Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Can I install 64 bit Windows on my Dell OptiPlex 775?

Posted on June 3, 2013

Question from Lars K.: Rick, I have a Dell OptiPlex 775 desktop PC that is maxed out at 4GB RAM. I bought it for practically nothing from a friend and it has Windows 7 – 32 bit installed on a 160GB hard drive. I bought a 1TB drive to replace the old drive with and I plan to do a clean install of Windows when I swap out the drives.

My question for you is can I install the 64 bit version of Windows 7 on this machine? Thanks in advance for your help!

Rick’s answer: Yes, you sure can Lars. The Optiplex 775 has a 64 bit CPU and the 4GB of RAM and 1TB hard drive are more than adequate. The only possible issue that might arise is finding 64 bit drivers for any older expansion cards and peripherals that you might plan to attach to the computer. But as far as the PC itself is concerned, you’re good to go!

Do you have a tech question of your own for Rick? Click here and send it in!

Free download: “Windows 8 End User Training Brochure”

Posted on June 3, 2013

Windows 8 is vastly different from previous versions of Windows, and there is indeed a learning curve involved with learning the new Metro user interface. If you have recently bought a new PC or upgraded your existing PC to Windows 8, Microsoft has a gift for you…

The “Windows 8 End User Training Brochure” is actually a pretty decent guide to learning the basics of Windows 8, and you can download the PDF file from this page on the Microsoft website for free.

Microsoft stopped providing printed user manuals with their boxed software years ago, and this free guide is certainly no substitute for one. That being said, I still believe it’s a useful download (and you can’t beat the price). It’ll help you get started navigating your way around Windows 8 and performing the most basic tasks. If you use Windows 8 it’s definitely worth a look!

Q&A: How can I remove the toolbars from Internet Explorer?

Posted on June 2, 2013

Question from Luella S.: Hi Rick. I made a big mistake and downloaded a free game onto my PC. After I installed it my computer started running really slow and my Internet Explorer had 7 toolbars attached to it!

I was able to remove 4 of the toolbars via the “Remove a program” thingy, but the rest don’t even show up in there. I tried to do a System Restore, but there were no Restore Points! Can you please, please help?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Tablet PCs on pace to outsell laptops in 2013

Posted on May 29, 2013

According to a study by market research firm IDC, Android based tablets, iPads and other tablet PCs will outsell laptops in the year 2013, and by the end of 2015 they will be outselling both laptops and desktop PCs combined.

Why? Well, first of all, the amazing success of the Internet has led to the decline of the traditional PC in the marketplace. The web now allows many tasks that used to only be possible using software running on a “real computer” to be completed in the “cloud”, making the need for a fully equipped PC obsolete for the average user.

Not counting the ones used at work, most computers these days are used primarily for surfing the Internet, sending and receiving email, and chatting, all of which can be done quite easily and efficiently on a tablet. [Read more…]