Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can I use an old external hard drive with my new MacBook?

Posted on January 24, 2026

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Question from Lawrence: Hi, Rick. I’m hoping you can answer a question for me about hard drives.

I have an older Seagate STHN2000400 2TB external hard drive that I used for several years to store photos and other files from my old MacBook. Well that MacBook finally died and I replaced it with this MacBook Pro.

The problem I’m having is the MacBook Pro won’t work with the Seagate drive because there’s no connector on the laptop that will accept the old-style USB plug on the drive cable.

If at all possible I’d like to keep using this drive with the new MacBook Pro because it contains thousands of photos that don’t exist anywhere else.

Is there any way I can use this drive with the new laptop? Maybe some kind of adapter? [Read more…]

How to know when it’s time to replace your old router

Posted on January 23, 2026

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If you have a broadband Internet connection you probably use a router to share that connection among multiple computers and mobile devices.

I frequently receive emails from folks asking if I think they need to replace their aging routers, and I usually answer them by asking a few questions of my own: [Read more…]

Managing technology growth without creating system fragility

Posted on January 23, 2026

Technology growth inside organizations happens through accumulation rather than singular transformation. New tools, platforms, users, and integrations arrive gradually, often in response to immediate operational needs.

As such, this layered expansion changes how systems behave, how data moves, and how failures propagate. Managing growth requires attention to structure, dependencies, and oversight rather than focusing solely on functionality or speed of deployment. [Read more…]

How to prevent your phone from ringing at a bad time

Posted on January 22, 2026

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Have you ever fallen asleep only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from someone who had no idea how late it was (or who simply didn’t care)?

Or perhaps you’ve signed up for a class and you’d rather not disturb everyone in the room with an endless barrage of notification sounds?

You can easily avoid situations like that by enabling “Do Not Disturb” mode on your phone. Just follow the steps below that apply to your phone. [Read more…]

The psychology of urgency

Posted on January 22, 2026

Urgency is one of those feelings that can look like a personality trait from the outside. Some people seem naturally fast, intense, and always moving. Others take a slower pace and get suspicious when everything is labeled “ASAP.”

But urgency is not just about speed. It is an orientation toward time and action, shaped by how your brain predicts the future, how your body reacts to pressure, and what your environment taught you was “normal.” [Read more…]