Search Results for: how to create system image backup

Q&A: My Task Manager is disabled. How can I get it back?

Posted on April 14, 2013

Question from Eric: My computer slowed to a crawl and I found out that it was eaten up with Spyware and viruses. I spent the better part of a day cleaning it all up but now I can’t load the Task Manager. It’s grayed out on the menus and I can’t click it. How can I get it back?

Rick‘s answer: Hi Eric. The miscreants who create spyware and viruses use all kinds of tricks to prevent us from discovering and disabling their insidious creations, and a couple of their favorite tricks are disabling the System Restore and Task Manager utilities. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I block access to a single website on my PC running Windows 7?

Posted on March 3, 2013

Question from Vicky P.: Rick, I logged into my PayPal account the other day and noticed that a payment for $74.94 had been made to someone that I had never heard of. Since my 13 year old daughter and I are the only people who ever use my computer I knew right away that she was the one who made the purchase.

Well, we had a short “discussion” during which I discovered that she had opened an eBay account in my name and used it to buy an item that she knew I would never allow her to have otherwise. Needless to say, she is grounded for life (well, for a month anyway lol). Is there any way to block eBay so that it cannot be accessed at all on my PC?

Rick’s answer: Yes, in fact there is Vicky. All you need to do is add a single line to a Windows file named Hosts. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Q&A: Is it safe to run my Sony Vaio Z laptop with a bad fan?

Posted on February 10, 2013

Question from Camille: I have a 2 year old Sony Vaio Z laptop that works great but I recently noticed that the fan never comes on anymore. It does seem to get hotter than usual but it never gets too hot to touch. Since it’s over 2 years old I hate to spend a lot of money on getting it fixed. Do you think it’ll be ok to run it with a bad fan?

Rick’s answer: Camille, if I were you I’d spring for the repair bill and have the fan checked out and replaced if it indeed turns out to be defective. My guess is that it is, but there are other problems besides just a bad fan that can cause it to stop spinning. [Read more…]

Q&A: If I upgrade to Windows 8 will I be able to go back to Windows 7?

Posted on February 10, 2013

Question from Elizabeth A.: I’m thinking about upgrading my computer to Windows 8 but I have a question first. If I try Windows 8 for a while and don’t like it will I be able to go back to Windows 7 without losing my files?

Rick’s Answer: Elizabeth, the short answer is yes, but you’ll have to prepare for the potential downgrade from Win 8 to Win 7 before you install the upgrade by creating a System Repair Disc and Backup Image for your current Windows 7 installation (click the link for instructions).

You should create this backup set right before starting the Windows 8 upgrade process to ensure that none of your user-created data files will be lost if you end up deciding to downgrade back to Windows 7 later. [Read more…]

Tips for setting up a new PC

Posted on December 28, 2012

laptop When most people buy a new PC they take it home, open up the box, connect it to a power outlet and the Internet and get right to work putting it through its paces. And it’s easy to understand why. After all, who among us doesn’t enjoy playing with a new “toy”?

But in today’s world we need to be vigilant against hackers, viruses and spyware above all else! With that in mind, here is my list of things that should be done to every new computer before you even think about using it for anything meaningful: [Read more…]