Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How do I decide which programs to install on a small SSD?

Posted on December 25, 2021

Question from Larry: I read your post explaining the advantages of installing an SSD a while back and I’ve wanted one ever since to go in my HP desktop PC.

I ended up buying a 120GB SSD (I got it for $20!) and installed it as the boot drive in my HP desktop computer. I left the 750GB hard drive in there for extra storage.

I installed Windows 10 from scratch on the SSD and now I’m ready to install my programs. The thing is with only 120GB of space on the SSD it won’t hold anywhere near all of my programs.

I have a couple of questions for you:

1 – Which programs should I install on the SSD and which ones should I leave on the hard drive?

2 – Should I leave the original Windows 10 files on the hard drive or is it safe to delete them to free up that space?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Does Linux need a bigger hard drive than Windows?

Posted on December 23, 2021

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Marla: I have an older HP laptop with Windows 7 that’s got really slow over the years.

I read your post about replacing Windows with Linux and since Windows 7 is no longer safe to use I’d really like to do that.

I don’t use this laptop for anything but Facebook so I believe it’ll work out just fine.

The thing is this laptop only has a 320GB hard drive in it. Is that enough space to hold Linux or will I need to replace the hard drive with a bigger one? [Read more…]

Scam alert: Those ‘Is it you in this video?’ messages are dangerous scams

Posted on December 22, 2021

If it seems like the scammers and hoaxsters never take a break from Facebook, it’s because they really don’t.

At any point in time there are numerous scammers sitting around trying to think up new ways to scam innocent Facebook users.

And as is usually the case, there’s a particularly dangerous scam making the rounds right now via Facebook Messenger.

But luckily, as dangerous as this scam is, it’s extremely easy to recognize and avoid it when you see it.

[Read more…]

How to take care of your computer and keep it running in top form

Posted on December 22, 2021

In order for your computer to work perfectly, it’s important to keep it clean and organized. You have to take care of the data that’s stored in it, as well as where it is.

Just as you maintain your body and keep your house clean, you have to do the same with a computer and other devices.

It’s important to keep your computer free of harmful files or viruses because they will cause the device to work slower, have issues with some functions and possibly even result in data loss or identity theft.

Here are a few tips for keeping your computer malware-free and running well: [Read more…]