Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Ron A.: Rick, I have a laptop (HP Pavilion dv4170us) with 1GB of RAM that is currently running Windows Vista. I looked it up online and found out that it will hold up to 2GB.
I’d like to max out the RAM at 2GB but I have a question. Do you recommend replacing the RAM modules that are already in there with all new RAM or just adding an additional 1GB to boost the total to 2GB?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Theresa: Rick, I have a serious problem and I desperately need your help! Someone keeps hacking into my Yahoo email account by changing my password and I don’t know how to prevent it. I contacted Yahoo support over a week ago but they haven’t responded. I’m pretty sure it’s my ex-boyfriend who’s doing it but he denies it.
Is there any way I can stop him from changing my password? I’d just abandon the account an open a new one but I use it for EVERYTHING and changing email addresses would be a major hassle! I’d GREATLY appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks!
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Vicky P.: Rick, I logged into my PayPal account the other day and noticed that a payment for $74.94 had been made to someone that I had never heard of. Since my 13 year old daughter and I are the only people who ever use my computer I knew right away that she was the one who made the purchase.
Well, we had a short “discussion” during which I discovered that she had opened an eBay account in my name and used it to buy an item that she knew I would never allow her to have otherwise. Needless to say, she is grounded for life (well, for a month anyway lol). Is there any way to block eBay so that it cannot be accessed at all on my PC?
Rick’s answer: Yes, in fact there is Vicky. All you need to do is add a single line to a Windows file named Hosts. Here’s how: [Read more…]
Question from Jamey B: Hi Rick. I really hope you can help me. I always check the Google PageRank of blogs that I want to submit guest posts to, but ever since I updated my Google Toolbar to the latest version a couple of days ago the PageRank indicator isn’t showing up.
I’ve searched high and low for a way to turn the PR indicator on but I can’t find one. Has Google decided to remove it completely or am I just overlooking the place where you activate it?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Gail T.: Hi Rick. I have a Gateway FX-6800-03h desktop computer that I’ve owned for over 4 years with no problems whatsoever. It has Windows 7 on it, and last Christmas my brother upgraded it to 12 GB of RAM and added a 2 TB hard drive for me as a gift.
I love this computer but now I have a big problem! I recently went out of town for a few days and when I got back I couldn’t get Windows to load. All it does when I press the power button is give one long, continuous beep and nothing ever shows up on the screen.
Please, please, please tell me this is a simple fix? I can’t really afford a new computer right now. Thanks in advance!
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]