Search Results for: how to create system image backup

Q&A: Can you retrieve a Windows 10 license key from a bad hard drive?

Posted on June 3, 2022

Question from Keith: I updated my Windows 7 computer to Windows 10 a while back, and like a dummy I didn’t write down the license key for it.

The hard drive in this machine went bad and I replaced it with a 1TB SSD. The bad drive appears to be completely dead because it doesn’t make any noise at all.

I have already installed the SSD I and downloaded the Windows 10 files onto a thumb drive with the instructions they provided.

The thing is, I’ll need the license key to activate Windows 10 after I install it, right? [Read more…]

Should you optimize the Windows Registry?

Posted on May 18, 2022

Countless articles have been written over the years on the topic of optimizing PCs that run Microsoft Windows in order to make them run faster.

Many of those articles offer a number of good tips, but they almost always include one that I don’t recommend: Optimizing the Windows Registry.

[Read more…]

Speed up your Windows PC by disabling ‘Low Disk Checking’

Posted on April 8, 2022

By default, Windows constantly checks to see if your hard drive is running low on unused storage space. If it determines that your drive is almost full, it’ll let you know by popping up a warning message.

While all of this checking for low disk space can be beneficial if your PC has a small hard drive/SSD or you tend to use up all available storage space.

The problem is, it comes at a cost in the form of a performance hit.

The fact is lots of modern Windows PCs have large hard drives and/or spacious SSDs and there’s a good chance that all of that vast storage space will never be used.

If you think you’ll likely never run low on storage space you can speed your PC up a bit by disabling ‘Low Disk Checking’ with a simple Registry tweak. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I protect the files on a flash drive from accidental deletion?

Posted on February 25, 2022

Question from Tim: I have three semesters worth of very important notes stored on a USB flash drive.

My friend wants to borrow that drive so he can use the notes to study for a certification exam.

I can’t afford to lose those files for any reason because they cannot be re-created or replaced.

Is there some way to prevent my friend from accidentally deleting the files from the drive? [Read more…]

Q&A: Do I need to back up my SSD like I did my hard drive?

Posted on February 18, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Kyle: The hard drive in my computer died and I replaced it with an SSD per your suggestion.

I’ve read that SSD’s are a lot more reliable than hard drives and that they rarely go bad.

My question is do I need to back up my SSD like I did my hard drive? [Read more…]