Rick's Daily Tips

Boost your router’s Wi-Fi signal with a DIY antenna booster

Posted on January 25, 2014

windsurfer-antenna-booster Does your router’s Wi-Fi signal have trouble reaching the far end of your home? If so, you can extend the reach of your Wi-Fi signal by making a simple antenna booster out of paper and a sheet of tin foil.

These DIY antenna boosters really work, they are easy to make, and the entire project will only cost you a few pennies (and a little bit of your time).

How do they work? By redirecting some of the radio waves transmitted by your router’s omni-directional antennas towards the area of your home where the signal is the weakest. [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I reset my Acer laptop back to the factory condition?

Posted on January 24, 2014

Question from Gillian S.: My Acer Aspire 5715z laptop won’t boot into Windows and my friend says I need to reset it back to the factory condition.

The problem is I don’t have a restore disc for it. Is there any way to restore this computer without a restore disc?

Rick’s answer: Gillian, if the hard drive is working properly and the recovery partition isn’t damaged, you should be able to easily restore your laptop back to its factory condition. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will a power cord from an old monitor work with my computer?

Posted on January 24, 2014

Question from Shelley: Hi Rick. I have a question and you’ll probably think it’s silly. Will just any power cord that will fit be ok to use with my computer? It’s an Acer Aspire ME600.

I just moved into a new dorm, and somewhere along the way I lost the power cord to my tower. I searched the entire campus between my old dorm and the new one and I couldn’t find it anywhere.

My new roommate gave me a cord that she had left over when she replaced her old monitor. It fits in the socket perfectly, but it seems to be a little thinner than the one that came with my computer.

Do you think this old cord will work ok, or do you think I should buy a new one?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will upgrading Windows void my Microsoft Office license?

Posted on January 23, 2014

Question from Richard S.: Back in March 2011 I bought an HP Desktop computer with Windows 7 on it. I also bought a copy of Microsoft Office 2010 at the same time and got a discount on it because I bought it with the PC.

Now I want to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 8.1, but I’m afraid that changing the Windows version will void my Office license since it came with Windows 7.

Can I safely upgrade my computer to Windows 8.1 without voiding my Office license?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Do you own a domain name? If so, don’t ignore those “Verify Contact Info” emails from your domain registrar!

Posted on January 23, 2014

If you own a domain name for a website or blog, you’re probably familiar with the emails that your domain registrar sends out every year asking you to verify the contact information for your domain.

Up until now you could simply ignore those emails and nothing drastic would happen, but not anymore. Ignoring those emails will now result in your domain being suspended by the registrar!

New regulations just announced by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) specify that your domain registrar must suspend your domain if you fail to respond to a verification email within 15 calendar days. The suspension will remain in place indefinitely until you verify the information. [Read more…]