Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 104 of 258

Q&A: Does using two drives in RAID 1 eliminate the need to make backups?

Posted on September 14, 2022

Question from Bill: I recently read an article about using hard drives or SSDs in a RAID configuration.

The article said RAID 1 copies all data to every drive in the array at the same time, essentially creating a clone of the primary drive in real time.

In the comments on the article someone suggested that using two drives in RAID 1 will automatically create a backup, eliminating the need to back up the hard drive in the usual way.

That made sense to me but then someone else commented and said that’s a really bad idea. But he didn’t explain why.

What’s your opinion on using RAID 1 to create automatic backups? Is it a good idea or not?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I reset a laptop if I don’t know all the passwords?

Posted on September 14, 2022

Question from Barry: I bought an Acer Aspire S7-391 laptop with Windows 8 at an estate auction.

I took a chance on it because it looks brand new and I was able to buy it for only $20. I’m hoping that’s a good deal (LOL).

Once I got the laptop home and booted it up I found out that it has 3 user accounts on it.

The machine boots up fine into an administrator account that doesn’t have a password on it. The other two accounts I can’t get into because they do have passwords (and I don’t know them).

I’d like to reset this machine back to the factory default setting so I can I install Linux on it. Can you tell me how to do the reset? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is this email from PayPal real or am I being scammed?

Posted on September 6, 2022

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Question from Rita: I hope you can help me Rick, and I really could use a quick answer.

I received an email that appears to be from PayPal. It says a buyer has sent me $122.56 for an item that was purchased from my Etsy store.

I really need to find out whether this email is real or a fake. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to buy a third-party laptop battery?

Posted on September 5, 2022

Question from Mike: I love your newsletter, Rick. I read it every morning!

I hope you can answer a question for me.

The battery in my trusty Lenovo G570 laptop has gone bad and I need to replace it.

I really love this laptop now that I’ve taken your advice and put Linux on it.

I’d really like to keep using it if I can, but I don’t want to spend a fortune on a battery for it.

[Read more…]