Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why does my browser’s Bookmarks bar keep disappearing?

Posted on June 6, 2023

Question from Renée: I hope you can help me with a problem I’m having.

Sometimes when I’m on the Internet the Bookmarks bar will just disappear and I have to go into the browser settings to put it back.

Have you ever heard of this? [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you ‘Undo’ a System Restore on a Windows PC?

Posted on June 6, 2023

Question from Edward: Hello, Rick. Love your site! I hope you can answer a question for me.

I downloaded a game onto my Dell laptop a few days ago and I immediately started getting lots of pop-up ads on my screen.

I uninstalled the game but I’m still getting the pop-ups. I read in a Windows forum that a System Restore should fix the problem but that there are no guarantees.

My question is can a System Restore be reversed if it doesn’t fix the problem?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you recommend a good, but cheap external hard drive enclosure?

Posted on June 5, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Elizabeth: I just finished reading your post about converting an internal hard drive into an external drive. I never dreamed that it would be so easy!

I have a 1GB hard drive that came out of my Dell Inspiron 15 5000 laptop when it died on me. The guy at the shop tested the drive and said it’s working fine.

I’d like to put that drive into an external enclosure and connect it to my other laptop that has Windows 10 and USB 3.0 ports. [Read more…]

Heads-Up: Microsoft is planning to remove Cortana from Windows

Posted on June 4, 2023

If you’re a Windows user you’re probably familiar with Cortana, the personal assistant that Microsoft added to Windows beginning with the initial 2015 release of Windows 10.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Cortana and removing it has always been one of the first things I did any time I got a new PC or reinstalled Windows for some reason. [Read more…]

Q&A: Will I be able to use my own laptop while I’m in the UK?

Posted on June 3, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Benjamin: I need some advice, Rick.

I’ll soon be heading to the UK for a six week visit.

I’ll need a laptop to use while I work from my hotel room every day while I’m over there.

The problem is my laptop’s charger operates at 120 volts and there’s no switch to change it to 240 volts like there is with my desktop computer.

Is there any way I can use my existing laptop during my visit to the UK? [Read more…]