Computer Tips Archives - Page 112 of 227

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

Posted on July 9, 2022

Rick’s Tech Tips Newsletter

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Hard drives and SSDs are dirt cheap these days when compared to the prices from times past, and SSDs that are large enough to actually be usable are now quite affordable.

That’s why so many people are choosing to simply replace the hard drives in their computers instead of buying an entire new PC.

If you’ve taken the plunge and replaced the hard drive in your computer with a larger and/or faster drive, you might be wondering what you can do with your old drive. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you use Zoom on a Linux PC?

Posted on July 9, 2022

Question from Emmett: I have a question about Zoom and I’m hoping you can answer it for me.

My laptop has been giving me problems and I’m thinking of replacing Windows with Linux Mint like you mentioned in this blog post.

The only thing holding me back is I’ve heard that Zoom won’t work on a Linux computer, and I really need to use Zoom. If it won’t work with Linux that’ll be a deal-breaker for me.

My question is will Zoom work with Linux or not? [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I make my laptop show my name on the network?

Posted on July 6, 2022

Question from Luella: My sister bought a new laptop a while back and after using it for a couple of days she decided she hates Windows 11.

She was going to return it and buy a Mac but I told her I would just buy the laptop from her since I had been planning to buy one anyway.

The thing is this laptop shows up on our company network under my sister’s name and I don’t know how to fix it. I know our IT guy could do it but he’s out on vacation and won’t be back until the end of the month.

Would you mind telling me how to change the name on this laptop from my sister’s name to my name? [Read more…]

How to switch a Windows PC to a different WiFi network

Posted on July 5, 2022

If you have a WiFi-enabled Windows PC there might come a time when you’ll need to switch your connection to a different WiFi network than the one your machine is currently connected to.

For example, your laptop might automatically connect to a network with a weak signal when you know there’s another network available with a much stronger signal.

Or perhaps it automatically connected to an insecure unencrypted network instead of the secure network you intended to use.

Whatever the reason, you can easily switch your PC’s Wi-Fi connection from one network to another one with just a few clicks of your mouse. [Read more…]

Q&A: Will a laptop hard drive work in a desktop PC?

Posted on July 3, 2022

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Marcel: I accidentally sat on my laptop and broke the screen and who knows what else inside (it doesn’t do anything when I turn it on).

I removed the 1TB hard drive from the damaged laptop and it appears to be ok. Well, at least it doesn’t appear to be bent or broken in any way.

Can I install this hard drive from the laptop in my desktop computer to give me an additional 1TB of storage?

[Read more…]