Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Will I need to reinstall Windows if I upgrade my PC’s motherboard and CPU?

Posted on February 14, 2015

Question from Andy T.: A few years ago one of my co-workers helped me build a computer from scratch and we installed a full retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium on it. I recently tried to upgrade the memory but found out that I have already maxed out the RAM for this motherboard & CPU combo.

Since I really want to add an additional 8GB of RAM and run USB 3.0 natively, I’m planning to upgrade the motherboard and CPU. I’m just wondering if I’ll need to reinstall Windows.

Will I? Or should I, even if I don’t have to?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to disable Voice Recognition on your Samsung Smart TV

Posted on February 14, 2015

samsung-smart-tv You’ve probably heard by now that Samsung Smart TVs are capable of eavesdropping on the private conversations that take place in your home via their Voice Recognition circuitry.

There are conflicting opinions on just how big a deal this might turn out to be before all is said and done, but being a little on the paranoid side, I don’t much like the idea of my TV being able to spy on me.

If you own one of these TVs and feel the same way I do about the privacy thing, it’s easy enough to disable your Samsung Smart TV’s Voice Recognition feature. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Review: Samsung 840 EVO-Series 250GB Solid State Drive

Posted on February 12, 2015

samsung-840-evo-series-250gb-ssd — (#ad)

Of all the upgrades you can make to a modern PC, the one that will provide the most bang for the buck, by far, is replacing your existing hard drive with a Solid State Drive (SSD).

If you’ve never used a computer that has an SSD, you’ll be absolutely amazed at how much faster your PC will boot into the operating system and load your programs.

Samsung’s 840 EVO-Series 250GB SSD (#ad) is one of the best SSD deals on the market. Thanks to its excellent price/performance ratio it is now the number one selling Solid State Drive on Amazon. [Read more…]

Scam Alert: If you visit Forbes.com, your PC might have been exposed to malware.

Posted on February 12, 2015

scam If you visited the popular financial news website Forbes.com between November 28 and December 1, 2014, your PC might possibly be infected with a virus.

First the good news: If you are diligent about keeping Internet Explorer up to date by installing all available updates as soon as they become available, you should be in the clear.

And still better news: If you use Firefox, Chrome, or any other non-IE browser you were definitely safe from this particular attack. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I get rid of the ‘SecureBoot isn’t Configured Correctly’ message?

Posted on February 12, 2015

Question from Stephen Y.: I recently upgraded my computer from Windows 7 to Windows 8.1 and I keep getting this message whenever I’m on the Desktop:

SecureBoot isn’t Configured Correctly

I’ve tried everything I can think of and I can’t find a way to fix this. Can you tell me what I need to do to get rid of this annoying message?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]