HelpMeRick.com - Computer help for beginners - Castellini on Computers » Hardware Tips

Setting up a new computer

Rick — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:17:58 +0000

Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to avoiding illness in ourselves. Prevention in the computer world is no different. And like a newborn baby, a newly purchased computer is subject to many terrible diseases and problems if not properly cared from the moment it is taken from its cardboard box. I follow these steps when setting up a new computer system for my clients, and recommend this methodology for all new computer setups:

Install a new DVD Burner – Video Tip

Rick — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:51:32 +0000

Regular visitors to our site and listeners to our show know that we continually talk about the importance of backing up your computer. Many computer users rely on external hard drives these days for their primary backup. And, yes, external hard drives are quick and convenient, but because they are hard drives and subject to electrical or mechanical failure, I still highly recommend that all computer users backup their most precious data (pictures, address books, documents, etc) on external media like a DVD+R. DVD+R media prices have dropped dramatically over the past few years and dual-layer DVD burners that can read and write any CD or DVD media cost less than $75 and sometimes under $50. Do yourself a favor, install a new DVD burner in your system if you don't already have one. The increased capacity and peace-of-mind of DVD backup puts you well ahead of computer users who have to fret if something goes wrong with their computer. OK, the particulars are out of the way, watch this short video demonstrating how to install a DVD burner (or any optical drive).

Scanning and Attaching Documents to Yahoo Email – Notes

Rick — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:02:58 +0000

These notes were generated for a customer using an older HP All-in-one printer. He needed to learn how to scan documents, save them, then attach them to his Yahoo email. For folks learning how to scan or attach items to Yahoo email, these notes will help. Related posts: How to attach photos to Bresnan web [...]

How to add a previously purchased Kindle Book to your iPad Kindle app – Notes

Rick — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 16:27:37 +0000

This question came to me via email today. Here’ my notes on how to add books you already own from your Kindle reader to your Amazon Kindle iPad app. Related posts: Digital Readers and E-books

Steps for Scanning with HP Solution Center – Notes

Rick — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:36:42 +0000

I inserted a photo of the notes I created for a HP Scanner / All-in-One user today. Anyone using an HP scanning device with the HP Solution Center software will be able to use these notes to get the hang of using the scanner. You can also download the PDF version of these steps: Scanning [...]

Apple iPad – What, why, how?

Rick — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:15:12 +0000

Today, we talked about the iPad and what it can do, why you might want to consider an iPad, and how to understand the basics of the iPad, the app store, and connectivity. At the end of this article, you will find a handout of the short PowerPoint style presentation I put together to start [...]

Best video I’ve seen on how a hard drive works

Rick — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 17:44:34 +0000

Over the years, I try to instill in my readers, clients and folks who take my classes the importance of backing up important data. In addition to helping people recover lost data, I know roughly how a hard drive works, and it scares the heck out of me! Maybe watching this video I found on [...]

Troubleshooting HP Printer Network Issues

Rick — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:12:11 +0000

If you are using any HP printer that connects to your computer via a network (wireless or wired), you are bound to run into some issues with connecting to it. Fortunately, HP has built in a network troubleshooter that will help you solve these hiccups. Even before using that troubleshooter, however, try some simple steps [...]

Printer Installations Continue to Grow

Rick — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:51:24 +0000

It really shouldn’t take 15 minutes and more to install a new printer…especially on a new computer! This kind of time commitment is becoming all too frequent lately from all manufacturers, but HP seems to be the worst. If you want to save time on your printer install and prevent your computer from becoming lethargic [...]

Optical Mice

Rick — Sat, 22 May 2010 02:51:33 +0000

Over the past few weeks, it seems that a large share of my clients were still using older, mechanical mice (the one’s with the ball underneath). I say older because almost all new mice are optical mice…either infrared or laser. These mice replaced the ball rolling against rollers in the mouse housing (that could quickly [...]