Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 180 of 258

Q&A: Is there any way I can use an old PS/2 style keyboard with my new laptop?

Posted on August 3, 2018

monoprice-ps2-to-usb-keyboard-adapter — (#ad)

Question from Anita L.: Hi Rick. I hope you can answer a computer question for me.

I’ve been using computers for over 30 years, but believe it or not I just bought my very first laptop. Yay me!!

Long story short, I love the laptop but absolutely hate the keyboard!

I know that I can buy a new USB keyboard and plug it in and it will work, but I have an old Cherry PS/2 style keyboard that I’ve had for many years. I’d really love to use that keyboard because I love the feel and sound of the mechanical keys.

The problem is my laptop doesn’t have a PS/2 keyboard connector. Is there any way I can make this keyboard work with my laptop? Some kind of adapter maybe?

Thanks for your help. Love your site by the way!!!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is a loose power connector on a brand new laptop a problem?

Posted on July 31, 2018

Question from Darla: I bought a new laptop from Best Buy a couple of days ago. It cost a little over $800.

The laptop seems to work fine but there’s one problem. Well at least I think it might be a problem and I need your advice/opinion about it.

The power cable doesn’t seem to fit into the laptop’s power connector very well. It just seems to be “loose”.

When I wiggle the connector around it moves quite a bit but the laptop never shuts down or blinks or anything.

Every other laptop I’ve ever owned had a well-fitting power connection. Do you think this one is defective or is that normal for some laptops now?

I would just return it but I know that Best Buy charges a 15% restocking fee, which in this case would be $120! That’s why I’d rather not return it unless you really think I need to.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I download the Windows 10 Lock Screen images to my hard drive?

Posted on July 18, 2018

Question from Rhonda A.: Hi Rick. I have a question for you.

I recently bought a new computer and I just love the pictures that Windows 10 puts on the Lock Screen.

Is there any way to copy those pictures to my hard drive so I can use them as background images? I tried right-clicking on them and that doesn’t bring up a menu or anything.

If you don’t know of a way to do this it’s ok. Thanks for your help.

Rick’s answer: I love those Lock Screen images too, Rhonda. And yes, there is indeed a way to copy them to your hard drive.

There’s a neat little free app in the Windows Store that was designed specifically to download Windows Spotlight photos to your hard drive.

It’s called SpotBright, and here’s how to install and use it: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can a 30GB program run on a PC that only has 8GB of RAM?

Posted on July 5, 2018

Question from Daniel G.: Hi Rick. I just noticed something that has me puzzled and I hope you can help me understand how it works.

Last night I downloaded a game and installed it on my computer, and it runs just fine.

The thing that’s puzzling me is the game was a 30GB download but it runs on my computer even though it only has 8GB of RAM.

What trick are they using to shoehorn 30GB of code into 8GB of RAM? Is it compressed somehow?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]