Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Chromebooks are wonderful in their simplicity. Just turn one on and you can start surfing the web or working with your favorite web-based applications in less than a minute.
As Google likes to say about the Chromebook, “It just works!” Well…except when it doesn’t. [Read more…]
It seems like every version of Windows is a little easier to install than the one before it, and Windows 8 is no exception thanks to Microsoft’s nifty Windows 8 Upgrade Tool.
That being said, there are still times when it helps to be able to install the operating system from a USB thumb drive or DVD. Here’s how to create one: [Read more…]
If you have ever used Windows 7 you probably remember creating a System Repair Disc soon after setting up your new PC just in case it ever failed to boot up properly. You can create one for your Windows 8 PC as well, but you also have the option of creating a bootable USB Flash Recovery Drive instead.
You can use either a System Repair Disc or USB Recovery Flash Drive to boot a PC that fails to start up properly into an emergency troubleshooting and repair mode. They both do the job equally well, but I prefer the USB flash drive option for a number of reasons. If you do as well, here’s how to create one in Windows 8: [Read more…]
Question from Karen P.: I read an article a while back on Computer Security and it recommended checking in with Windows Update every day to see if any new updates are available.
I’ve started doing that but it’s a pain clicking through the menus every time. Can I create a Desktop shortcut that’ll take me directly to the Windows Update utility?
Rick’s answer: Karen, I agree that keeping our PCs updated at all times is extremely important, but I don’t really see the need to check for new updates every day because Microsoft is pretty good at pushing critical updates to users in a timely fashion.
That being said, I think having a shortcut to Windows Update on the Desktop is a great idea. Here’s how to create one in Windows 7: [Read more…]
I download, test and review a lot of software and I always create a new System Restore Point before I install every new program just in case something goes wrong. System Restore has saved my bacon on several occasions, and chances are it has also saved yours at least once in the past.
If you use the System Restore utility as much as I do, I recommend creating a shortcut to it and keeping it on your Desktop. Here are instructions for creating a shortcut to System Restore in Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 (just skip to the section that’s applicable to you): [Read more…]