Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 156 of 258

Q&A: Does ‘Tax Free Weekend’ apply to Amazon purchases?

Posted on July 29, 2020

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Stella H.: Our state will be observing its annual back-to-school “Tax Free Weekend” starting this Friday.

I know that certain items can be purchased tax-free at local stores during Tax-Free Weekend, but what about things we buy online at Amazon?

I usually buy most of my kids’ back-to-school stuff from Walmart to take advantage of the tax savings, but there are a few relatively expensive items I’d prefer to buy from Amazon if I can still get the tax savings.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I connect a second display to my iMac?

Posted on July 14, 2020

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Kelley: I recently bought this 21.5 inch iMac and I’d like to connect a second display to it.

I have a really nice 1 year-old 27 inch HP monitor with two HDMI connectors that I used with my old Windows computer.

I’d love to use that monitor if I can.

My goal is to have Photoshop running on the 27 inch screen and everything else on the 21.5 inch screen.

Can you tell me if the HP monitor is compatible with the iMac? If it is, how do I connect it to the computer and set it up in the software?

If it won’t work with the iMac can you recommend a good 27 inch monitor that will?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I keep using Chrome or switch to the new Microsoft Edge browser?

Posted on June 30, 2020

Question from Judy: When I purchased my PC with windows 10, it came with Microsoft Edge as the web browser.

I preferred using Google Chrome so I installed it and set it as my default browser.

The other day Windows updated and automatically installed a new version of Microsoft Edge.

Now I’m not sure if I should keep Chrome as my default browser or use Edge. What do you recommend?

Also, should I delete whichever one I decide not to use?

I would appreciate your thoughts on which is the best way to go. Thank you.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent Windows Update from automatically updating my computer’s hardware drivers?

Posted on June 25, 2020

Question from Paul: Back in 2013 I bought a custom built gaming PC from a guy I knew back then.

I’ve since lost contact with him (I think he moved out of state) and I can no longer ask him for help with things like this.

Anyway, this machine came with Windows 7 on it but I updated it to Windows 10 after Microsoft abandoned Windows 7.

Windows 10 works great on it, but ever since I installed Windows 10 the Windows Updates have been automatically installing new hardware drivers that keep causing the system to crash.

After almost every Windows Update is installed I have to manually reinstall the original hardware drivers from the CD to get the computer to stop crashing (glad I still have that CD!).

Is there any way to prevent Windows 10 from updating the hardware drivers every time it downloads and installs new updates to Windows? This is really frustrating!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]