Recent content by sgayres

He's describing animated images showing scanning bars pretending to be virus scanners so he will click the link or call the number. I've seen this plenty of times. Nothing malicious unless you click and get phished or call and let someone in. If you know what it is, it's just a nuisance until it...

You have a triggered "redirect scam" in your browser. Not really a virus and AV programs do not stop these. If you continue seeing this, it may be related to a browser extension you have installed. In some cases, it can be removed by a browser reset and if that doesn't remove the redirect scam...

And then there's the MULTIPLE VERSIONS OF OUTLOOK that confuses some people. On one of the past versions of Windows 11, I remember seeing THREE! There were TWO built-in Outlook apps: Outlook and Outlook (new). Then if you had MS Office installed, you had yet ANOTHER THIRD Outlook. And I am not...

I'll remember that.

License for Office 2024 ProPlus LTSC is under $20 for "telephone" activation which is now done online. I do several of these a week. I buy my keys at Gamers-Outlet. Installer File is here. First, using Control Panel>Uninstall a program, uninstall previous versions of Office and Office 365...

I see a "browser" called OneStart on some customers' computers that opens automatically when Windows loads. It snags the favorites from Edge and mimicks Edge to an extent where inexperienced people think that are using Edge. Laa.. dee... daa... skipping along using a potentially problematic web...

^^^^ Durn good tutorial. I had figured out that this proper order must be done and sometimes to repair the damage/duplication/default location of the User Profile Folders by someone's monkeying around and subsequent uninstalling of OneDrive, one main step is to reinstall OneDrive and then visit...

From the start, I would have pulled all USB devices and disconnected or turned off all Bluetooth devices. Then plug in a different USB mouse. Put it to sleep and see if it stays. If it does, then it's an external device. Could be as simple as a signal produced by your mouse caused by a piece of...

I would not do this with a new computer. Don't go out to the web even to Intel and try to fix things that aren't broken. I've probably set up 25-30 Win11 computers for customers so far this year and have not gotton a blue screen once. I don't recall getting one with a new computer at least the...

I keep many things on my Desktop that I need at a second's notice but I generally advise people to use the aptly named data folders to organize personal data (eg Documents, Pictures, Music). Use File Explorer to access those directories and you can also customize the Start Menu to have...

I believe the mechanical drive is a major part of it. AND all the Dell-branded software the put on their machines. A new SSD drive and a clean install of 11 will make it snappy.

As for hardware, 8GB RAM is sufficient. An i3 processor is sufficient as long as your background processes are trimmed down. The unknown is your hard drive. Unless you specified, I really doubt Dell put in a 1TB solid state drive. I'm guessing they cheaped out and snuck in a 5200 RPM 3.5"...

I typically don't fix things that are working but I had a problem arise about a year ago where I could no longer deposit checks using the banking app on my iPhone. Tried restarting the phone, hard restart, reinstalling the app, contacting the bank, nothing. I decided to turn off my phone's wifi...

I personally recommend to stay away from programs like CCleaner. For HP computers and mfg drivers, find HP Support Assistant which should already be installed on a new HP. Do a scan and it will show you available driver updates. If this PC is out of warranty, tread carefully. I caution against...

I'm not a gamer - I do computer repair. This is my downstairs basement home office. Most all equipment you see is inherited/salvaged/repurposed. The Dell Optiplex 3010 (i5) tower was part of an office cleanout/upgrade I did for a horse farm customer. Had good specs so I put a WD 500GB SSD in...