Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can I install Windows 7 for a Dell laptop on a home-built desktop computer?

Posted on January 21, 2015

Question from Todd H.: The hard drive went out on my HP Pavilion dm1-4010us Notebook computer.

I replaced the bad drive with one that I had taken out of an older laptop but I had to order a Windows Restore DVD from HP so I could put Windows back on it.

When the Restore DVD arrived I went to install it and found out the screen is bad too. After considering all my options, I decided that I’d like to just trash the laptop and build a desktop computer from scratch. If I do that will I be able to install the Windows 7 from the HP Restore DVD onto the new computer?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Windows 10 to be released as a free upgrade for users of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1

Posted on January 21, 2015

windows-10 Microsoft has just announced that when Windows 10 is released, customers running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

The free upgrade offer will be limited to the first year however. Anyone who waits longer than that to install Windows 10 will have to purchase the upgrade.

This is great news folks. I’ve been testing the Technical Preview version of Windows 10 for some time now, and I absolutely love it! (Click here if you’d like to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview yourself. It’s free!) [Read more…]

Review: Windows 8.1 For Dummies

Posted on January 21, 2015

In my opinion, Windows 8.1 is a vast improvement over Windows 8 because of the tweaks Microsoft has made in order to make it work more like previous versions of Windows.

But even after all the tweaks, the look and feel of the Windows 8.1 Start Screen as well as the new menu structures ensures that Win 8.1 still comes with a fairly steep learning curve.

I have read several great books on configuring and using Windows 8.1 in recent weeks, and as expected, Windows 8.1 For Dummies is one of my favorites.

I have always liked the way the “Dummies” series of computer books cuts through the fog of all the tech jargon that’s out there and explains things in ways that are easy to understand and follow. I can tell you that this excellent volume on Windows 8.1 follows that same tried and true recipe. [Read more…]

5 reasons why my most popular blog post went viral and got over 1/4 million ‘Likes’

Posted on January 21, 2015

blog-sticky-note Most bloggers dream of having their posts go viral on social media, and for good reason. A single viral post can easily drive more traffic to a blog than it usually gets in several months.

Although I don’t go out out of my way to try to make my own blog posts go viral, they sometimes do all on their own. And of course I love it when that happens.

My most popular post of all time was written in just a few minutes, with very little thought given to it at all. It’s titled Why you should always ‘Like’ your own Facebook posts, and when I wrote it I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular to come of it. [Read more…]

How to create a System Image Backup in Windows 8.1

Posted on January 17, 2015

windows-8-1 One of the first things we should do after getting a new PC or upgrading to a new version of Windows is create a System Image Backup in case a hard drive failure or some other disaster makes it necessary to re-install Windows.

The process of creating a System Image in Windows 8.1 is a bit different than creating one in Windows 7, but it’s actually quite easy to do.

Without a System Image backup, re-installing Windows and all of your settings, programs, and user created data onto a newly installed replacement drive will be impossible unless you have previously created a backup in some other way.

Follow the steps below to create a System Image Backup in Windows 8.1: [Read more…]