Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why are my AirPods dropping their Bluetooth connection?

Posted on July 14, 2021

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Question from Kim: I have a pair of AirPods that I love dearly.

I’ve used many different kinds of headphones and earbuds and the AirPods have the best sound quality of any of them.

I’ve recently started having a problem with them though. At random times the Bluetooth connection drops out and it interrupts my music.

This usually happens several times every time I listen to music on my phone.

Do you think I need a new pair of AirPods or is there something I can do to fix this?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I reset the password on a hand-me-down PC?

Posted on July 13, 2021

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Question from Ben: My aunt recently sold her house and moved to another state.

Before she left she gave us a used, but working Acer Aspire U5710 computer with Windows 10 on it.

She said she didn’t want to pack it up and move it because she was wanting to buy a new computer anyway.

I tried setting it up for my daughter to use but it’s asking for a password. I don’t know the password and the one my aunt gave me doesn’t work.

Is there any way to reset the password on this computer? [Read more…]

Should you completely drain your laptop’s battery before recharging it?

Posted on July 13, 2021

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

I’m often asked whether laptop batteries need to be drained completely before recharging them.

My answer? Well, it depends on the type of battery that it uses.

Early laptops used nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries which were subject to a “memory effect”.

If NiCads weren’t allowed to discharge all the way before being recharged they would eventually “remember” the level of charge they fell to before recharging and act as if they were completely drained every time their charge decreased to that level. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is ‘Runtime Broker’ a virus?

Posted on July 12, 2021

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Question from Garland L.: I recently noticed there’s a process called “Runtime Broker” always running when I load Task Manager.

My McAfee antivirus doesn’t flag it as a virus, but it still sounds fishy to me.

I called Office Depot and asked the tech guy about it but he refused to give me an answer about whether this is a virus or not. They said I’d need to bring my computer in and pay them to run a virus check on it.

I ran across your website on Google and saw where you answer people’s questions.

So what’s the deal? Is “RunTime Broker” a virus or not? [Read more…]

Are you a ‘Stay-At-Home Mom’ looking to work from home? If so, read this.

Posted on July 11, 2021

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Are you a Stay-At-Home Mom?

If so, rest assured that you are doing the most important job you will ever do in your entire life.

Trust me, you will never regret dedicating your time, talents and motherly love to your kids during the most impressionable times of their lives.

That being said, you can still use your time at home with your kids to earn a good home-based income while still doing everything you need to do as a mom.

All you need to do is start a blog!

I know what you’re probably thinking… [Read more…]