Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: How do I restore my Toshiba Satellite C660-195 back to the factory defaults?

Posted on December 31, 2013

Question from Edward K.: The Windows installation on my Toshiba Satellite C660-195 laptop is trashed thanks to a major virus infestation.

I believe the only way to fix it is to restore everything back to the way it was when it left the factory, but I can’t figure out how to do that since it didn’t come with a restore disc.

I’m pretty sure there’s a recovery partition on the hard drive, but I have no clue how to access it. I can’t see it in Windows Explorer and I can’t find any info on the Toshiba website. Can you tell me how to restore this laptop back to the factory defaults? Thanks!

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why won’t Avast let me download the latest version of Gimp?

Posted on December 30, 2013

Question from Lee: Rick, I have a problem that I just can’t figure out. I got an email from Gimp yesterday morning letting me know that there’s a new version available, but I can’t seem to download it.

Every time I click on the download link my Avast Anti-virus keeps blocking it. Do you think it would be ok to turn off Avast long enough to download and install the new version of the software?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Choppy Youtube videos? Try watching them with Opera!

Posted on December 30, 2013

Some computers (especially laptops) have trouble with Youtube videos because they simply don’t have the “muscle” required to display them smoothly. I’ve discovered that using a different web browser will often improve the viewing experience considerably, and the one that I recommend most often is Opera.

Thanks to the speed at which it renders video, Opera seems to work better with Youtube than any other browser that I’ve tried. If your Youtube experience is less than desirable, why not download it and give it a try? Simply visit this page and click the red Download button. [Read more…]

Scam Alert: Don’t fall for the $250 Kroger Gift Card on Facebook

Posted on December 28, 2013

There’s a new scam making the rounds on Facebook just in time for the New Year. This one claims to be giving away a $250 Kroger Gift card just for filling out a survey or performing some other innocent sounding task.

The problem is the folks behind the “giveaway” have no relation whatsoever to Kroger. They are actually just a bunch of scammers who are out to steal the personal information you provide when “signing up” for the “giveaway” for their own sinister purposes. [Read more…]

Google Chromebooks accounted for 21% of all laptops sold in 2013

Posted on December 28, 2013

Have you seen the commercial featuring the guys from the show “Pawn Stars” telling a despondent “customer” that her Google Chromebook isn’t a real laptop? Well, there’s a reason why Microsoft is running that ad: They’re scared.

According to marketing research firm NPD Group, Chromebooks accounted for a whopping 21% of all laptops sold through commercial channels in 2013.

You were probably already aware that Windows-based PCs have lost a huge chunk of the computer market to tablets and smart phones, but the amazing success of the Chromebook probably surprises you just as much as it did me.

There are several reasons why Chromebooks are selling so well: [Read more…]