Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why won’t my monitor work with my laptop?

Posted on December 4, 2023

Question from Brenda M.: I took my laptop to the shop because the screen stopped lighting up. They checked it out and told me the screen was bad.

They said it would cost almost $200 to replace the screen. I told them I couldn’t afford that so they told me I could still use the laptop by hooking up an external monitor.

I bought a monitor and hooked it up to the laptop with an HDMI cable, but I can’t get the monitor to show anything besides a blank screen.

How can I get the external monitor to work this laptop? [Read more…]

Why you shouldn’t accept a used modem from your ISP

Posted on December 3, 2023

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who subscribe to broadband Internet service through Xfinity, Charter or another Internet Service Provider (ISP), you most likely rent your modem (or Internet gateway) from them.

And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, even though you can opt to purchase your own modem if you want to.

When a modem needs to be replaced, most customers who rent their modems simply accept whatever device the technician pulls out of the truck and installs for them without even giving it a second thought.

Well, that can be a very big mistake. Why? Read on and I’ll explain… [Read more…]

Q&A: Will an SSD go bad just sitting on a shelf?

Posted on December 3, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Glen: A while back I read your post about replacing a computer’s hard drive with an SSD and it sounded like a pretty good idea.

I finally ended up buying a Crucial MX500 1TB SSD to replace the hard drive in my old Acer laptop, but the laptop’s screen went bad before I had a chance to make the switch.

I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money to have the Acer fixed so I just replaced it with a new Dell laptop.

The new Dell has a 1TB hard drive so I don’t really need the SSD at this time. Can I put the SSD on a shelf and keep it for a backup in case the hard drive ever fails, or will it go bad after a while if I don’t use it? [Read more…]

Review: InMotion Hosting

Posted on December 2, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

In the spirit of full transparency, let me state up-front that I’m a long-time customer of InMotion Hosting, for reasons that will be clear to you after reading this review.

I have used several web hosting companies over the years, with various levels of satisfaction.

This review is basically a contrast between the products, service and support I received from those other companies and what I’ve received from InMotion. [Read more…]

Why it’s a bad idea to respond to ‘Feel Good Posts’ on Facebook

Posted on December 2, 2023

If you use Facebook, you have surely seen tons of “feel good posts” pop up in your newsfeed. And if you’re like most people, you probably “Like” and “Share” some of them.

I used to Like and Share them too, back before I learned how dangerous they can be.

“Feel good posts” typically consist of a cute photo (often of a puppy, a kitten or a child) looking all lovable and cuddly. The photo will usually have some text on it that makes it almost impossible not to like or share the post.

Here’s an example of a typical “feel good post”: [Read more…]