Best Buy Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

Q&A: Why won’t my new RAM stick fit in my computer?

Posted on January 17, 2023

Note: The links in this post are affiliate links.

Question from David: I recently bought a refurbished Dell desktop computer that came with 8GB of RAM installed. I want to double that to 16GB.

I ran the “Crucial System Scanner” you mentioned in this post and it said the machine can use up to 64GB of DDR4-2133 RAM.

I found an 8GB DDR4-2133 RAM stick on Ebay for less than half of what Crucial is selling them for so I bought it. I received the new RAM just 3 days after I ordered it but it won’t fit into one of the empty RAM sockets on the computer.

Do you think the problem is an error in the info I got from the System Scanner? [Read more…]

Opinion: The FBI shouldn’t be doing this…

Posted on September 27, 2020

Have you ever taken your computer into Best Buy to have their “Geek Squad” crew check it out and repair it if needed?

If so, the computer technician who worked on your machine probably searched your hard drive to see if there was any child pornography on it.

And guess what? Had they found some the FBI would likely have paid them to turn you in.

You’re probably thinking that having computer techs help the FBI catch people who create, distribute and view child pornography is a good thing, and I certainly don’t disagree. But I do believe it’s a very bad idea for the FBI to be paying them to do it. [Read more…]

Q&A: Is there anything I can do to get my laptop fixed without the extended warranty paperwork?

Posted on May 18, 2013

Question from Margaret L.: I have a serious problem Rick. I bought an HP laptop from Best Buy on February 6, 2012 and I also took the three year extended warranty. The laptop died and now I can’t find my receipt or extended warranty paperwork.

Best Buy said there’s nothing they can do without the paperwork except send it off to HP for repair at my expense. Is there anything I can do to get them to honor the warranty I paid for? I’m just so frustrated right now.

Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]

Best Buy claims they are no longer ‘Amazon’s Showroom’

Posted on February 19, 2013

best-buy A while back I wrote a post about how Best Buy was losing tons of business to Amazon and other large online retailers by serving as their local “showroom”. Well, now the company claims that a new price matching policy will effectively end “showrooming” for good.

Beginning on March 3, 2013, Best Buy will immediately match the prices of 19 major online competitors and all local retail stores in all product categories and on virtually every in-stock item – but only when a customer asks them to.

It’s that last part that has me a bit skeptical. Unless the stores decide to display huge honking banners letting customers know about the new price matching plan, how many of them will even know to ask? Time will tell I suppose.

Anyway, here is a list of the 19 online competitors that Best Buy plans to match beginning on March 3: [Read more…]