Tech Questions & Answers Archives - Page 213 of 258

Q&A: Why is Windows 8 not using all of my RAM?

Posted on April 3, 2015

Question from Rodney T: I have an Acer Aspire 5552G-7641 with 8GB of RAM. It came with Windows 7 which always showed the entire 8GB on the System Information screen.

My employer paid for a copy of Windows 8 so I backed up my data and wiped the hard drive, then installed Windows 8 (that was an ordeal in itself but I won’t go into it here lol).

Long story short, after installing Windows 8 the System Information screen is only showing 3GB of RAM even though the BIOS screen shows the full 8GB. Did I do something wrong? [Read more…]

Q&A: Why won’t my laptop’s battery charge past 10%?

Posted on March 24, 2015

Question from Keenan R.: My 3 year old ThinkPad X230 2320HQU laptop won’t charge the battery past 10% no matter how long I leave it plugged in.

If I try to use the laptop while it’s running from on battery, it shuts off after just a few seconds. It runs fine with the charger plugged in, the battery just refuses to charge up.

How can I tell whether the problem is caused by the battery or the charger? If possible, I need to get it fixed ASAP. Thanks.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I install Windows 10 without having to open a Microsoft account?

Posted on March 20, 2015

Question from Cale G.: Rick, I read your post about installing the Windows 10 Preview and I’d like to try it out on my old Acer laptop that’s currently running Windows Vista.

I checked and the machine seems to meet all the hardware requirements, so I figured why not install it and check it out?

The problem is I heard you have to have a Microsoft account in order to install the Windows 10 Preview, and sure enough when I went to install it I was prompted to either log in to an existing account or create a new one.

If I can possibly avoid it, I don’t want a Microsoft account, and I definitely don’t want to have to log into Windows on my laptop through one! Hence my question: Can you tell me if there’s a way to install Windows 10 without having to open a Microsoft account first?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How do I disable my laptop’s built-in webcam?

Posted on March 19, 2015

Question from Alice T.: Rick, I have an HP laptop running Windows 7, and I have a question for you.

I read somewhere that hackers can take control of your webcam and make videos and take pictures of you without your knowledge.

I NEVER use a webcam for anything so I’d like just disable it completely and be done with it. How do I do that?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I prevent my LG G3 from connecting to Wi-Fi on its own?

Posted on March 16, 2015

Question from Amanda J.: Hello Rick. I ordered a brand new LG G3 Android phone off the Sprint website a few months ago, and I like it a lot.

The only problem I have with it is it keeps connecting to Wi-Fi all on its own, and it irritates the heck out of me.

I just found your website (which is awesome by the way) and I thought you might be able to tell me how to keep my phone from connecting to Wi-Fi until I want it to. I really hope so anyway.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]