Windows 10 Archives - Page 34 of 55

Q&A: Why won’t the computer I just built boot into Windows?

Posted on March 7, 2019

Question from Michael: Hi Rick. I hope you can help me fix a problem I’m having with a brand new PC I just finished building.

After I got everything put together I installed Windows 10 on it and made a few settings changes.

Everything seemed fine and the system booted up normally a total of three times.

But the next time I turned it on the screen stayed blank and the motherboard’s LED error code display stayed on.

I’ve tried turning it off and back on several times but it just won’t boot up.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this? I don’t think it’s a software problem because I haven’t even installed any programs on it yet.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Heads up: That ‘Time to Shift!’ notice from Microsoft that’s making the rounds is NOT a hoax.

Posted on March 1, 2019

Many of the posts I publish on this blog are warnings about scams and hoaxes that happen to be making the rounds at the time.

Well, this post is sort of the opposite of those “Scam Alert” posts.

I’ve had several people message me to ask whether the “Time to Shift” notices from Microsoft are real or if they’re a hoax.

If you haven’t seen one of these notices yet, you surely will before long. The wording can vary slightly, but they typically read something like this: [Read more…]

Review: Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Series i5567-1836GRY Laptop

Posted on January 25, 2019

There are lots of Windows 10 laptops to choose from these days, and as you might expect, some are better than others.

I’ve spent some time checking a few of them out, and my favorite moderately priced Windows 10 laptop so far is the brand new Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Series i5567-1836GRY. (#ad)

This is a very capable machine, offering plenty of power and functionality for most any computing task.

This stylish laptop has a beautiful 15.6 inch 1366×768 LED Backlit Display as well as plenty of speed and performance thanks to its powerful Intel Core i5 7200U CPU and built-in AC class Wi-Fi. Here is a detailed list of the specs: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I make Windows 10 stop bugging me about trying the Edge browser?

Posted on December 29, 2018

Question from Heather: I recently bought a new laptop that has Windows 10 on it. One of the first things I did was download Chrome because that’s my favorite browser.

Now every time I load Chrome a message pops up suggesting that I give Edge a try.

I don’t want to use Edge because I like Chrome! How can I stop Windows from bugging me about switching to Edge?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to give Windows 10 a Windows 7 style Start Menu

Posted on December 19, 2018

Microsoft dramatically changed the Windows user interface when they released Windows 8, and most users (myself included) didn’t like many of the changes.

To their credit, the folks up in Redmond listened to our feedback and made Windows 10 look and feel more like Windows 7.

Most importantly, they brought back the beloved Start Menu.

The Windows 10 Start Menu is still a bit different from the Start Menu in Windows 7, but I actually like it better. That said, we all have different tastes so it’s not a bit surprising that some folks prefer the Start Menu from Windows 7.

Every week I receive at least a couple of emails from folks asking if there’s a way to force Windows 10 to use a Windows 7 style Start Menu.

Well, the answer to that question is yes, thanks to a fantastic free utility called Classic Shell. Just follow the steps below to install it on your PC: [Read more…]