing emails?

Posted on November 12, 2019

Question from Barbara: I recently learned that every email I send with my iPhone includes a line that says “Sent from my iPhone”.

There are times when I’d rather not tip off the recipient that I sent their email using my phone.

Is there any way to remove the “Sent from my iPhone” message from my outgoing emails?

Rick’s answer: There sure is, Barbara.

And luckily, it’s quite easy to do. Just follow the steps below: [Read more…]

Q&A: I received a bunch of emails telling me to change my passwords. What do I need to do?

Posted on November 11, 2019

Question from Sue: Yesterday I started getting emails from several websites that I mostly infrequently use or don’t use at all, such as Microsoft, Walmart, and Instagram.

But now I’ve received two more emails from two websites (AirBnB and eBay) that I DO use.

These emails were all in regard to resetting my password – either the password was already changed or a request to change it.

One email stated the request came from Malaysia and one from Russia, both of course I’m not visiting.

The requests definitely appear to be from the legitimate website – no misspelled words, correct internet and physical addresses, privacy statements, etc.

I changed the passwords on all the websites and updated and ran my Avast antivirus. But now I’m getting really concerned that “they” will figure out my passwords for more important websites such as banking, credit cards, etc.

I assume that I went on a bad website or something else. What happened and how can I fix it (preferably without changing each password separately as I’m pretty lazy) and prevent it from happening again?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there an easy way to fix an iMac that’s hard to turn on?

Posted on November 11, 2019

Question from Iris L: I bought a brand new 27″ iMac back in January 2019.

This is my first Apple computer and I really like it, but a few days ago I started having problems getting it to turn on.

Basically, nothing happens when I press the power button. But if I keep pressing the button over and over it’ll eventually start up after about 10 – 12 button presses.

I contacted Apple and they told me this is likely a hardware problem and I need to return the iMac and let them fix it.

My question is since they said it’s “likely” a hardware problem that must mean there’s a possibility of it being a software problem, right?

Can you tell me something to try to fix it on my own? There’s no Apple store near me so I’d have to ship it off for the repair and I hate the thought of having to do without my computer for several weeks.

And on a separate note, I’m also looking to replace my aging MacBook with a new one.

Can you recommend a good MacBook that’s reasonably priced and relatively compact (for easy traveling), yet powerful enough to get serious work done?

Thanks for your help in advance.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I connect my iPhone to my TV so I can watch Netflix?

Posted on November 10, 2019

Question from Marcella F.: I used to watch Netflix on my computer but it got fried by lightning. I’ve decided that I don’t really need a computer now so I won’t be replacing it.

I now watch Netflix on my iPhone 7 Plus but I’d really like to watch it on my 32 inch Samsung UN32J4000 TV.

My boyfriend said I should be able to connect my phone to the TV through its HDMI port, but he isn’t sure.

My first question is do you think I can connect the phone and TV together? And if I can, will it be expensive? What exactly will I need to buy?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]