Rick's Daily Tips - Page 3 of 576 - Tech Tips, Tricks and Tutorials

Q&A: Can I change my iPhone battery myself or should I take it to an Apple store?

Posted on October 21, 2019

Question from Pam: Rick, I have recently gotten a new iPhone so I’m giving my old iPhone 6 to a friend.

I have wiped it clean, so I am good there. But now the battery is not staying charged much at all.

I’ve heard that you have to take an iPhone to the Apple store to have the battery changed, or they would give you a new phone.

Well, with my experience I’m pretty sure I can change it myself if I order a battery, and it’ll be cheaper too.

With your knowledge, do you think I should to take this phone to an Apple store to have the battery changed, or can I do it myself?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to add the ‘Control Panel’ to the Start Menu in Windows 10

Posted on October 20, 2019

As you probably know, Microsoft is constantly making subtle changes to the Windows user interface.

And as you also probably know, some of those changes make more sense than others.

In fact, some changes make you scratch your head and wonder just what the folks up in Redmond were thinking when they decided to make them.

One of the biggest head-scratchers of all is Microsoft’s decision to remove the Control Panel from the Start Menu’s right-click menu (the menu that pops up when you right-click on the Start button) in the Windows 10 Creators Update. [Read more…]

Q&A: Why are my Comcast Internet download speeds so slow?

Posted on October 20, 2019

Question from Kellie L.: I have Comcast Internet and the plan I’m on is for 100 Mbps download speed.

I read your post about SpeedTest.net and used it to run several speed tests yesterday and again this morning. The fastest speed I got was around 45 Mbps.

I called Comcast this afternoon and they ran some kind of test from their end and said I was getting all the speed I’m paying for.

Is there something I’m doing wrong when I run the speed test or is Comcast just blowing me off?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

3 ways to clone the contents of a hard drive or SSD onto a new drive

Posted on October 20, 2019

Many of the questions I receive at RicksDailyTips deal with replacing hard drives and SSDs.

After all, drives go bad and they have to be replaced, and folks are always wanting to upgrade their drives to something larger and faster.

I guess that’s why one of my most frequently asked questions is “How do I clone a hard drive?”

Well, today I’m going to answer that question by briefly describing three drive cloning methods that I’ve written about in the past.

Those three methods range from “free, and slightly complicated” to “not free, but dead-simple“: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will CCleaner run on a Macbook Pro?

Posted on October 19, 2019

Question from Helen S.: Hi Rick. Based upon your recommendation, I’ve been using CCleaner to keep my Windows laptop cleaned out and optimized for some time now. I really appreciate you telling us about things like this!

My daughter just bought a brand new MacBook Pro (#ad) and I was wondering if CCleaner will work on it too? If it will I’m planning to buy her a copy and help her install it while she’s in for the holidays.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]