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How to reinstall Windows 10 without any bloatware

Patrick Scott bought some laptops for his kids, but they were so slow the kids stopped using them. This is a common issue with bloatware-laden consumer laptops, sadly. He performed a “factory reset,”...

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4 Windows Command Prompt tricks everyone should know

You’d think the Command Prompt would be long-gone after 30 years of Windows’ graphical interface, but it’s not, and there’s a good reason why. Though many of its duties have been replaced by icons or...

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Windows recovery disk tip: When and if it needs updating

Jimmie Bates wants to know if he should ever update his Windows recovery disk. I checked with Microsoft to get the full story, and here’s what I found out. Windows 8 and 10 have a built-in tool to...

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3 easy steps anyone can take now to back up a PC

Wayne Watson asked for advice about backing up his PC. First I’ll give you six great reasons to back up your PC: Hardware failure (especially your hard drive or SSD). Ransomware. Theft. Fire. Flood....

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How to stop Windows 10 from rebooting after updates

Tonia Jordan wants her PC to stop rebooting all by itself after Windows updates itself, and I feel her pain. I’ve also had the unpleasant experience in Windows 10 of leaving my PC mid-task only to...

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Set up your webcam for access from the road

Ann Cherie Davies asked how she and her family can access their IP address while traveling to view their webcams. If you use cameras that are part of a service such as Netgear’s Arlo, you’re all...

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Why you should cover up your laptop's webcam

Valerie Olson wanted to know if she should cover up her laptop’s webcam to prevent people from spying on her. As it happens a few high-profile folks have been spotted covering their webcams, including...

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How Windows Explorer can help you find duplicate files

One of the most frequent questions at Answer Line is how to easily remove duplicate images. The short answer is a utility. We’ve covered those in the past, and most of the best ones, such as Duplicate...

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How Babelsoft Media Preview reveals less-common file types in Explorer

Windows Explorer is great for finding and organizing files, but it’s sadly lacking in preview and thumbnail support for anything other than garden-variety JPEG and AVI files. FLV , OGG, APE, FLAC, PCI...

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When cell phone disaster strikes, you have some options

One of the most common and saddest inquiries we get at Answer Line is how to retrieve photos and videos from a phone that’s been stolen, or that’s been dropped in water and no longer works. You may be...

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How to connect your PC or laptop to any TV

Andrew Amanda asked how to connect his PC to a TV.If there’s anything in the computer world that’s become significantly easier over the years, it’s connecting your PC or laptop to a TV. Even vintage...

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4 ways to bolster your online privacy

Eileen W. wrote to me expressing concerns about online privacy, and though we’ve written about it previously I decided to add a few more tips and tricks for future readers. It is true you can never...

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How to re-enable delete confirmation for Sticky Notes

Angeline W. made the “mistake” of clicking “Don’t ask me again” when deleting a Sticky Note in Windows, and now it is unsurprisingly not asking her again, so she wanted to fix it.  This box really...

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How to have Windows re-open active windows and programs on reboot

Jackie asked why her PC isn't able to re-open all her active windows and programs after a reboot like it does on the Mac. As a PC and Mac user I've also experienced this phenomenon, and it's odd why...

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How to reclaim file permissions and ownership in Windows

It doesn’t happen often, but either by malware attack or networking snafu (sometimes when computers are removed from a domain), you can lose permissions and ownership of your files. Microsoft Windows'...

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When to defrag a hard drive, TRIM an SSD and perform other storage tasks, or not

We still get quite a few questions about when and how to optimize storage devices. Easy answer: The care and feeding of storage devices is either taken care of automatically by Windows, or it's simply...

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How to use MAME emulator to cure computer game nostalgia

Every once in a while, we get a question about those old games that were once the bleeding edge of entertainment in arcades and bars. Invariably from someone who played them and misses them—not from...

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The free GifCam makes capturing animated GIFs a snap

Ever wanted to simply show someone how to do something in Windows rather than describe it? As the Answer Line author, I certainly have. Animated GIFs created by GifCam, a very small, portable utility...

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External drive died? Your data may still be easy to recover

Tawffic Abdul Wahab 's external hard drive stopped showing up on his system. Not a great thing to have happen. However, unlike with an internal hard drive, he's not necessarily looking at an expensive...

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How to create a Windows 10 recovery USB drive

You never know when you’ll need a Windows recovery drive in order to restore your system to a pristine state, so the time to make one is now—and it’s very easy to do. A recovery drive is similar to...

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