Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why won’t my PC boot from a hard drive from another PC?

Posted on August 19, 2023

Question from Travis: I have an HP desktop computer that got fried by lightning.

I also have an old Dell desktop that had a bad hard drive. Both PCs ran Windows 10.

My cousin connected the hard drive from the HP to his computer and it seemed to work fine, so I replaced the bad hard drive in my Dell with the one from the dead HP.

But now after switching the drives, when I turn the computer on Windows won’t boot up. All it does is display a blue screen with an error message on it.

What do I need to do to fix this? [Read more…]

Tips for choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Posted on August 18, 2023

It hasn’t been all that long ago since most of us had only one choice when it came to Internet connectivity: an agonizingly slow dial-up connection through a standard telephone landline.

But times have changed. Nowadays virtually everyone in the United States can get a broadband Internet connection via their cable TV provider, the local phone company, a blazing-fast fiber optic connection or satellite Internet.

In fact, some folks even have the luxury of choosing between two or more broadband options simply due to where they happen to live. [Read more…]

How to password-protect (or even hide) a post or page in WordPress

Posted on August 17, 2023

If you write a WordPress blog you probably want your posts and pages to be read by as many people as possible. After all, the entire reason for blogging is to share information with others.

But that being said, there might be times when you would like to make a certain post or page available only to a select group of people.

The purpose of this post is to explain how to limit who is allowed to view a post or page that you don’t want to make available to the general public. [Read more…]

Find the perfect gift for virtually anyone with Amazon Gift Finder

Posted on August 17, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

One of the most frustrating things about shopping for gifts is trying to figure out what the intended recipients might want or need.

Many factors must be considered for each person on your gift list, and walking through a dozen stores rarely helps. If anything, it usually just causes more confusion.

The Amazon Gift Finder can help by taking a lot of the guesswork out of your gift shopping. [Read more…]

Convert a regular light fixture into a ‘Dusk-to-Dawn’ fixture in seconds

Posted on August 16, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Do you have a light on your porch, carport or other area that you would like to have come on automatically at dusk and go off at dawn?

You could always replace your existing light fixture with a dusk-to-dawn fixture, but that would be a fairly expensive upgrade if you needed to hire an electrician to do the job for you.

Well, I have great news: You can easily convert any standard light fixture into a dusk-to-dawn light yourself by simply replacing the bulb. Yes, you read that right. Just replace the bulb! [Read more…]