Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why does my browser’s Bookmarks bar keep disappearing?

Posted on June 6, 2023

Question from Renée: I hope you can help me with a problem I’m having.

Sometimes when I’m on the Internet the Bookmarks bar will just disappear and I have to go into the browser settings to put it back.

Have you ever heard of this? [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you ‘Undo’ a System Restore on a Windows PC?

Posted on June 6, 2023

Question from Edward: Hello, Rick. Love your site! I hope you can answer a question for me.

I downloaded a game onto my Dell laptop a few days ago and I immediately started getting lots of pop-up ads on my screen.

I uninstalled the game but I’m still getting the pop-ups. I read in a Windows forum that a System Restore should fix the problem but that there are no guarantees.

My question is can a System Restore be reversed if it doesn’t fix the problem?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you recommend a good, but cheap external hard drive enclosure?

Posted on June 5, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from Elizabeth: I just finished reading your post about converting an internal hard drive into an external drive. I never dreamed that it would be so easy!

I have a 1GB hard drive that came out of my Dell Inspiron 15 5000 laptop when it died on me. The guy at the shop tested the drive and said it’s working fine.

I’d like to put that drive into an external enclosure and connect it to my other laptop that has Windows 10 and USB 3.0 ports. [Read more…]

5 tips for keeping your web browser running fast (and secure)

Posted on June 5, 2023

These days most home computers are used primarily to visit websites and perform other Internet-related tasks such as checking email and shopping online.

Truth be told, a web browser is the only program that many users ever open in the Internet age.

If you depend on your favorite browser as much as I do, here are a few things you can do to keep it working fast and protect your online accounts from hackers: [Read more…]

Heads-Up: Microsoft is planning to remove Cortana from Windows

Posted on June 4, 2023

If you’re a Windows user you’re probably familiar with Cortana, the personal assistant that Microsoft added to Windows beginning with the initial 2015 release of Windows 10.

Personally, I’ve never been a fan of Cortana and removing it has always been one of the first things I did any time I got a new PC or reinstalled Windows for some reason. [Read more…]