Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why does my laptop keep going into ‘Sleep’ mode after just 2 minutes?

Posted on March 13, 2019

Question from Brad: I have a Dell laptop with Windows 10 and it has a problem that’s driving me up the wall.

Ever since it installed the latest Windows Update it’s been going into sleep mode every time the machine is idle for exactly two minutes (I timed it).

I’ve went through the power settings several times and changed every setting that could possibly place the machine in sleep mode to make it go to sleep after 45 minutes.

But still it goes to sleep after just two minutes. It’s like Windows 10 is completely ignoring my power settings!

Can you tell me how to fix this?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Yes, you do need to update your Chrome browser right now!

Posted on March 12, 2019

Several people have messaged me this morning asking if the viral notice to update their Chrome browser to the latest version is real or a hoax.

Well, as you know, hoaxes abound on Facebook, but this isn’t one of them.

If you haven’t done so already, you really do need to install the latest update for Chrome in order to prevent hackers from exploiting a very dangerous security flaw.

And you need to install this update right now because the flaw is actively being exploited as we speak!

[Read more…]

Review: ASUS VS228H-P 21.5-Inch Full-HD LCD Monitor

Posted on March 11, 2019

Although a fast CPU and plenty of RAM and hard drive space are important, the monitor is arguably the most important part of any computer system.

After all, you’ll be staring at the screen virtually the entire time you’re using your computer.

I recently received an ASUS VS228H-P 21.5-Inch Full-HD LCD Monitor (#ad) for review, and after working out a minor quirk I quickly came to realize that I really love this monitor! [Read more…]

Q&A: Why won’t the computer I just built boot into Windows?

Posted on March 7, 2019

Question from Michael: Hi Rick. I hope you can help me fix a problem I’m having with a brand new PC I just finished building.

After I got everything put together I installed Windows 10 on it and made a few settings changes.

Everything seemed fine and the system booted up normally a total of three times.

But the next time I turned it on the screen stayed blank and the motherboard’s LED error code display stayed on.

I’ve tried turning it off and back on several times but it just won’t boot up.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this? I don’t think it’s a software problem because I haven’t even installed any programs on it yet.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: What’s the easiest way to install OS X onto a Mac Pro that has a new hard drive?

Posted on March 6, 2019

Question from Gill: On a whim I bought a used Mac Pro at a yard sale for a ridiculously low price. I figured it was worth taking a chance on.

When I got it home I plugged it in and it powered up just fine, but I found out there was no hard drive in it.

I had a used hard drive that I had removed from another computer so I installed it in the Mac Pro.

The problem is I don’t know how to install OS X onto the new hard drive. Can you tell me the best (and hopefully easiest) way to do that?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]