Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 208 of 258

Q&A: How do I rename my Chromecast devices?

Posted on October 15, 2015

Question from Autumn J.: I have two Chromecast devices. One of them is attached to a TV in the living room and the other is in my den.

Both of the Chromecasts have names that look very much alike when viewed on the Chromecast app, and that confuses my mom every time she comes over to spend the night with me (which she does frequently). She’s always choosing the wrong device and wondering why the TV isn’t working like it should.

I set up a cheap Android tablet for her to use to control the Chromecast devices. My question is how can I give both devices a distinctive name to make it easier for mom to choose the right Chromecast from the app?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the best external hard drive to use with a Dell docking station?

Posted on September 25, 2015

Question from Linda S.: I have a Dell 6430u Ultrabook and a Superspeed USB 3 Dell Docking Station. I am trying to decide on an external drive to back-up all my data and photos continuously.

Could you suggest an external USB hard drive that would be good to use?

I’m also worried about power overload for the docking station because when I plugged in a LaCie external drive I received a warning that it overloaded the USB port. Can you advise about that as well?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why won’t the Settings app load after upgrading to Windows 10?

Posted on September 20, 2015

Question from Karin S.: Hi Rick. I’ve been reading your help and tips for my computer for a long time now, and I find the information very helpful, so thank you!

Since upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 everything seems to be ok as I slowly figure out where everything has gone and how it works.

But I have a problem: A lot of your tips start with clicking on “Start” and then “Settings”. I have found that nothing happens when I click Settings. It kind of flashes a bit but nothing opens.

Could you tell me how to fix this so that I have a ‘Settings click’ that actually works? Thanks so much, in advance. -Karin

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: What should I do with 168 identical Dell computers running Windows XP?

Posted on September 14, 2015

Question from Eddie V.: The county I live in had a massive auction of surplus items and I ended up buying 168 Dell OptiPlex 755/SDT desktop computers. They all appear to be identically configured with these specs:

1.8 GZ Dual Core Pentium CPU
1 GB RAM
80 GB Hard Disk
DVD-RW Drive
19″ Dell Monitor (older CRT type)
Windows XP Pro

I know that older computers aren’t worth a lot these days, but I thought these were worth a bid simply because there were so many of them. I ended up winning the auction and paying $216 for the lot.

My big concern is they might not be worth anything at all since Microsoft has officially killed off Windows XP. What do you think I could do with these computers to make a little bit of money from this deal?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why can’t I access my blog’s CPANEL or connect via FTP after enabling Cloudflare?

Posted on September 14, 2015

Question from Evelyn: I started a women’s issues blog about a year ago, and at first the pages would load really fast. But as I added posts and photos and the site started getting more traffic, it started loading slower and slower.

I read about a service called Cloudflare that speeds up your site by placing copies of it on servers located in multiple places around the world. I decided to sign up and give it a try, and you wouldn’t believe how much it reduced the page load times on my blog pages!

But I have a problem. After enabling Cloudflare I can’t log in to CPANEL or connect to the blog via my FTP client (Filezilla).

Can you tell me what I need to do to fix this issue? I really need access to CPANEL occasionally and I use FTP every day! My blog is running on WordPress and it’s hosted by Hostgator.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]