Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 94 of 258

Q&A: Why does Windows 10 keep changing my default printer?

Posted on November 30, 2022

Question from Darren: I love your blog Rick, especially the questions and answers section.

I hope you can help me solve a problem I’ve been having ever since I replaced my old computer with one running Windows 10.

I use two printers with my computer. The first one is an Epson inkjet that I use every now and then to print photos. The other is a Brother laser printer that I use to print most everything else.

With Windows 7 I could leave the laser printer as the default printer, then switch to the inkjet manually on the rare occasions when I needed to use it. But with Windows 10, every time I print to either printer, that printer gets set as the default printer.

I really want the laser printer to remain as the default and switch to the inkjet manually when I need it. Is there any way to stop Windows 10 from changing the default printer without my permission? [Read more…]

Q&A: Am I connecting too many devices to my laptop’s USB ports?

Posted on November 24, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Ariel: I have an HP dv6000t laptop that originally had Windows XP on it.

While my son was in for a weekend visit he installed Linux Mint on it after reading your article about replacing Windows with Linux.

I mainly use this laptop for reading my cooking groups on Facebook and printing the recipes that interest me.

The Linux is working out great but I’m having a problem with the USB ports.

[Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent my new Chromebook from slowing down over time?

Posted on November 24, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Brad: I recently bought my first Chromebook and I really like it because it’s a lot faster than I expected for a laptop this cheap!

My question is what can I do to keep it running this fast?

[Read more…]

Q&A: Which version of Linux is most like Windows?

Posted on November 17, 2022

Question from Jules K.: The hard drive on my fairly old, but awesome Acer laptop died and I bought a 500GB SSD to replace it.

Since I have to reinstall the operating system anyway I’m seriously considering installing Linux on it instead of Windows 7 (I still have the Window 7 CD) since Microsoft is no longer supporting it.

The only thing I use this laptop for is keeping up with several of my favorite websites so I’m not really worried about running any Windows programs on it.

If I decide to forge ahead with Linux I’d really like to install the version that looks and works the most like Windows. Can you tell me which version that is? [Read more…]