Rick's Daily Tips

How (and when) to boot Windows into ‘Safe Mode’

Posted on September 21, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

If you use a Windows PC there will likely come a time when you need to start up Windows in Safe Mode for trouble-shooting purposes.

Which brings up a question you might be asking…

What is Safe Mode?

When you boot up Windows into Safe Mode only the bare essentials of the operating system are loaded.

Only the system’s basic hardware drivers are loaded, and no programs listed in the Startup folder are allowed to load and run.

In a nutshell, Safe Mode makes it much easier to troubleshoot and fix software problems such as bad drivers, corrupted Windows files, really viruses and a lot more.

How to boot Windows into Safe Mode [Read more…]

How to get photos of minors removed from Google’s search results

Posted on September 21, 2023

Rick’s Daily Tips Tech Blog

As you probably know, Google search results often include photos of people who are relevant to the search query in some way, and that does include minors.

If you’re the parent or legal guardian of a minor (below the age of 18) whose photo(s) are included in Google searches you can request that Google remove those photos.

Minors themselves can also request the removal of their photos if they’d prefer not have an adult involved in the process. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why do they still bother with making desktop computers?

Posted on September 19, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Ben: Everyone I know that recently bought a computer ended up buying a laptop instead of a desktop computer.

Since no one is buying desktops anymore, why are they still bothering to make them?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to quickly get the type, speed and amount of your PC’s installed RAM

Posted on September 19, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

If you have a Windows PC there are several excellent third-party tools you can use to collect all kinds of useful information about your computer’s hardware components and configuration.

I have actually written about a few of my favorites in the past, including the fantastic duo of HWiNFO and Speccy.

But if all you need to do is determine the amount, type and speed of your system’s installed RAM, you don’t need to install anything at all. [Read more…]

Scam alert: This dangerous scam will trash your PC’s Windows installation

Posted on September 18, 2023

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Email scams are certainly nothing new, and there’s one making the rounds via email once again that causes tons of heartache every time it rears its ugly head.

And unfortunately, this one will trash your PC’s Windows installation if you fall for it.

As usual, the wording of the scam varies a bit, but this seems to be the version that most people are receiving: [Read more…]