Search Results for: create system image

Q&A: Is it safe to run ‘chkdsk’ to fix a hard drive with bad sectors?

Posted on January 31, 2017

Question from Randy F.: My hard drive started making a combination of loud whining and clicking sounds last night.

I did some research (thanks Google!) and found a forum post that said to run chkdsk to see if the drive has any bad sectors. It then said if bad sectors are found to run chkdsk/r to fix them.

I ran chkdsk and it did find a bunch of bad sectors. I started to run chkdsk /r to fix the bad sectors but then I remembered reading a follow-up post that said running chkdsk /r can kill a hard drive outright.

What’s your advice on this? I’d like to fix the drive and not have to replace it if that’s possible, but I don’t want to lose my pictures and other files by killing the drive. I need some advice on how to proceed.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I remove the ‘Boot Menu’ from my computer?

Posted on January 9, 2017

Question from Kevin B.: When Windows 10 was released I installed it, but I also decided to also keep Windows 8.1 so I could boot into either version at any time.

I had been booting into Windows 8.1 every now and then to access some files I have on there, but I recently discovered that the Windows 8.1 installation is no longer activated because its product key was transferred to Windows 10.

I guess that means I won’t be using Windows 8.1 any longer.

How can I have my computer skip the Boot Menu and boot directly into Windows 10? I’d just delete the Window 8.1 partition but I have a bunch of files in there that I don’t want to lose.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Scam alert: New ‘Popcorn Time’ Ransomware will try to coerce you into spreading the virus to others!

Posted on December 14, 2016

As you probably know by now, ransomware is an insidious form of malware that will encrypt the contents of your hard drive and then demand that you pay a ransom to a scammer in exchange for the encryption key.

Unfortunately, it’s easy to fall victim to ransomware, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to recover your files even if you pay the ransom as instructed.

Now, the scammers are planning to take this insidious threat to an even more sinister level! [Read more…]

Have you ever thought about building your own computer? If so, read this.

Posted on October 22, 2016

There was a time when I built PCs from scratch and sold them at a profit, and I was able to generate a pretty decent side income from it. In total, I built and sold right at 200 computers before I moved on to other interests.

Today, computers are mass-produced commodities, and that makes it pretty hard to purchase all the individual parts required to build a PC at prices low enough to make a profit when selling the assembled unit.

After all, it’s hard for the little guy to compete with the big guys these days due to economy of scale.

That being said, there are still some benefits to be derived from building your own computer instead of purchasing one at retail. Here are a few of the reasons why some folks still build their own PCs: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is csrss.exe a virus?

Posted on September 29, 2016

microsoft-windows Question from David K.: My computer has Windows 7 and there is a file named csrss.exe running according to Task Manager. Actually, there are two of them. They are in system.

Some websites say this file is a virus, and others say it isn’t. How do I know?

Rick’s answer: David, csrss.exe is a critical system file, not a virus. The filename is actually an acronym that stands for Client/Server Run-Time Subsystem.

It is perfectly normal to see this file listed in Task Manager (often twice) as it loads into memory every time Windows starts up. [Read more…]