Search Results for: how to create system image backup

Q&A: Will an SSD go bad just sitting on a shelf?

Posted on December 3, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Glen: A while back I read your post about replacing a computer’s hard drive with an SSD and it sounded like a pretty good idea.

I finally ended up buying a Crucial MX500 1TB SSD to replace the hard drive in my old Acer laptop, but the laptop’s screen went bad before I had a chance to make the switch.

I really didn’t want to spend a lot of money to have the Acer fixed so I just replaced it with a new Dell laptop.

The new Dell has a 1TB hard drive so I don’t really need the SSD at this time. Can I put the SSD on a shelf and keep it for a backup in case the hard drive ever fails, or will it go bad after a while if I don’t use it? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it really dangerous to optimize the Windows Registry?

Posted on December 1, 2023

Question from Ellen: A couple of years ago I started using a Windows PC for the first time because my iMac died and I couldn’t afford a new one.

When I bought my new laptop the salesman told me that Windows 10 does a horrible job at keeping the system optimized and running smoothly.

He said I needed to buy a program called System Mechanic and use it to clean Windows up every few months. [Read more…]

How to convert a bare hard drive or SSD into an external USB-C 3.1 drive

Posted on November 16, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

A while back I wrote this post that explains how to convert an unused internal hard drive into an external USB 3.0 drive.

That has turned out to be one of the most popular posts I have ever written, but a lot has changed since then.

[Read more…]

Q&A: Can Windows 11’s roll-back period be extended past 10 days?

Posted on November 16, 2023

Question from Robbie: A couple of days ago I updated my PC to Windows 11 expecting to have 30 days to change my mind like we had when Windows 10 came out.

But then I found out the window for rolling Windows 11 back to Windows 10 is only 10 days, not 30.

The problem I have is I’m going out of town on business tomorrow and I won’t be back until after the end of the month.

By the time I return the 10 day roll-back period will have expired and I’ll be stuck with Windows 11 even if I end up not liking it.

Is there any way to extend the Windows 11 roll-back period to longer than 10 days (to something like a month)? [Read more…]

3 ways to recover the files from a dead PC

Posted on October 25, 2023

I receive hundreds of tech questions every week, and the one I seem to get asked most often is how to retrieve the files from the hard drive after a PC goes belly-up.

My answer always depends on which part of the computer has failed.

If the hard drive itself is the component that died, you’ll have to either send the drive off to a data recovery service or purchase a data recovery software utility and attempt to recover the files yourself. [Read more…]