Microsoft Windows Archives - Page 15 of 32

Q&A: Can I install Windows 8.1 on a laptop that originally came with Windows Vista?

Posted on June 11, 2015

Question from Glenn W.: I have an old, but awesome 2008 era Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop that came with Windows Vista. It still works great except for the hard drive which just died on me with no warning.

I found out that I can buy a brand spanking new replacement hard drive for less than $50, but I don’t have a set of Windows Vista restore discs.

If I replace the hard drive can I also install Windows 8.1 in place of Vista? (I would actually prefer Windows 7 but they don’t sell it anymore.)

Or is this machine so old that only Windows Vista will work, which would mean I’m out of luck either way?

Sorry for the multiple questions, but this is all very confusing to me. I hate to throw away a perfectly good laptop just because the hard drive died.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

Q&A: Will Windows 7 still work after Windows 10 is released?

Posted on May 27, 2015

Question from Millie H.: I heard that Windows 10 is supposed to be released pretty soon. Will the Windows 7 that’s on my computer still work after that or will I need to buy Windows 10?

Rick’s answer: Millie, you have nothing whatsoever to worry about. Your computer’s Windows 7 installation will work just fine for the foreseeable future. In fact, Microsoft has committed to supporting Windows 7 with regular security updates until the year 2020.

But that being said, you might want to consider upgrading your computer to Windows 10 when it is released anyway. Here’s why… [Read more…]

Q&A: Will using ReadyBoost really speed up my computer?

Posted on May 18, 2015

Question from Beverly W.: I recently read an article that said using ReadyBoost with a flash drive will speed up your computer. My laptop is pretty slow so I decided I wanted to try it.

But now I’m confused because when I asked a friend of mine how to set it up he told me not to bother because it doesn’t really help.

I hope you can clear this up for me. Does ReadyBoost work or not? I don’t want to buy a flash drive to use with it if it won’t really do me any good.

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

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…]

Display the ‘Computer’ icon on the Desktop in Windows 8

Posted on March 23, 2015

If you prefer using the Desktop instead of the Metro Start Screen in Windows 8, you might be wishing you had a shortcut to the ‘Computer’ dialog sitting right on the Desktop. Well, you can. and it’s very easy to set up. Here’s how:

1 – Right-click on the Windows 8 Desktop.

2 – Click Personalize.

3 – Click Change desktop icons.

4 – Check the box beside Computer and click Apply.

5 – Click Ok.

There are icons for several other familiar Windows features there as well. Feel free to check or uncheck the boxes as desired.