Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
Many Windows 10 users have discovered that their machine’s Windows installation has been deactivated, and a number of them have messaged me asking what’s going on.
In a nutshell, Microsoft is experiencing an issue with their Activation servers that’s causing some Windows 10 installations to lose their “Activated” status.
If your PC is running Windows 10 and have your user account protected with a password, you are no doubt familiar with the Lock Screen.
That’s the screen with the pretty picture on it that loads right before you get to the Login Screen.
Some people like the Lock Screen for its aesthetic value, but I happen to find it irritating because it’s simply an extra screen that I have to get past in order to log in to my Windows account. Therefore, I have disabled it.
If you’d like to disable the Lock Screen on your computer as well, follow the steps listed below. [Read more…]
Question from Leonard M.: I have an HP laptop that recently got ruined when my basement bedroom flooded. I was told that it can’t be fixed.
I’m planning to build a new desktop PC from a bare bones kit and I’m hoping I can install the Windows 7 that came with the dead laptop on it because I really don’t want to switch to Windows 10.
Will I be able to install my old Windows 7 on the new computer? I have a set of restore DVDs that I made from the laptop when I first got it.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Anthony J.: Rick, I have a custom built PC with an ASUS motherboard that supports DDR3-1333MHZ RAM. It’s about 5 or 6 years old as best I can recall.
I want to upgrade the memory from 4GB to 8GB, but the only RAM sticks I could find locally are DDR3-1600MHZ. Will they work with my motherboard without damaging anything?
Rick‘s answer: [Read more…]
I love free software that helps me complete my daily tasks and keep my PC running fast and smooth, and my absolute favorite is CCleaner from Piriform, a great company that produces some of the best software out there, free or otherwise.
In a nutshell, CCleaner is like a vaccum cleaner for the file system of your Windows PC.
Running this powerful tool on a regular basis will keep your system clear of clutter such as temporary files, recent documents, cookies, obsolete form data, download history…in fact most any “leftovers” that tend to build up and clutter up your hard drive and slow down your machine. [Read more…]