Rick's Daily Tips

Tech Tips, Tricks and Tutorials

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Try this first if you install a new program or app and it doesn’t work as expected

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Sick LaptopThe Internet has forever changed the way we acquire new software to run on our computers and mobile devices.

Gone are the days when we had to visit a retail store and buy a disk.

Now all we have to do is perform a quick Google search to find what we’re looking for and then click “Download” and install it.

But even though it’s easier than ever to find and download useful new software, things still go wrong during the installation process on occasion.

Case in point: I received a message from a reader just yesterday explaining how she had installed the Chrome browser on her system only to receive an error message every time she tries to open it.

This nice lady asked for my help in resolving the issue, but instead of giving her a list of things to check I simply gave her one basic suggestion:  [Read more…]

How to easily share one USB printer with multiple computers without switching cables

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iogear-usb-auto-printer-switchDo you have one printer that you share between two or more computers by switching the USB cable every time you need to print something?

I’ve been there and done that, and it gets old fast. Constantly swapping cables is a great way to put a damper on your productivity.

Well, there’s a nifty device called a USB Printer Auto Sharing Switch that makes it easy to connect a single printer to two or more computers without ever having to switch the cable again.

This little jewel monitors the USB connections from all the connected computers, and when it detects that one of them is sending a print job to the printer it automatically “connects” that computer to the printer.

You can choose between 2-port and 4-port models depending on how many computers you need to connect to the printer.  [Read more…]

Q&A: Why do people’s faces pop up on my phone when they send me a message on Facebook?

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Question from Cindy:  I got a new phone yesterday. It’s a Straight Talk and I love it. I’m having a small problem with it though.

After I got it home I installed the Facebook Messenger app on it and now my friend’s faces pop up on the home screen every time they send me a message.

I don’t like that because I don’t want just anyone who happens to glance at my phone to see who I’m talking to on Facebook.

How can I turn those picture notifications off?

Rick’s answer:  [Read more…]

Q&A: Why aren’t my deleted files going into the Recycle Bin?

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Windows-10-logoQuestion from Matthew T.:  I have a Dell laptop that I upgraded from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

Before the upgrade, whenever I would delete a file it went into the “Recycle Bin” where I could recover it later if I wanted to.

But now under Windows 10, all the files that I delete are gone forever and nothing ever gets placed into the Recycle Bin.

How can I fix this? Thanks.

Rick’s answer:  Matthew, this is easily fixed with a simple settings change. Just follow these steps:  [Read more…]

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