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Q&A: Can I replace a bad power supply with one from another computer?

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Question from Larry G:.  Rick, I have a two Gateway Desktop computers, neither of which are operational.

One has a bad motherboard and the other has a bad power supply.

Can I replace the bad power supply with the one in the computer that has the bad motherboard? If I can I won’t have to go buy one.

The power supplies look exactly the same and have the same cables and connectors, but the working power supply is rated at 400 watts and the bad one is only 350 watts.

I read your post about replacing Windows with Linux and I’d really like to get one of these machines working so I can install Linux Mint on it.

What I need to know is will replacing a power supply with a more powerful one damage a computer?

Rick’s answer:   [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I safely rely on System Restore or should I make System Image backups too?

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Question from Mike:  Rick, I install lots of free software and I always create a new System Restore Point before installing a program just in case something goes wrong.

And as you know, Windows 10 is great but things do go wrong sometimes.

My boss told me that relying on System Restore isn’t good enough. He said I need to create System Image backups instead, but I think that’s overkill.

What do you think?

Rick’s answer:   [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent people from tagging me in their Facebook posts?

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Question from Audrey:  Hi Rick! I have a couple of question about Facebook.

Is there anyway to block everyone from tagging me in their posts?

Also, how do I prevent them from posting things to my Timeline?

Rick’s answer:  Audrey, there’s no way to prevent someone from tagging you in a post, but you can force Facebook to ask your permission before a post you’re tagged in appears on your Timeline.

In a nutshell, you’ll be able to review all requests to tag you in a post and then determine whether you want to allow it to be posted to your own Timeline.

And while you’re changing that setting you’ll also be able to specify who is allowed to post things on your Timeline.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Why does my laptop screen go black when I open it all the way?

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Question from Amanda:  I need your advice, Rick.

My 14 month old laptop has started acting really weird and the warranty expired two months ago.

If I open the lid past half way the screen goes black just like I had turned it off. The computer is still running though.

The really odd thing is the screen doesn’t come back on until the lid is almost completely closed again.

I have three questions for you.

1 – Do you think this is a problem that can be fixed?

2 – If it can, do you think it’ll be worth the expense?

3 – Do you think I can fix it myself? I’ll be honest – I have absolutely no technical or mechanical skills but I’m willing to give it a try if you tell me it’s safe to do it.

Rick’s answers:   [Read more…]

Q&A: Would installing a second SSD just to hold my data files make my PC run even faster?

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Question from Larry:  I remember reading something a while back about using two SSDs instead of one to speed up a computer but I can’t remember the details.

I was in a hurry when I read it so I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have.

I think it had something to do with putting Windows and the installed programs on one SSD and all the data files on the other one.

Can you fill me in on the details?

My PC’s hard drive died last year and I replaced it with an SSD. Just trying to decide whether I should install a second one to speed things up even more.

Rick’s answer:  [Read more…]

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