Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How can I close my Gmail account?

Posted on February 6, 2014

Question from Glenda L.: Hi Rick. I recently made the switch from Gmail to Outlook.com and I no longer have a need for my Gmail account. I need to keep my umbrella Google account though because I use other Google services besides just Gmail.

I have two questions for you:

1 – How do I transfer all of my old Gmail messages to my Outlook.com account?

2 – How do I close the Gmail account once the messages have been transferred?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Adobe issues emergency Flash Player update

Posted on February 5, 2014

Abobe has just released an emergency update to their ubiquitous Flash Player software to plug a serious security hole that could easily grant hackers total control of your computer.

It’s obvious that Flash has become a favorite target for hackers in recent years, and the engineers at Adobe have their hands full trying to combat the nearly constant threats. [Read more…]

How to pin the ‘PC Settings’ screen to your Windows 8.1 Start Screen

Posted on February 2, 2014

pc-settings The PC Settings screen is one of the most useful screens in Windows since it allows access to a wide range of important tweaks and settings.

There are several quick ways to get to this screen in Windows 8.1, but if you find yourself using the Start Screen a lot, why not just pin it there?

Windows 8.1 makes it really easy to pin the PC Settings screen to the Start Screen. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Should I order a set of Windows Vista Restore disks for my laptop or just buy Windows 8?

Posted on January 30, 2014

Question from Joseph K.: I have an HP desktop computer that came with Windows Vista. The hard drive died and I had to replace it and I can’t find my Restore disks.

I can order a set of Restore disks from HP but I was wondering if I should just buy Windows 8 instead? A friend told me that I can probably get Windows 8 for about twice what I’d have to pay for the Vista Restore CDs. Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why should I convert my old C: drive to an external drive after an SSD upgrade instead of installing it as a D: drive?

Posted on January 29, 2014

Question from Gary M.: Rick, Microsoft is forcing me to get serious about upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 8 (or 8.1). I just finished reading your recommendation to install an SSD drive and convert my XP internal drive into an external USB drive.

I was thinking along similar lines, but figured I would make my existing XP drive into a drive D: after upgrading to Windows 8. Why would converting it to an external USB drive be better?

Thanks, Gary

Ricks answer: [Read more…]