How to check the health of your hard drive

Published: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 11:43 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 11:43 a.m.


Check your hard drive health

Question: My hard drive keeps making this strange clicking noise when it boots up. Can I check how it’s doing without opening it up?


Text without a computer


Answer: Many ways, actually. If you use an iPhone, you can use Messages to send and receive texts from your Mac. Google Voice works too, but you’ll have to use a different number. Google Voice works on Androids, but MightyText and AirDroid actually use your real number to send texts. Since they send the text through your phone, standard texting rates apply and your phone needs to be on for the text to send. Most texting apps use up a bit of data, too. Make sure you don’t run over your data limit!

Run old programs on your new computer

Question: I’m about to buy a new computer. Will the programs I use on my current Windows XP computer run on Windows 7 or Windows 8?

Answer: I’m willing to bet most of them will. You can double-check with Microsoft’s compatibility checker. Microsoft has plenty of information about older programs and whether they work on Windows 7 and 8. Your programs will probably be in there. If you’re having trouble making something work, try right-clicking the program’s icon and choosing Properties. Find the compatibility tab and then click the “Run this program in compatibility mode for” checkbox. Choose the version of Windows that matches your previous operating system, and it should work the next time you load it. You can also try the “run as administrator” option from the same tab.

Inkjet vs. laser printers

Question: I’m thinking about buying a new printer. Should I buy an inkjet or laser printer?


Web mail vs. ISP mail





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