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Planning to upgrade to Windows 10? Back up your current Windows installation first!

Posted on July 23, 2015

Windows-10-logoMillions of people around the world are planning to upgrade their computers to Windows 10 after it’s released to the public on July 29.

Personally, I think that’s a good thing. After using the Windows 10 Preview for several months I honestly believe Windows 10 will be the best version of Windows ever.

That being said, I plan to make full backups of the current Windows installation on every PC that I plan to upgrade before installing Windows 10. I strongly recommend that you do the same. Here’s why:  [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there any way to do a System Restore when Windows won’t boot at all?

Posted on July 19, 2015

windows-7Question from Brenda Y.:  I have a BIG problem Rick, and I really need your help. My computer (Lenovo desktop w/ Windows 7) was installing updates last night when it just shut off. It does that sometimes when my heat pump turns on.

Anyway, when I turned it back on it refused to boot up all the way into Windows. It’ll start, then hang up after the Windows logo is displayed. I even tried booting it into Safe Mode but it gets stuck there too.

I’d like to try to do a System Restore, but I can’t because the computer won’t boot up at all. Is there any way to do a System Restore manually without having to actually have Windows loaded?

Rick’s answer:   [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I install Windows 8.1 on a laptop that originally came with Windows Vista?

Posted on June 11, 2015

win-8-1-retail-discQuestion from Glenn W.:  I have an old, but awesome 2008 era Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop that came with Windows Vista. It still works great except for the hard drive which just died on me with no warning.

I found out that I can buy a brand spanking new replacement hard drive for less than $50, but I don’t have a set of Windows Vista restore discs.

If I replace the hard drive can I also install Windows 8.1 in place of Vista? (I would actually prefer Windows 7 but they don’t sell it anymore.)

Or is this machine so old that only Windows Vista will work, which would mean I’m out of luck either way?

Sorry for the multiple questions, but this is all very confusing to me. I hate to throw away a perfectly good laptop just because the hard drive died.

Rick’s answer:   [Read more…]

Q&A: Will Windows 7 still work after Windows 10 is released?

Posted on May 27, 2015

microsoft-windowsQuestion from Millie H.:  I heard that Windows 10 is supposed to be released pretty soon. Will the Windows 7 that’s on my computer still work after that or will I need to buy Windows 10?

Rick’s answer:  Millie, you have nothing whatsoever to worry about. Your computer’s Windows 7 installation will work just fine for the foreseeable future. In fact, Microsoft has committed to supporting Windows 7 with regular security updates until the year 2020.

But that being said, you might want to consider upgrading your computer to Windows 10 when it is released anyway. Here’s why…  [Read more…]

How to take a quick peek at the Desktop in Windows 7

Posted on March 20, 2015

windows-7If you’re like me, every now and then you need to take a quick peek at the Desktop, but you don’t want to have to go through the hassle of minimizing all the open Windows or losing track of what you’re doing after having to re-open them all.

If you’re using Windows 7, you can always click the Show Desktop icon or right-click on the taskbar and click Show the Desktop, but if all you need to do is take a quick peek at the Desktop, you can simply do the following:  [Read more…]

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