Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Question from Tom J.: I have a 4TB Seagate external hard drive that recently came down with a bunch of bad sectors even though it’s only about 2 years old.
A friend of mine said I could do a low level format of the drive to lock out the bad sectors and the rest of the drive would work just fine.
What’s your opinion on this? I hate to just trash a drive that large when it still has most of its capacity available, but I don’t want to risk losing my files either.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Did you know that Windows 10 includes a native PDF printer?
Well, it does, and it’s typically installed by default when the Windows installation is created.
To save a document in most any program/app as a PDF file you would simply select Print to PDF (or something similar) from the Print dialog.
However, for whatever reason the default Microsoft PDF printer isn’t installed along with Windows 10 on every PC.
You’ll know that’s the case with your computer if you don’t see the “Print to PDF” option when you click File>Print or press Ctrl–P.
Luckily, it’s very easy to install the default Microsoft PDF Printer on your Windows 10 machine if wasn’t installed along with Windows. Just follow these steps: [Read more…]
Question from Adam G.: I’ve been using Avast Antivirus for a few months, and for the most part I really like it. I know you use it too, so I thought you might be able to help me solve a problem I’m having with it.
I was just tipped off by one of my customers that Avast is placing what is essentially an ad promoting their software into the footer of my outgoing emails.
I actually don’t mind the ad in my personal emails since Avast allows me to use their software for free, but I don’t like them showing up in my business emails. How can I remove them?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Do you enjoy keeping up with the latest in technology?
If so, you probably know that replacing your router’s proprietary firmware with the free open-source DD-WRT firmware could possibly increase your Wi-Fi speed, extend your wireless range and make your wireless connection more stable.
That being said, you might also be afraid to install DD-WRT on your own expensive router because of the very real chance that you might accidentally “brick” it.
Well, now you can actually buy an awesome wireless router that comes from the factory with DD-WRT already installed! [Read more…]
Amazon
is the world’s largest online retailer, and one of the things that makes Amazon so popular is their policy of offering free shipping for most items if your order totals at least $25.
But what if you finish your shopping and the order comes to just $22.67? That leaves you a mere $2.33 short of the magic number of $25 – which means you’re gonna miss out on that awesome free shipping deal! [Read more…]