Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 193 of 258

Q&A: Why won’t my TV work with my laptop?

Posted on June 18, 2017

Question from Ari G.: Hi Rick. I hope you can help me solve a problem I’m having with getting a new TV to work with my laptop.

I read Chad W’s question about whether he could connect a TV to his laptop to use when he’s watching Netflix. You said he could do it and I’d love to do the same thing.

I bought a brand new Sceptre U508CV-UMK 49″ 4K Ultra HD LED TV and plugged it into my Dell laptop’s HDMI port.

The problem is the laptop won’t boot up when the TV is connected to it. It just hangs on the POST screen and then shuts down after a few seconds.

I’ve tried using three different HDMI cables and it does the same thing with all of them. The other two laptops in our house boot up just fine with the TV attached and everything works perfectly.

Is there a setting on either the laptop or the TV that could be causing this problem? Or maybe this TV is simply incompatible with this laptop?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it normal for a laptop’s screen to dim when you unplug the charger?

Posted on June 15, 2017

Question from Charlene: My friend bought a new Dell laptop a couple of months ago but she hates it because she can’t get used to Windows 10.

She went and found another laptop with Windows 8.1 on it and she offered to sell me the one with Windows 10 for half what she paid for it.

The problem is the screen dims every time you unplug the charger and I’m afraid something might be wrong with it. She says it’s normal for a laptop to dim the screen when the charger is unplugged, but my old laptop never did that.

I have two questions for you. First, do you think something’s wrong with this laptop, or is this normal?

And second, if there’s something wrong with it, will Dell fix it for me under the warranty even though I’m not the person that bought it?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I transfer an old CD-based game to a USB Flash Drive?

Posted on June 12, 2017

Question from Ashley: Hey there! I just got a new Acer Aspire Touchscreen Laptop and I have an old game that I want to put on it. However, the new laptop doesn’t have an optical disk drive.

Is there any possible way to transfer a CD’s contents onto a USB drive so I can play the game on my laptop? Thanks so much!!!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: My screen is displaying everything sideways! How do I get it back to normal?

Posted on June 5, 2017

Question from Belinda G.: Rick, I need your help bad, but please don’t think I’m crazy after you read this!

I was checking my email with my 17 month old on my lap when she started tapping the keyboard. All of a sudden the entire screen image rotated 90 degrees to the right and I can’t figure out how to get it back to normal.

Please help??? I’m tired of having to lay on my side to read the screen! By the way, it’s a Dell desktop computer with Windows 10.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it possible to use Two Factor Authentication without a cell phone?

Posted on May 20, 2017

Question from Carl S.: Hi Rick. Here’s a question that you probably haven’t received before, and I hope you can answer it for me.

I have a cabin up in the mountains and I spend a lot of time there. The cabin has Internet through Hughesnet but there’s no cell service up there at all.

I’ve been wanting to set up two-factor authentication on my online accounts, but I need to be able to access those accounts while I’m at the cabin. The problem is I don’t have cell service there so I wouldn’t be able to use my iPhone to retrieve the login codes.

Do you know of any way I can set up two factor authentication and still be able to access my accounts when I can’t use my mobile phone?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]