Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can I replace the power switch on my Compaq Presario SR2163WM myself?

Posted on July 9, 2013

Question from Devon A.: Hi Rick. I have a Compaq Presario SR2163WM that still works great, but I went to turn it on yesterday morning and the power switch broke. The button is still more or less in place but it doesn’t activate the switch when you push it.

I actually have two questions for you:

1 – Can the switch be replaced?

2 – If so, can I do it myself or should I take it to a shop?

Rick’s answer: Devon, you can indeed replace the power switch on your PC yourself, but finding one might be a problem since that’s such an old model. But I have a hunch that you won’t need to replace it at all. [Read more…]

How to ‘claim’ your blog on Technorati

Posted on July 9, 2013

Technorati can be a great source of high quality traffic to your blog, but only if they are aware that your blog exists. You can submit your blog to the Technorati Blog Directory via a process called “claiming” your blog.

Claiming your blog will add it to the Technorati Blog Directory and ensure that it shows up when users click on the tags that you have designated as being relevant to your blog. Your claimed blog(s) will also show up on your Technorati profile page.

Although it’s not very difficult to “claim” your blog on Technorati, there are a number of steps involved: [Read more…]

Q&A: Why does my PC beep and refuse to boot into Windows?

Posted on July 8, 2013

Question from Mika T.: I have an older Compaq EVO D510 desktop PC with 2GB RAM, 120GB hard drive and Windows XP Professional. I love this computer because it’s the first one I ever owned and I’d really like to keep it running if at all possible.

Here’s the problem: It was working fine till I turned it on one morning and it refused to boot up. It gives one short beep followed by two long beeps, then nothing. Is this a problem that can be fixed without shelling out a ton of cash?

Rick’s answer: Mika, the beeps you hear after pressing the power button are actually an error code that’s being output by your computer’s Power On Self Test (aka POST). That beep code on a Compaq PC typically indicates a problem with the video circuitry. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I install Windows 7 on a second hard drive in my Windows 8 PC without losing any data?

Posted on July 6, 2013

Question from Antonio V.: I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 660s desktop PC from Amazon. It came with Windows 8 and I am very unhappy with it. I love the computer though.

I have installed a second hard drive and I was wondering if can install Windows 7 Pro (full retail version) on the second drive without losing any of my photos and other files that are on the Windows 8 drive?

After I transfer everything over I’ll remove Windows 8 and use Windows 7 exclusively. Thanks for your help in advance.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

YippieMove – Easily transfer your emails, attachments and contacts to a new email service

Posted on July 3, 2013

Have you ever wished you could easily switch from one email provider to another without losing any of your stored emails, attachments or contacts?

For example, lets say you’ve heard that Gmail is the best thing since sliced bread, and you’d like to ditch your Yahoo Mail account and transfer all of your existing emails, attachments and contacts from Yahoo to a new Gmail account (or vice versa).

A great online service called YippieMove will complete the transfer for you in the background while you use your computer for other things. [Read more…]